Publications

29 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Next Marketing Challenge: Selling to ’Simplifiers’

used only by businesses. As the world economy slumps, one consumer segment will grow faster than ever. The Simplifiers have four characteristics: First, they perceive that they have more stuff than they... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation

August 2021
Technical Note

Brand You: Crafting Your Personal Brand

By: Jill Avery and Rachel Greenwald

Selling oneself is something that we have to do every day in both professional and personal settings. We face it when we apply for a job, advocate for a promotion or a raise, vie for a leadership position, attempt to land a new client, write a dating profile, or meet a... View Details

Keywords: Personal Brand; Brand Management; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Identity; Opportunities; Talent and Talent Management; Jobs and Positions; Strength and Weakness; Communication

07 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Profits of Power: Commercial Realpolitik in Eurasia

Keywords: by Rawi E. Abdelal; Energy; Utilities

Article

Technology Diffusion and Postwar Growth

By: Diego A. Comin and Bart Hobijn

In the aftermath of World War II, the world's economies exhibited very different rates of economic recovery. We provide evidence that those countries that caught up the most with the U.S. in the postwar period are those that saw an acceleration in the speed of adopting... View Details

Keywords: Hardware; Country; Business Cycles; Globalized Economies and Regions; Economic Growth; Welfare or Wellbeing; War; Technology Industry; United States; Japan; Europe

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July 2020
Teaching Note

COVID-19: The Global Shutdown

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

In the first months of 2020, a pandemic overwhelmed the world. COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, spread from China and created a severe public health emergency across countries. While an immediate fear of the disease’s impact on human life permeaacted... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Trade; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Economy; Policy; Governance; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Sectors

December 2022
Technical Note

Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework

By: George Serafeim

The transition to a low carbon economy introduces many risks and opportunities for businesses. Risks emerge from regulatory actions, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, technological innovation that develop alternatives for customers making existing... View Details

Keywords: Risk Assessment; Opportunities; Environmental Sustainability; Carbon Footprint; Risk Management; Competitive Dynamics; Business Analysis; Climate Change; Accounting; Finance; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technological Innovation; Transition; Product Positioning; Renewable Energy; Analysis

29 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

The $1 Trillion Link Between Mental Health and Economic Productivity

In April, the World Health Organization released a groundbreaking study that established a definitive link between mental health and economic productivity. The findings were both depressing and hopeful. On the downside, depression and... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

1994
Book

The Making of Global Enterprises

By: G. Jones

This volume presents new insights on the history of international business. Two main themes are addressed: how and when has global business developed over the last century? and what has been its impact on host economies? The volume includes a pioneering study by Mira... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Business Subsidiaries; Economy; Trade; Globalized Firms and Management; Information Technology

June 1991 (Revised October 1991)
Case

General Electric: Reg Jones and Jack Welch

By: Francis Aguilar and Christopher A. Bartlett

When GE's retiring Reginald Jones turned the job of CEO over to Jack Welch on April 1, 1981, the Wall Street Journal reported that GE had "decided to replace a legend with a live wire." Some wondered if the young dynamo could fill the elder statesman's very large... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Business or Company Management; Change Management; Leading Change; Restructuring; Investment; Strategic Planning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Succession

30 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 31, 2006

markets allow the backward linkages between foreign and domestic firms to turn into FDI spillovers. Our calibration exercises indicate that a) holding the extent of foreign presence constant, financially well-developed economies... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 1991 (Revised May 1991)
Case

TBIRD: The Thai Business Initiative in Rural Development

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

During the period of 1987 to 1990, while Thailand had one of the fastest growing economies in the world (average growth rate of 12%), the income disparity between its rural and urban population (especially Bangkok City) was growing increasingly worse. Mechai... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Management Skills; Programs; Wealth and Poverty; Thailand

2013
Working Paper

International Health Economics

By: Mark Egan and Tomas J. Philipson

Perhaps because health care is a local service sector, health economists have paid little attention to international linkages between domestic health care economies. However, the growth in domestic health care sectors is often attributed to medical innovations whose... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Global Range; Economics

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2009
Report

Nordic Globalization Barometer 2009: Global Pressure—Nordic Solutions?

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

Less than a year after the first Nordic Globalization Barometer has been launched, the state of the world economy has changed dramatically. A deep financial crisis is taking its toll on investors, borrowers, and the financial institutions that serve them. A deep... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Crisis; Financial Markets; Globalized Economies and Regions; Competitive Strategy; Scandinavia

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2019
Chapter

The Great Divergence and the Great Convergence

By: Geoffrey Jones

This chapter provides a new lens to the extensive debate among economists and economic historians concerning why the West grew rich and the rest of the world lagged behind as modern industrialization took hold in the 19th century. The literature has focused heavily on... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Growth and Development; History; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America; Oceania

December 2007
Article

Learning to Live with Governments: Unilever in India and Turkey, 1950-1980

By: G. Jones

A noteworthy characteristic of the contemporary global economy is the uneven distribution of world foreign direct investment (FDI). In 2007 three-quarters of world FDI was located in developed countries. The residual was concentrated in a small number of emerging... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Ethics; Foreign Direct Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Consumer Products Industry; India; Turkey

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

Michelle's story is a stark contrast and look forward to hearing her side of things. Next up for me this summer for physical books is my colleague Tsedal Neeley's Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding From Anywhere. As a longtime leader of remote teams myself, I have... View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

04 Feb 2022
Book

Beyond the Cold War: Reinventing Socialism in 5 Countries

from Ripe for Revolution, Friedman discusses how conventional thinking about socialism has evolved since the Cold War. Book Excerpt Ripe for Revolution: Building Socialism in the Third World Jeremy Friedman Socialist Revolution as a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 2020 (Revised March 2023)
Teaching Note

Unrest in Chile

By: Vincent Pons, John Masko, Rafael Di Tella and William Mullins

In 2020, Chileans would head to the ballot box to decide their country’s future. Many international observers credited Chile’s decades of neoliberal governance with turning the country into Latin America’s “Tiger,” a prosperous, diversified economy on its way to... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Macroeconomics; Economy; Political Elections; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Equality and Inequality; System Shocks; Chile; Latin America