Publications

Educators

November 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Background Note

Customer Visits for Entrepreneurs

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Provides practical guidelines for conducting customer visits to explore and validate demand for an entrepreneurial offering. Reviews conditions under which visits will yield superior insights, compared to other research methods. Describes criteria for selecting visit... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Entrepreneurship

Educators

March 1991 (Revised January 1993)
Background Note

Why Do Good Managers Choose Poor Strategies?

The uncertainty and complexity of most business environments make successful management a difficult art. Frequently, bright, experienced, well-educated people manage their companies into strategic distress. Many of these bad results are not simply a matter of bad luck.... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Prejudice and Bias; Business Strategy; Cognition and Thinking

Educators

06 Oct 2014
News

Tom Brady's Demise Was Greatly Exaggerated

Andy Zelleke

Andy Zelleke is the MBA Class of 1962 Senior Lecturer of Business Administration. A member of the General Management unit, he is the Faculty Chair of HBS’ Middle East & North Africa Research Center.

Since Spring 2021, Dr. Zelleke has taught “Unpacking... View Details

Keywords: federal government; professional services; defense; financial services

Program

Foundations of Private Equity and Venture Capital

Summary Raising private capital can be a daunting process, especially for new entrants in the sector. Foundations of Private Equity and Venture Capital delves into the fundamental challenges and best practices for successfully raising a... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance

Web

Positions - Faculty & Research

candidate should have a strong interest in the concerns of practicing managers and excellent communication skills. The ideal candidate will conduct research influencing both academics and practitioners. The position entails case method... View Details

05 Feb 2024
What Do You Think?

How Do You Hire for Attitude?

to what is often referred to as “fit” with the organization. There are two other indicators that I observed being put into practice last month during a case-writing trip to a well-known gourmet restaurant in California wine country. This... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

July–August 2014
Article

Sustainability in the Boardroom: Lessons from Nike's Playbook

By: Lynn S. Paine

One surprising role of Nike's corporate responsibility committee is to provide support for innovation. More and more companies recognize the importance of corporate responsibility to their long-term success—and yet the matter gets short shrift in most boardrooms,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

Research Summary

Experiential Learning and Knowledge Mentors

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

Dorothy Leonard’s research on innovation and knowledge transfer has always emphasized learning by doing. During the past several years, she has been exploring how organizations can foster faster skills learning. While there are generational differences in... View Details

September 1990 (Revised April 1993)
Case

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Following the company's purchase as a part of a leveraged buyout, the new management team of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. had to decide what to do about the build-up of excess inventory of its independent wholesale customers. The case introduces students to the problems... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Customer Satisfaction; Business or Company Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Consumer Products Industry

09 Dec 2016
Video

Digital Innovation and Transformation: Goggles Not Required

2018
Interviews

Flora Taylor, Zachary Green, and Diane Forbes Berthoud take us beyond rhetoric at the 2018 Gender & Work Symposium

Products to Platforms: Making the Leap

Following the path of companies such as Apple and Amazon, more and more firms are trying to become not just product purveyors but also platform providers, facilitating direct connections between customers and other groups. Although launching a platform can... View Details

October 2008
Article

Evaluating the CEO

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. After Kaufman became a CEO, he was struck by how perfunctory the board was in its... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives

Career Coach

Kristin Brennan

Kristin (Duke ’03) applies her background as a management consultant, nonprofit Chief Talent Officer and negotiation strategist to her work helping students and alumni chart a course for their career and take the practical steps to... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise

2022
Book

Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies

By: Ranjay Gulati

This book offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Culture

July 2005
Article

Price Improvement in Dealership Markets

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

Price improvement refers to the practice whereby dealers order executions that improve on quoted prices. Why are these improvements given? Standard thinking is that competition causes dealers to give better prices to customers with less information. This paper... View Details

Keywords: Price; Markets; Competition; Information; Customers; Negotiation; Mission and Purpose; Practice; Theory; Performance Improvement; Bids and Bidding; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms