Publications

15 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

In the Virtual Dressing Room Returns Are A Real Problem

Many distinctive aspects of the textile and apparel industries present challenges to implementing electronic commerce. First, and perhaps most important, is the difficulty of accurately characterizing the product online. Many of the... View Details

Keywords: by Jan Hammond & Kristin Kohler; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Manufacturing; Retail

June 2013 (Revised August 2013)
Case

AVA.ph: Growing a Filipino E-Commerce Company

By: William R. Kerr and Henry Motte-Munoz

AVA is a three-year old e-commerce company in the Philippines. From its early start mimicking the Gilt Groupe concept of online flash sales, the company has grown into a broader e-commerce platform for local fashion commerce. Oliver Segovia needs to evaluate where AVA... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Business Growth and Maturation; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Fashion Industry; Fashion Industry; Philippines

05 Nov 2019
Blog Post

Environmental Change and Ground-level Impact

helped him move on to an operations management role at an early-stage battery startup. Tell us a bit about your background before you came to HBS. I studied industrial engineering as an undergrad, and ended up doing a master’s degree in... View Details

October 2020
Case

Michael Phelps: 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay'

By: Boris Groysberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Michael Norris

In 2020, Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 medals in various swimming events, was now retired. As he looked back on his 20+ year athletic career, he considered what had gone into making him the greatest of all time—the highs and lows,... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Talent and Talent Management; Training; Health; Success; Performance Improvement; Personal Development and Career; Family and Family Relationships; Sports; Competition; Sports Industry; United States; Baltimore; Arizona; Sydney; Athens; Beijing; London

February 1990 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Fusion Systems Corp. in Japan (A)

Describes the international business of Fusion Systems Corp., a small high technology American firm, and a five-year patent dispute the company has in Japan with Mitsubishi Electric. Also describes key features of the intellectual property systems in Japan and related... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Conflict and Resolution; Technology Industry; Japan; United States

February 2010
Supplement

Valuing Visa? Priceless (CW)

By: Peter Tufano

Students must determine whether or not Visa, which had an IPO one month prior, is a good investment. The case provides an overview of multisided platform businesses and the payments industry in general. Visa's business model and economics are reviewed. View Details

Keywords: Credit Cards; Initial Public Offering; Valuation; Multi-Sided Platforms; Microeconomics

06 Jan 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Henry A. Kissinger as Negotiator: Background and Key Accomplishments

Keywords: by James Sebenius & Laurence A. Green

July 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Banking on Change: Aligning Culture and Compensation at Morgan Stanley

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This case study was prepared as part of a research project on Culture, Conduct, and Governance in Financial Firms. The objective of this project is to compare and contrast the efforts of U.S. and European banks to induce changes in organization culture in the aftermath... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Corporate Governance; Banks and Banking; United States; Europe

Research Summary

Research Focus of Chris Gordon

Chris Gordon's main area of interest and expertise is the delivery of complex capital projects. These projects can take the form of government sponsored infrastructure projects such as highways and utilities, private real estate development such as commercial and... View Details

April 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Social Strategy at American Express

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and David Chen

American Express has developed a number of strategic partnerships with Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter to improve their card members experience and lower its customer acquisition cost. The case details the history of these partnerships, examines American Express' own... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Social Marketing; Financial Services Industry

02 Feb 2021
Blog Post

Finding My Focus in Health care Amidst a Global Pandemic

can redefine the Health care industry and sparked my interest in exploring how the public and private sectors can work together to improve patient outcomes. With the summer internship search heating up, I am... View Details

January 2014 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)

By: Srikant M. Datar, Anjali Raina and Namrata Arora

Set in 2008, the case details Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) company within the Mahindra Group, an Indian multi-industry company with a diverse stable of businesses including automotives, farm equipment, and financial services, and its decision to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Governance; Computer Industry; India

December 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Flagstar Companies, Inc.

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott

A large restaurant chain undergoes a leveraged buyout and subsequent recapitalization. Financial and operating problems at the company force it to consider various restructuring options, including a "prepackaged" Chapter 11 exchange offer to its public bondholders. A... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; Capital; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Debt Securities; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2014 (Revised February 2016)
Supplement

China Vanke (A-2)

By: Lynn S. Paine, John D. Macomber and Keith Chi-ho Wong

China Vanke's president and his team must decide on a plan of action after reviewing the quality issues the company faced in early 2012 after a series of highly publicized incidents concerning the quality of the homes they built. View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; China; Green Building; Sustainable Development; Asset Management; Leadership; Urban Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Assets; Safety; Real Estate Industry; China

June 1991 (Revised April 1995)
Background Note

Mass Production and the Beginnings of Scientific Management

Examines the coming of mass production (continuous and large-batch processes and those involving fabricating and assembling of interchangeable parts), and relates the beginnings of modern factory management to the needs and opportunities created by the new technology.... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Change Management; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

Web

Resumes & Cover Letters - Alumni

straight chronological manner, but also make it immediately clear you have filled a variety of roles that use different but related skill sets. This is useful to provide a few accomplishments in the beginning to show a theme. Each role... View Details

February 2023
Case

Success Academy Charter Schools

By: Robin Greenwood, Joshua D. Coval, Denise Han, Ruth Page and Dave Habeeb

This stand-alone multimedia case follows the story of Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy, a network of high-performing charter schools in New York City. As a New York City councilor between 1999 and 2006, Moskowitz became frustrated over the inertia and dysfunction in... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Performance Effectiveness; Equality and Inequality; Private Sector; Education Industry; New York (city, NY)

05 Jul 2023
HBS Case

What Kind of Leader Are You? How Three Action Orientations Can Help You Meet the Moment

specific task at hand (e.g., an appreciation for broader market changes, competitor behaviors, or emergent industry trends). Relational. Relational leaders design a plan of action based on how others will... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

August 1995 (Revised January 2007)
Case

The Schneider Building

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

In May 1995, Jonathan Schneider, the president of the Schneider Co., is faced with several related problems. First, he needs to find a new facility that can accommodate his expanding business. Second, he needs to decide whether to lease or purchase this new facility.... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Property; Leasing; Expansion; Real Estate Industry