Publications

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Summit Explores the New Economy

Harvard Business School's Digital Initiative recently gathered students, scholars, and leaders from practice at the 2015 Digital Initiative Summit to "explore the digital transformation of the economy" and help them meet 21st century management challenges. We... View Details

24 Jul 2019
Lessons from the Classroom

Can These Business Students Motivate Londoners to Do the Right Thing?

For years, the United Kingdom sent out letters to delinquent taxpayers urging them to pay their overdue tax bills. The letters cost the government tens of millions of pounds per year, but, unfortunately, most citizens ignored these pleas for payment. In 2010, the UK... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

31 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

The Dow at 20,000: What's That All About?

School finance professor Luis Viceira, an expert on investment management and capital markets, offered his views on how this happened, what it means, and how high the Dow may go in the future. Jim Aisner: Last week the Dow closed above... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

March 1976 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Communications Satellite Corp.

Describes the FCC hearings which were designed to determine Comsat's cost of equity. Comsat's risks are examined, and expert testimony is given. Objective of the case is to estimate Comsat's cost of equity. View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Equity; Telecommunications Industry; United States

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Future of Boards

eight experts and practitioners, all with ties to HBS, to examine the state of boards today, what lies ahead, and what needs to change in the context of an increasingly global world that has seen the complexity of corporations increase to... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

February 2008
Exercise

Gerson Lehrman Group

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr. and David Lane

Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) brought together decision makers in search of hard-to-find answers with specialized experts in nearly every imaginable field. Over time, GLG developed software to help minimize potential conflicts of interest among and between experts and... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Focus and Relationships; Governance Compliance; Conflict of Interests; Competitive Advantage; Software; Consulting Industry

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July 2016 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Cyber Breach at Target

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and Neeraj Goyal

In November and December of 2013, Target Corporation suffered one of the largest cyber breaches to date. The breach that occurred during the busy holiday shopping season resulted in personal and credit card information of approximately 110 million Target customers... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Credit Cards; Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Governing and Advisory Boards; Crisis Management; Retail Industry

31 Oct 2004
What Do You Think?

Should the Wisdom of Crowds Influence Our Thinking About Leadership?

have been found to be better than a few experts at everything from estimating the true magnitude of things (as in guessing the number of jelly beans in a jar) to diagnosing causes of problems (as in determining that the O-ring seals were... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Research Summary

Overview

By: Ting Zhang

Professor Zhang examines how organizations can better develop individuals through advising and mentoring. In particular, she investigates how expanding individuals' direction of learning across social hierarchies and reversing traditional models of learning (e.g.,... View Details

Keywords: Advice; Mentoring; Expertise; Ethics; Interventions; Organizational Behavior; Decision Making; Power And Influence

09 Aug 2013
Research & Ideas

Read All About It: Digital CEO Buys Traditional Media!

With the sale of the Washington Post to Jeff Bezos, the newspaper enters a crucial phase in its 136-year history amid disruptive changes in communications, technology, and reader habits. According to HBS professors Bharat Anand and David Collis, both View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Journalism & News; Publishing

01 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Crowdfunding a Poor Investment?

When Congress passed President Obama's JOBS Act in March 2012, one of the most intriguing provisions would enable crowdfunding—the ability for large groups of anonymous investors to fund startups. More than a year after the law was passed, however, the provision... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

May 2005 (Revised May 2011)
Background Note

Inequality and Globalization

By: David A. Moss, Anna Harrington and Jonathan Schlefer

Inequality represented a major issue at the dawn of the 21st century. By many measures, inequality had increased over the previous several decades, within both developed and developing countries. Whether global inequality (measured across countries or among the people... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Wealth and Poverty; Income; Globalization

2002
Book

The Many Facets of Leadership

By: Marshall Goldsmith, Vijay Govindarajan, Beverly Kaye and Albert A. Vicere

Leadership has changed dramatically—and so have the skills leaders need. In this book, more than 40 of the world's top leadership experts share their insights on every aspect of leadership in the 21st century. View Details

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November 2022 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Martine Rothblatt and United Therapeutics: A Series of Implausible Dreams

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

In 1990, satellite expert and Sirius XM founder Martine Rothblatt was determined to save the life of her seven-year-old daughter, Jenesis, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). At the time, there was little medication... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Organ Donation; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; District of Columbia

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Basics of Consumer Marketing in Asia

Consumer product makers looking to sell in Asia cannot expect the relative homogeneity they find in the U.S. or European countries, according to the panelists at the "Consumer Marketing in Asia" panel at the HBS Asia Business Conference. In China alone, said... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Water, Electricity, and Transportation: Preparing for the Population Boom

By 2050, the Earth's population will likely exceed 9 billion people, up 30 percent from 6.9 billion today, according to projections from both the US Census Bureau and the United Nations. What's more, the population in the world's cities is expected to increase by 3... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

02 Apr 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Making the Move to General Manager

think and improving their business judgment is what GMP is really all about, says Esty. For faculty it's exciting, he said, because the teaching imperative mirrors the participants' experiences because faculty teach outside their own area of expertise. Esty, for... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Article

Smart People Ask for (My) Advice: Seeking Advice Boosts Perceptions of Competence

By: A.W. Brooks, F. Gino and M.E. Schweitzer

Although individuals can derive substantial benefits from exchanging information and ideas, many individuals are reluctant to seek advice from others. We find that people are reticent to seek advice for fear of appearing incompetent. This fear, however, is misplaced.... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Cognition and Thinking

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Read Now

Oct 2020
Other Presentation

How to Lead in a Crisis

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Humility, transparency and urgency are the keys to successfully steering an organization—big or small—through the challenges that come your way. Leadership expert Amy C. Edmondson provides clear advice and examples to help any leader rise to the occasion. View Details

Keywords: Psychological Safety; COVID-19; Leadership; Crisis Management