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- All HBS Web (1,598)
- Faculty Publications (432)
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- June 1977 (Revised September 1992)
- Case
Sorenson Research Co. (Abridged)
Presents the issues facing a high volume, high margin (but lightweight) medical products business. The company is trying to improve its inventory control to reduce inventory investment and improve service. The present multi-site inventory system is described and major... View Details
Keywords: Business Earnings; Investment; Volume; Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Performance Improvement; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry
Wheelwright, Steven C. "Sorenson Research Co. (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 677-257, June 1977. (Revised September 1992.)
- November 1982 (Revised November 1984)
- Case
Information Resources, Inc. (A)
Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) is a small but rapidly growing marketing research firm. IRI's major product, BehaviorScan, provides the most completely controllable and measurable marketing program testing facility in the world. It includes UPC electronic scanning at... View Details
Clarke, Darral G. "Information Resources, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 583-053, November 1982. (Revised November 1984.)
- March 2013
- Article
Do You Really Want to Be an eBay?
By: Andrei Hagiu and Julian Wright
Most companies that serve as intermediaries between buyers and sellers face a fundamental strategy decision: Should they be resellers (like supermarkets), acquiring and then reselling products or services? Should they operate as multisided platforms (like eBay),... View Details
Hagiu, Andrei, and Julian Wright. "Do You Really Want to Be an eBay?" Harvard Business Review 91, no. 3 (March 2013): 102–108.
- February 2016
- Case
BancoSol and Microfinance in Bolivia
By: Rajiv Lal and Annelena Lobb
BancoSol, a microfinance bank headquartered in La Paz, Bolivia, was forced to adjust its lending strategy and business model because of a regulatory change—60% of the bank's lending portfolio would have to move to the productive sector of the Bolivian economy by 2018,... View Details
Keywords: Microfinance; Banks and Banking; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business Model; Strategy; South America; Bolivia
Lal, Rajiv, and Annelena Lobb. "BancoSol and Microfinance in Bolivia." Harvard Business School Case 516-005, February 2016.
- June 2009 (Revised February 2014)
- Case
Evaluating Microsavings Programs: Green Bank of the Philippines (A)
By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan, Wesley Yin and Marc Shotland
Green Bank of the Philippines was known for its product innovation and its ability to bring new products to market. In 2002, Green Bank designed an untested commitment savings product that both gave individuals access to formal savings and helped them commit to... View Details
Keywords: Saving; Innovation and Invention; Measurement and Metrics; Product Design; Success; Performance Evaluation; Banking Industry; Philippines
Ashraf, Nava, Dean Karlan, Wesley Yin, and Marc Shotland. "Evaluating Microsavings Programs: Green Bank of the Philippines (A)." Harvard Business School Case 909-062, June 2009. (Revised February 2014.) (Request a courtesy copy.)
- June 1991 (Revised June 1993)
- Background Note
The Decline of the British Cotton Industry (Abridged)
Supplements the general argument concerning the decline of the British economy by showing how vertical specialization, horizontal competition, and entrenched job control combined to create incentives for management to adapt to changing international conditions by... View Details
Keywords: Technology; Business Cycles; Organizational Structure; Consumer Products Industry; Great Britain
McCraw, Thomas K. "The Decline of the British Cotton Industry (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Background Note 391-253, June 1991. (Revised June 1993.)
- 13 May 2024
- Research & Ideas
Picture This: Why Online Image Searches Drive Purchases
product images. The team found that the images nudged shoppers to explore those narrower search queries. Some 5.5 percent of the test group searched for narrower queries suggested by the new refinement tool, compared to 1 percent of the... View Details
- April 2001 (Revised August 2001)
- Case
Color Kinetics Incorporated (A)
By: Das Narayandas and Mary N. Caravella
Two-year-old start-up Color Kinetics has developed unique colored lighting technology using digitally controlled LEDs, and has developed that technology into a successful line of products for its first targeted market of "retailtainment." Now in November 1999, the... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development; Management Teams; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Electronics Industry
Narayandas, Das, and Mary N. Caravella. "Color Kinetics Incorporated (A)." Harvard Business School Case 501-077, April 2001. (Revised August 2001.)
- December 1999 (Revised September 2004)
- Case
Hermes Systems
By: Michael L. Tushman and Daniel Radov
Covers the history of Hermes, a large telecommunications and network equipment company, as it grows from a single business firm to a diversified firm from 1980-95. Examines the use of entrepreneurial subsidiaries for product development and fast growth. Other issues... View Details
Keywords: History; Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Diversification; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Divisions; Problems and Challenges; Product Development; Technology Industry
Tushman, Michael L., and Daniel Radov. "Hermes Systems." Harvard Business School Case 400-056, December 1999. (Revised September 2004.)
- November 1989 (Revised November 1999)
- Case
Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
Illustrates how ADP's top management uses formal planning and control systems to establish strategic boundaries for its business units. Top management has developed a detailed list of strategic criteria that ADP managers use to evaluate products and business units, as... View Details
Simons, Robert L., and Hilary Weston. "Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision." Harvard Business School Case 190-059, November 1989. (Revised November 1999.)
