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October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

KOKO Networks: Bridging Energy Transition and Affordability with Carbon Financing

By: George Serafeim, Siko Sikochi and Namrata Arora

The problem was massive: two million hectares of African forests were lost annually to charcoal production for cooking, an area equivalent to 13 times Greater London, resulting in one billion tons of carbon emissions yearly. At the same time, an estimated 700,000... View Details

Keywords: Clean Tech; Digital; Carbon Credits; Carbon Offsetting; Climate Change; Entrepreneurship; Energy Sources; Environmental Sustainability; Health; Market Design; Business Startups; Transition; Environmental Regulation; Policy; Energy Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Africa; Kenya; Rwanda

17 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Protecting against the Pirates of Bollywood

temptation faced by our global audiences who were eager to watch the film as soon as it was released in India," case protagonist Rohit Sharma, head of international sales and distribution at Fox Star, says in the case. Happy View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Motion Pictures & Video

June 1998 (Revised April 2000)
Case

GM Powertrain

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Mikelle Eastley

Discusses a young MBA plant manager who is improving the operations of a small General Motors components plant in Fredericksburg, Virginia. At 29 years old, Joe Hinrichs is the youngest plant manager at GM, and in his new assignment, he is faced with the daunting... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Labor Unions; Problems and Challenges; Technological Innovation; Change Management; Machinery and Machining; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; United States

15 Mar 2021
Blog Post

REFLECTIONS ON MY TIME AS BEI DIRECTOR

At the end of March, I will retire from my role as Director of the HBS Business and Environment Initiative and turn the reins to BEI’s new Director Lynn Schenk and Coordinator Elise Clarkson. What has changed since I started in the... View Details

March 2012
Article

Fixing What's Wrong with U. S. Politics

By: David A. Moss

In America today there's a growing sense that the political system is broken and that its ineffectiveness is a major threat to U.S. competitiveness. Why do so many think the political system is not working? Research shows that in Congress, Republicans and Democrats are... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; System; Conflict Management; Performance Productivity; Policy; Public Administration Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

21 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Parable of the Bungled Baggage And the Unhappy Customer

I need to get on with my presentation, getting checked out and so forth. But, I'm a little happy too, because now I have something to talk about. And so I'm holding this little story in my back pocket waiting for the appropriate time in... View Details

Keywords: by W. Earl Sasser

15 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These VC Partners May Make Your Firm Less Innovative

hit-driven business,” says McDonald. VC firms spread their wealth around to dozens of startups, hoping to hit that one jackpot that might be the next Facebook or Google. The problem comes when they have to choose between supporting one... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

2019
Working Paper

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 8 Rationalizing Flow Processes

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

The purpose of this chapter is to examine the value structure of flow production processes and to explain why it is necessary to rationalize flow processes using the tools of systematic management. I first explain the problems facing managers of multi-step flow... View Details

Keywords: Flow Processes; Bottlenecks; Systematic Management; Production; Management; Problems and Challenges

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08 May 2017
Blog Post

Learning through the Case Method

leadership in the private sector. HBS was my top choice both because of the unrivaled opportunities it could lead me to, but also because of the renowned case method. View Video The case method, for those who aren’t familiar, is a guided discussion on a real-world... View Details

01 Dec 2003
What Do You Think?

Is This the Twilight Era for the Managed Mutual Fund?

representing groups of investors, and from those in the U.S. and other countries—if at all representative—provide what is for me a rather sobering assessment of the future of these funds. At one end of the spectrum are the feelings... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2000
Case

Talbots - A Classic

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

This case traces why the $1 billion women's clothing retailer decided to attract younger customers, what went wrong, and the actions taken to recover. By the end of 1999, the company has reestablished itself and faces several growth opportunities and must decide on the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Crisis Management; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Segmentation; Fashion Industry

January 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

General Scanning, Inc. (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Sean McClenaghan and Charles Tillen

After meeting with a mediator, Montagu and Davis decided their goals were not in accordance, and Davis left General Scanning. Montagu and Brosens wrote three-year objectives for the company and proceeded to search for a new professional manager. Chuck Winston took on... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Restructuring; Change; Business or Company Management; Ownership Stake; Strategic Planning; Hardware

03 Dec 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Against the Grain

(it has a reputation for the latter). It's a quandary for Jim's employer, of course, but withdrawing investment at the 11th hour would also put many poor farmers' livelihoods in jeopardy. Like many case studies prepared for classroom discussion, "Against the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Food & Beverage

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Incentives and Operational Excellence

Whether you're running a major medical supply company or a hole-in-the-wall video store, chances are you know how common operational problems are. If you are the medical supplier, for instance, you probably deal with a hospital group that... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Gazprom (A): Energy and Strategy in Russian History

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Sogomon Tarontsi and Alexander Jorov

Critics have accused Gazprom, the world's largest natural gas producer, of eschewing market principles in favor of the foreign policy priorities of the Russian government, ever since the energy giant cut off the supply to Ukraine in January of 2006. The purported... View Details

Keywords: History; International Relations; Trade; Energy Industry; Russia; Soviet Union; Ukraine; Europe