Publications

May 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Novartis (A): Reimagining Medicine

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Claudio Feser, Karolin Frankenberger and David Redaschi

This case unfolds around the first-ever approved personalized cancer treatment, how Novartis wrapped it into a new business model design, and how Novartis scaled it. Novartis — one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world — is, among other ventures,... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Leadership; Pharmaceutical Industry; Switzerland

July 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Property Finder's Strategy for Online Classifieds in the MENA Region

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Gamze Yucaoglu and Fares Khrais

The case opens in 2020 as Michael Lahyani, founder and CEO of Property Finder, Dubai’s leading online real estate classifieds portal, contemplates the company’s five-year growth strategy.
Since its founding in 2005 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Property... View Details

Keywords: General Business; Real Estate; Entrepreneurship; Property; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Growth Management; Online Technology; Real Estate Industry; Technology Industry; United Arab Emirates; Saudi Arabia; Egypt; Turkey

May 2024
Case

Shell's Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Portfolio Analysis; Climate; Oil; Oil And Gas; Oil Companies; Renewables; Petroleum; Investor Demand; Investors; Corporate Strategy; Resource Allocation; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

2022
Case

Interface: The Journey Toward Carbon Negative

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Interface has been a leading innovator in the carpet industry, specializing in the manufacturing of carpet tiles for commercial flooring. This case describes the history, context, and technology behind the company's development of its newest sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Innovation and Invention; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Accounting

6 Jul 2021
Interview

Best Buy's Hubert Joly on Walking the Talk of Stakeholder Capitalism

By: Hubert Joly and Alison Beard

Hubert Joly, former chairman and CEO of Best Buy, says that now is the time for companies to get serious about operating to benefit not just shareholders but also employees, customers and broader society. In the face of environmental crisis, racial turmoil, and rising... View Details

Keywords: Stakeholder Capitalism; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Mission and Purpose; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

November 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Royal Philips: Designing Toward Profound Change

By: Srikant M. Datar, Rajiv Lal and Caitlin N. Bowler

This case explores Royal Philips CEO Frans van Houten's bold use of design research to inform a critical strategic decision: Should Philips leave its storied lighting business behind in favor of complete focus on health technology and consumer lifestyle products?... View Details

Keywords: Design Research; Health Technology; Innovation; Design; Research; Decision Choices and Conditions; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2012, Hennes & Maurtiz (H&M) was the second-largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. Sales for fiscal 2012 were $18.1 billion and operating profits were $3.3 billion. H&M operated 2,776 stores, 93% of them outside its home base of Sweden. Over the past... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Decision Making; Strategy; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Fashion Industry; Europe; Sweden

February 2000
Case

E2M Health Services

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Naomi Atkins

Outlines the growth of an innovative diabetes disease management organization from 1994-99. Having demonstrated the success of their model in managing diabetes populations in Texas and New York State, the CEO and president must decide the future strategy of the company... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Markets; Revenue; Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Internet; Health Industry

24 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 24

selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many inside and outside the bank. Sharma changed the bank's hierarchical culture, strengthened the core team by appointing new... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

29 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

Superstar talent brings the kind of wattage that can power a business to the next level, as recent high-stakes decisions facing soccer legend David Beckham show. Two new Harvard Business School case studies examine the questions Beckham... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

02 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating in Three Dimensions

your agent may not be enough. For example, top executive pay attorney Joe Bachelder once took his client aside after the first negotiating session. The board had selected his client to be its next CEO and was working out his compensation... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

04 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

When Founders Recruit Friends and Family as Investors

Editor's note: Seasoned entrepreneurs know that a great idea for a new company is no guarantee of a successful exit. Startups fail more often than not, largely due to hubris-fueled mistakes by an inexperienced founding team. Alas, the... View Details

Keywords: by Noam Wasserman

19 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Rupert Murdoch and the Seeds of Moral Hazard

The News Corporation/News of the World scandal has been described as a case study in bad management. What was there about the company's organizational culture that led to "Murdoch's Mess"? Professor Michel Anteby, who studies... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Journalism & News; Journalism & News

22 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 22

Their challenge had been finding the capital to finance the new ventures rather than the brand. Since 2005, Branson was dedicating more and more time to a charitable organization, Virgin Unite, and had appointed Stephen Murphy the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Oct 2010
HBS Case

Tesco’s Stumble into the US Market

poses its own obstacles for multinationals entering new geographies. Your recent case on Tesco highlights challenges faced by companies coming to do business in the United States. Tell us about the initial strategy to conquer the United... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

20 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 20

case study of a multinational firm in the biotechnology sector to illustrate how the core-periphery framework works in multiple emerging markets across institutional differences. The analysis is based on 32 interviews conducted with the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Program

The HR-Executive Suite Connection

compete, grow, and thrive. Details Become your organization's top resource for human capital strategy Apply your human capital insights to discussions about strategic opportunities, differentiated capabilities, and competitive threats Find View Details

January 20, 2020
Article

Larry Fink Isn't Going to Read Your Sustainability Report

By: Mark R. Kramer

In his recent annual letter to CEOs, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink makes the stunning claim that climate change has brought us to “the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance” and “in the near future … a significant reallocation of capital.” BlackRock has committed to... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business Model; Investment

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October 2019
Case

Engaging the Nationwide Workforce

By: Ethan S. Bernstein, Jessica Gover and Sarah Mehta

Nationwide is “on your side,” but did employees feel that way? CAO Gale King and CEO Steve Rasmussen, starting in 2008, invested heavily in a human capital strategy centered around “engagement” at the Ohio-based Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Set in 2014, this... View Details