Publications

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MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences | MBA

new drug discoveries and therapeutics. The program is completed over two academic years, utilizing January terms and time in August at the start of the program. The curriculum emphasizes developing effective business View Details

January 2022
Case

Somatus: Value-Based Kidney Care (A)

By: Ariel D. Stern, Robert S. Huckman and Sarah Mehta

When Dr. Ikenna Okezie founded Somatus, a value-based kidney care provider, his goal had been nothing short of transforming kidney care delivery in the United States. Rather than relying on dialysis, a costly and intensive treatment for late-stage kidney disease, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Medical Specialties; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Management; Strategy; Business Strategy; Value; Value Creation; Health Industry; United States; Virginia

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—India

Summary India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. To seize opportunities and sustain success under shifting global business conditions, companies need executives who are exceptional leaders—confident... View Details

12 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 12, 2008

Amazon.com: The Brink of Bankruptcy Harvard Business School Case 809-014 Enables a thorough analysis of the Amazon.com business model and its evolution from 1994 to 2001. The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

How can General Managers Contribute to IT Success?

US companies are currently spending approximately 5% of their revenue on information technology (IT) each year. Over half of this investment goes to IT intended to change business processes, either within a single enterprise or across several. Hovewer, 30-75% of... View Details

Article

How Direct-to-Consumer Brands Can Continue to Grow

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Daniel Corsten, Matt Higgins and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands such as Allbirds, Casper, Peloton, and Warby Parker have creatively found a weakness in the marketing citadel of incumbent brands. By using data gleaned from daily interactions with customers, these brands have been able to adapt how... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Customer Journey; Business Model; Customer Relationship Management; Growth and Development Strategy

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Research Summary

Quality in Service Operations

Rogelio Oliva is interested in understanding how the operational characteristics of service delivery processes interact with human resource and marketing policies to determine the long term productivity, quality, and profitability of a service operation. Specifically,... View Details

October 2017
Case

Shift Technologies, Inc.

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2017, management at Shift, an online marketplace that uses a “high touch,” concierge approach to buy and sell used cars, was formulating plans for the San Francisco–based startup’s next phase of expansion. One option was to preserve Shift’s current business model... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States

17 Nov 2020
News

High skills freelance economy surges as digital talent platforms help build new on-demand workforce.

09 Apr 2025
HBS Seminar

Marc Rysman, Boston University

July 2018
Case

LIXIL Group Corporation: Building a New Company in an Old Industry

By: Boris Groysberg and Akiko Kanno

In the spring of 2018, Kinya Seto, president and CEO of LIXIL Group Corporation, a major housing and building products and services company, called a meeting at the company’s head office in central Tokyo to discuss how to implement the new three-year strategic plan.... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Leadership And Change Management; Consolidation; Change Management; Leadership; Global Strategy; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

17 Oct 2023
HBS Case

With Subscription Fatigue Setting In, Companies Need to Think Hard About Fees

to consumers’ reluctance to change vendors, and the ability to sell more products to this seemingly captive group. “A lot of startups are incorporating subscription models into their business plans, partly... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Consumer Products; Information; Information Technology

February 2019
Teaching Note

Haier in the U.S.: Transforming GE Appliances

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Chinese appliance company Haier's 2016 acquisition of iconic GE Appliances ushered in strategic and structural changes to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship at the U.S. company, and to help it grow. Haier, which had a model designed to bring the company closer... View Details

Keywords: Iconic Brands; Appliances; Digital; Innovation; Entrepreneur; Microenterprise; Management; Entrepreneurship; Transformation; Innovation and Management; Acquisition; Consumer Products Industry; United States; China

April 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Adobe: GenAI Opportunity or Threat?

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Allison Ciechanover

In December 2022, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen faced a pivotal strategic decision due to the rapid rise of generative AI image models from OpenAI, Midjourney, and StabilityAI. Adobe, a leader in digital media and marketing software with a 40-year legacy of innovation and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Ethics; AI and Machine Learning; Trust; Business Strategy; Technology Industry; San Jose

February 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Background Note

China Commerce 2020

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and Nathaniel Schwalb

China's digital commerce platforms engage billions of consumers daily across a number of routine tasks from banking, retail purchases, travel, gaming, payments, and more. These platforms are the most sophisticated/informed and highest performing/capable in the world.... View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Strategy; Leadership; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; China

September 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Sobha Group Real Estate: Backward Integration for Quality

By: John Macomber and Alpana Thapar

From humble beginnings in Kerala, India, Mr. PNC Menon built a reputation for quality, detail, and trustworthiness, earning him major construction commissions in the Gulf region. This paved the way for venturing into real estate development in Dubai, UAE. Striving to... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Backward Integration; Land Acquisition; Raising Capital; Construction; Family Business; Decision Making; Joint Ventures; Quality; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; India; Middle East; Dubai

July 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Propel

By: Mitchell Weiss and Sarah McAra

In 2014, Jimmy Chen, a former product manager at Facebook, founded the start-up Propel to build software for low-income Americans. After conducting in-depth behavioral research, Chen and his small team in New York City began to develop technology to address the... View Details

July 2020
Article

Who Should Select New Employees, Headquarters or the Unit Manager? Consequences of Centralizing Hiring at a Retail Chain

By: Carolyn Deller and Tatiana Sandino

We examine how changing the allocation of hiring decision rights in a multiunit organization affects employee-firm match quality, contingent on a unit’s circumstances. Our research site, a U.S. retail chain, switched from a decentralized hiring model (hiring by... View Details

Keywords: Control; Selection; Decentralization; Company Values; Retail Chains; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Local Range; Business Headquarters; Decision Making