- 20 Dec 2010
- Research & Ideas
Panama Canal: Troubled History, Astounding Turnaround
West Coast headed to eastern ports, with a smaller flow of manufactured goods and agricultural products headed the other way. The canal supercharged the growth of the West Coast (at the expense of Venezuela in oil and the South in timber)... View Details
- March 2015 (Revised April 2015)
- Case
The Heat Is On: Emerging Ecosystems in the Thermostat Industry
By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman
Beth Wozniak, President of Honeywell Environmental and Combustion Controls (ECC) at Honeywell International Inc., spun around in her office chair, reflecting about how the classic, mature thermostat industry was rapidly evolving. In February 2014, Google paid $3.2... View Details
Keywords: Honeywell; Thermostats; Internet Of Things; Smart Thermostats; Google; Nest; Apple; HomeKit; SmartThings; Partnerships; Platforms And Ecosystems; Linkages; Communication Protocols; Strategy; Technology; Home Automation; Connected Home; Buildings and Facilities; Energy; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Partners and Partnerships; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry
Collis, David, and Ashley Hartman. "The Heat Is On: Emerging Ecosytems in the Thermostat Industry." Harvard Business School Case 715-455, March 2015. (Revised April 2015.)
- 16 May 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Marketplace or Reseller?
- December 2013
- Article
Land Politics and Local State Capacities: The Political Economy of Urban Change in China
By: Meg Rithmire
Despite common national institutions and incentives to remake urban landscapes to anchor growth, generate land-lease revenues, and display a capacious administration, Chinese urban governments exhibit varying levels of control over land. This article uses a paired... View Details
Keywords: China; Land Politics; Urban Planning; Local Government; Northeast China; Property Rights; Urban Development; Property; Government and Politics; China
Rithmire, Meg. "Land Politics and Local State Capacities: The Political Economy of Urban Change in China." China Quarterly, no. 216 (December 2013): 872–895.
- June 1982 (Revised May 1995)
- Case
Ellis Manufacturing Co.
By: Roy D. Shapiro
Ellis finds itself in a weakening competitive position largely due to the lack of rationalization in its plants. Driven by a strong traditionally decentralized sales organization, Ellis finds that all plants want control over all product lines. As a result, overall... View Details
Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Cost; Analytics and Data Science; Brands and Branding; Performance Capacity; Competitive Strategy; Construction Industry
Shapiro, Roy D. "Ellis Manufacturing Co." Harvard Business School Case 682-103, June 1982. (Revised May 1995.)
- 26 Jun 2017
- Research & Ideas
How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food
development of self-service merchandising systems in American grocery stores, but also revealing how cellophane manufacturers tried to control the narrative of how women buy food. “Cellophane changed how people shopped,” says Ai Hisano,... View Details
- March 2021
- Article
International Trade and Social Connectedness
By: Michael Bailey, Abhinav Gupta, Sebastian Hillenbrand, Theresa Kuchler, Robert J. Richmond and Johannes Stroebel
We use de-identified data from Facebook to construct a new and publicly available measure of the pairwise social connectedness between 170 countries and 332 European regions. We find that two countries trade more when they are more socially connected, especially for... View Details
Bailey, Michael, Abhinav Gupta, Sebastian Hillenbrand, Theresa Kuchler, Robert J. Richmond, and Johannes Stroebel. "International Trade and Social Connectedness." Journal of International Economics 129 (March 2021).
- January 2023 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
Peloton Interactive (A)
By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and David Lane
Early in February 2022, the board of Peloton Interactive faced some knotty challenges. Immense pandemic demand for its stationary exercise bicycles and treadmills had prompted the firm to scale up production rapidly. But as gyms reopened and the virulence of the virus... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth Management; Investment Activism; Leadership; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; United States
Srinivasan, Suraj, Lynn S. Paine, and David Lane. "Peloton Interactive (A)." Harvard Business School Case 323-005, January 2023. (Revised April 2025.)
- September 1997 (Revised May 1999)
- Case
Precision Controls, Inc.
By: James K. Sebenius and David T. Kotchen
Precision Controls is a Minnesota-based manufacturer of electronic control devices. To enhance its product line, Precision would like to establish an artificial intelligence research group, either through internal development or, preferably, by merging with or... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Valuation; Research and Development; Negotiation Process; Stock Shares; Negotiation Tactics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; Minnesota
Sebenius, James K., and David T. Kotchen. "Precision Controls, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 898-046, September 1997. (Revised May 1999.)
- February 1979 (Revised December 1983)
- Case
Allied Chemical Corp. (A)
Describes Allied, the chemical industry, and the effects of the Kepone problem (a toxic pesticide dumped into the James River) as of 1976. The executive in the case must decide whether the company should support the passage of the Toxic Substances Control Act and an... View Details
Keywords: Pollutants; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decision Making; Laws and Statutes; Welfare; Legal Liability; Business and Government Relations; Chemical Industry
Lodge, George C., and Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. "Allied Chemical Corp. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 379-137, February 1979. (Revised December 1983.)