Publications

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October 2009 (Revised July 2010)
Case

Roshan: Light at the end of the tunnel in Afghanistan

By: Herman B. Leonard and Qahir Dhanani

Roshan is a highly successful telecommunications company founded by the Aga Khan fund for economic development in Afghanistan during an ongoing civil conflict. Company leaders must now decide financial and market strategy for the next phase of development of the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Financial Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; War; Telecommunications Industry; Afghanistan

July 2020
Article

Tell It Like It Is: When Politically Incorrect Language Promotes Authenticity

By: J. Schroeder, M. Rosenblum and F. Gino

When a person’s language appears political—such as being politically correct or incorrect—it can influence fundamental impressions of him or her. Political correctness is “using language or behavior to seem sensitive to others’ feelings, especially those others who... View Details

Keywords: Language; Interpersonal Communication; Perception

December 2013
Article

Legislating Stock Prices

By: Lauren Cohen, Karl Diether and Christopher Malloy

We demonstrate that legislation has a simple, yet previously undetected impact on stock prices. Exploiting the voting record of legislators whose constituents are the affected industries, we show that the votes of these "interested" legislators capture important... View Details

Keywords: Legislator Incentives; Voting; Return Predictability; Lobbying; Motivation and Incentives; Government Legislation; Stocks

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October 2010 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Polyface: The Farm of Many Faces

By: Deishin Lee and Stephanie van Sice

This case explores a method of value creation through exploiting synergies that exist in an environment where there is diversity. The context of the case is a farm where biodiversity is leveraged to create value. This is contrasted to industrial farming, which operates... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Product Development; Production; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

July 2007
Case

Kroger Union Negotiations 2005

By: Dennis A. Yao and Mary L. Shelman

A stylized version of the negotiations between Kroger Company and its local unions during 2005. Management faces a sequence of individual negotiations with local unions in addition to meeting the new competitive challenges presented by Wal-Mart's expansion in the... View Details

Keywords: Labor and Management Relations; Labor Unions; Reputation; Wages; Management; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Style; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

06 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Renewable Energy: Winds at Our Back?

When American energy entrepreneur Jim Gordon envisioned the first offshore wind farm lining the horizon a few miles off the coast of the eastern United States, he perhaps did not factor in blowback from almost every angle. Gordon's nearly 10-year battle to gain... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

March 2023
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-069. On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth... View Details

Article

Health as a Way of Doing Business

By: Howard Koh, Sara J. Singer and Amy C. Edmondson

For too long, the worlds of business and health have been mired in a checkered, sometimes contentious, history. Millions of deaths worldwide can be attributed to risk factors including tobacco use, alcohol and drug misuse, and suboptimal dietary intake linked to... View Details

Keywords: Health; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Public Opinion

August 2009
Article

The Reality and Myth of Sacred Issues in Negotiations

By: A. E. Tenbrunsel, K A. Wade-Benzoni, V. H. Medvec, L. Thompson and M. H. Bazerman

This paper investigates the role of sacred issues in a dyadic negotiation set in an environmental context. As predicted, when negotiators focus on sacred issues, this negatively impacts the negotiation, producing more impasses, lower joint outcomes, and more negative... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Conflict of Interests; Perception; Cooperation

January 2015 (Revised November 2016)
Case

La Martina: Leveraging Polo's Luxury Lifestyle

By: Anat Keinan, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Sandrine Crener

Founded in 1984 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, La Martina has grown from a high-end polo equipment company into a global fashion brand with operations in 56 countries. Polo, which is not only a sport but also a way of life, is at the core of the brand DNA. Polo is a... View Details

01 Jul 2009
Working Paper Summaries

File-Sharing and Copyright

Keywords: by Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Koleman Strumpf; Technology; Entertainment & Recreation

18 Feb 2020
Working Paper Summaries

A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts

Keywords: by George Serafeim, Katie Trinh, and Robert Zochowski

January 1996
Background Note

National Cultures and Work-Related Values: The Hofstede Study

People from different national cultures often operate under different assumptions about what is appropriate behavior. In organizational settings, these cultural differences in underlying assumptions can significantly affect interactions when individuals from various... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Organizations; Attitudes; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Computer Industry

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

changing elements of our social interaction in unprecedented ways that may well lead to irrevocable social changes. Already, the follow-on effects of the virus are enough to ensure there will be no normal to... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

2023
Working Paper

The Politics of Philanthropy in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper looks historically at business philanthropy in China. In the West, the literature has distinguished between entrepreneurial and customary philanthropy, while the phenomenon of spiritual philanthropy has been identified in many emerging markets. This... View Details

Keywords: China; Philanthropy; Ethics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Moral Sensibility; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Economic Systems; Economic Sectors; China

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24 Sep 2015
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

Nancy Huang (HBS ’96), Director of Outreach, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Describe your organization in three to five sentences. The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is a global venture philanthropy firm supporting early stage, high View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

February 2021 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Walt Disney: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Walt Disney, founder of the worldwide entertainment company. The case describes how Disney, as a young artist, created memorable figures such as Mickey Mouse and went on to produce Academy-award-winning films and build the world’s most... View Details

Keywords: Creativity Teams; Entertainment Industry; Family; Entertainment; Creativity; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Success; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

2016
Book

Building a Culture of Health: A New Imperative for Business

By: John A. Quelch and Emily C. Boudreau

This ambitious volume sets out to understand how every company impacts public health and introduces a robust model, rooted in organizational and scientific knowledge, for companies committed to making positive contributions to health and wellness. Focusing on four... View Details

Keywords: Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health