Publications

February 2014
Article

Learning by Supplying

By: Juan Alcacer and Joanne Oxley

Learning processes lie at the heart of our understanding of how firms build capabilities to generate and sustain competitive advantage: learning by doing, learning by exporting, learning from competitors, users, and alliance partners. In this paper we focus attention... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Organizations; Learning

Find at Harvard

February 2003 (Revised July 2005)
Case

British Broadcasting Corporation (A): One BBC

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Douglas A Raymond

Greg Dyke, the new director general of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) must decide whether to extend an already ambitious change effort at the world's largest public service broadcaster. The initial results of the effort are very positive: audience numbers are up,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Media; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership Development; Competition; Creativity; Relationships; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United Kingdom

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

entrepreneurs from other candidates. To address that problem, Butler compared the psychological testing results of over 4,000 successful entrepreneurs and of approximately 1,800 business leaders who described themselves as general... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Background Note

Economic Gains from Trade, The: Theories of Strategic Trade

The theory of competitive advantage is one of the most widely accepted economic principles among economists. The theory, as well as substantial historical evidence, suggest that free trade raises national income, while government intervention in trade relations... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Trade

March 2004 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Akamai Technologies

By: Benjamin Edelman, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Eric J. Van den Steen

As the leading content delivery network, Akamai helps Internet companies deliver Web site content to end users with fewer delays and lower costs. Describes the strategic management challenges facing Akamai in early 2004. The company is poised to offer its next... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure

November 2012
Case

Sugar Bowl

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Alisa Zalosh

Shelby Givens, a recent business school graduate, returned home to Raleigh, North Carolina, to help rescue her family's ailing and outdated bowling alley, Westlake Lanes. Although she cut costs and addressed inefficiencies, moving the business from near-bankruptcy to... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Operations; Performance; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Raleigh

September 2024
Case

Open Door Legal: Universal Legal Access

By: Brian Trelstad, Taylor Greenthal and Sarah Mehta

This case is about Open Door Legal (ODL), a San Francisco-based civil legal aid nonprofit. CEO Adrian Tirtanadi founded the organization in 2012 with a mission to achieve universal access to legal representation for all city residents. By 2024, ODL had opened four... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Law; Growth Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Civil Society or Community; Business Model; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles; San Francisco

January 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Case

Playing With Fire at Sittercity (A)

By: Noam T. Wasserman and Rachel Gordon

To help her finance her aggressive expansion plans, Genevieve Thiers plans to raise venture capital for the first time. She has spent the last six long years building Sittercity into the nation's leading babysitting web service, larger than all of its competitors... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Family and Family Relationships; Expansion; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Agreements and Arrangements

February 2025
Teaching Note

Influencer-Led Brand Building: Hairitage and the McKnights

By: William R. Kerr and James Palano

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 825-066. Mindy McKnight started in 2009 as an early influencer on social media whose videos of creative hairstyles for girls launched her family on an entrepreneurship journey. The McKnights transitioned from YouTube ad revenue to brand... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Social Media; Entrepreneurship; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Power and Influence; Expansion; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

19 Sep 2023
Blog Post

2023 Summer Internships in Business & Environment

modeling financial returns of customer DERs, such as behind-the-meter batteries and smart thermostats. Dennis' role prior to HBS was a Strategy Manger, Global Operations at Google. Nabig Chaudhry (MBA 2024, Section J), Summer Internship:... View Details

17 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 17, 2007

Working PapersPlatform Envelopment Authors:Thomas Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker, and Marshall Van Alstyne Abstract Due to network effects and switching costs, platform providers often become entrenched. To dislodge them, entrants generally... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

enough about the general practice of management that they can communicate effectively with the management team. A lawyer who can't read an income statement or understand the rudiments of strategy is far less... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

Web

Bankruptcy | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Introduction 1840s – 1880s General Merchants to Commodities Brokers 1880s – 1920s Investment Banking & Securities Underwriting 1920s – 1960s Investing in Emerging Industries 1850–1968 Lehman Brothers Family Partners 1960s – 2000s... View Details

05 Jul 2022
What Do You Think?

Have We Seen the Peak of Just-in-Time Inventory Management?

Business School curriculum among those interested in studying business in 1908. I should know. I was invited to join the HBS faculty not to teach marketing, service management, or general management, among my later teaching assignments,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Shipping; Transportation

June 2023
Teaching Note

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited: Global Leadership in Chipmaking

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 321-126. The general purpose of this case is to explore the evolving nature of business relations across the Taiwan strait, focusing on the prominence of Taiwan's high-tech industry. After the legendary founder of Taiwan Semiconductor... View Details

Keywords: Geopolitical Units; Government and Politics; Competition; Production; Disruption; Semiconductor Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Taiwan; Taiwan Strait; China