Publications

21 Aug 2018
News

The Business Shelf: Driving Digital Strategy

2012
Case

Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (B)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Hong Zhang

The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the... View Details

Keywords: Computer Software; Entrepreneurship; Outsourcing; Strategy; China; Information Technology; China

January 1991 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Robert Boxwell

Focuses on the three-way interaction among internal controls, employee behavior, and incentives. Salesmen are illegally providing kickbacks to customers of this beer-distribution firm. In turn, salesmen are reimbursing themselves by filing fraudulent expense reports.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Salesforce Management; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Distribution Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

17 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 17

Talismark, which helped its customers manage their waste, was considering re-engineering its business fundamentals to dramatically increase profitability by changing its sales and information processes.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2025
Case

Thrivent: From Insurance Agents to Financial Advisors

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Tom Quinn

Thrivent, a midwestern financial services company with a centuries-long history rooted in Lutheranism, had reached $10 billion in revenue mostly by selling life insurance. In the 2020s, however, CEO Terry Rasmussen began a transformation process centered around the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Employee Relationship Management; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Job Design and Levels; Human Capital; Leading Change; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Insurance Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Minneapolis

03 May 2016
First Look

First Look, May 3, 2016

Effectively By: Casciaro, T., F. Gino, and M. Kouchaki Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51004 February 2016 Journal of Accounting & Economics Labor Unemployment Insurance and Earnings View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Sep 2003
Research & Ideas

Pride Goeth Before a Profit

there are some managers who don't want to take the time to fill out a simple form," he says, "but it really doesn't take that much effort." The electronic reports get to customers up to two... View Details

Keywords: by Theodore Kinni

22 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Humans vs. Machines: Untangling the Tasks AI Can (and Can't) Handle

Consulting Group employees work with AI: Humans are still needed to make that call. To operationalize AI successfully, managers must carefully select its applications, train workers in using it properly, and quickly move the line as AI... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

Program

Driving Digital Strategy

advantage of the opportunities presented by digital transformation Learn how new technologies are impacting business Make digital transformation a key part of your organization's strategy Create and manage the capabilities that drive... View Details

January 2021
Case

Bespoken Spirits: Disrupting Distilling

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

On October 7, 2020, Bespoken Spirits publicly announced it had received $2.6 million of seed funding for its “sustainable maturation process,” a process that could produce award-winning whiskeys in just days rather than years using a novel technology and data science. ... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Cash Flow; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; United States; California

February 2023
Case

Seemore Meats & Veggies

By: Lou Shipley, Patricia Favreau and Mel Martin

Cara Nicoletti was an emerging food entrepreneur that had recently launched her first product, a sustainably sourced, vegetable-infused meat sausage. Brooklyn, New York City-based Seemore Meats & Veggies had seen promising signs of success in local markets and pockets... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Food; Logistics; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

04 Mar 2024
What Do You Think?

Do People Want to Work Anymore?

organization than they did four years ago.” This raises the question of the degree to which management policies vs. employee attitudes toward work are to blame. Do people want to work anymore? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 2009 (Revised June 2009)
Case

Distribution at American Airlines (A)

By: Benjamin Edelman

American Airlines sought to reduce the fees it pays to global distribution services (GDSs)—such as SABRE—to reach travel agents. But GDSs held significant tactical advantages. For example, GDSs had signed long-term exclusive contracts with the corporate customers who... View Details

Keywords: Price; Globalized Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Distribution; Service Operations; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Travel Industry

October 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Supplement

Migros Turkey: Scaling Online Operations During COVID-19 (C)

By: Antonio Moreno and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in August 2020 as Ozgur Tort and Mustafa Bartin, CEO and chief large-format and online retail officer of Migros Ticaret A.S. (Migros), Turkey’s oldest and one of its largest supermarket chains, are navigating Migros through COVID-19 and the unprecedented... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Value Creation; Globalization; Competition; Expansion; Logistics; Profit; Resource Allocation; Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Crisis Management; Health Pandemics; Strategic Planning; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

January 2023 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein

This case concerns the industrial automation division at Belden, a hardware manufacturer. While Belden historically sold products such as cables, wires, and other networking devices, EVP of Industrial Automation Ashish Chand recognized that IT vendors were entering the... View Details

Keywords: Implementation; Sales Cycle; Digital Transformation; Sales; Product Positioning; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Supply and Industry; Technology Industry; North America; United States

08 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Employee Analytics: Productivity Dream or Micromanagement Nightmare?

employee and customer data. And new laws may be on the horizon, shaping how organizations respond. “How you put this into practice,” Polzer says, “matters a lot.” You Might Also Like: When Bias Creeps into AI, View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

May 1994
Background Note

Designing Channels of Distribution

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Presents a framework and a method for addressing the new product channel choice decision. Offers a six-step method that involves: 1) disaggregating and prioritizing a distribution channel by customers' channel function requirements; 2) obtaining and combining... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Framework; Cost; Customers; Cost vs Benefits; Management

May 2021
Teaching Plan

Gera Developments: Leadership at a Crossroads

By: Christina R. Wing and John Masko

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 621-018. For decades, Gera Developments (Gera) was a boutique family-owned real estate development firm in Pune, India. But since 2000, managing director Rohit Gera had turned the company into a dynamic innovator in housing solutions for... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Construction; Geographic Location; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Housing; Leadership Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; Family and Family Relationships; Urban Development; Customization and Personalization; Real Estate Industry; Maharashtra; India; San Francisco

May 2004 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Clarence Saunders: The Comeback King

By: Nitin Nohria and Bridget Gurtler

Follows the rise and fall of the founder of the modern supermarket, Clarence Saunders. Prior to 1915, all staple shopping took place in the market or general store, where a clerk behind a counter pulled items from shelves for customers , measured them from a barrel, or... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Mission and Purpose; Business Processes; Leadership; Consumer Behavior; Leadership Style; Advertising; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Order Taking and Fulfillment