Publications

25 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

How SHEIN and Temu Conquered Fast Fashion—and Forged a New Business Model

demographics, first in the US and later throughout much of the world. The other face of the platform looks toward a wide network of 6,000 of those once-struggling small clothing factories in China. In this way, SHEIN acts as the... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Fashion; Retail; Consumer Products

20 Nov 2017
Blog Post

A Summer Internship with the International Rescue Committee

professionals network of the International Rescue Committee, dubbed “GenR”. I joined the community on a whim, but as I learned more about the work that the IRC did, including visiting their field station in Cote D’Ivoire, I grew more... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

Program

Disruptive Innovation

Implementing a strategy of low-cost positioning Scaling fast to take advantage of network effects Outsourcing activities that are not your current core competence Sourcing new leaders from inside the firm Expand your personal and... View Details

June 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Exchange-Traded Funds at Vanguard (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Steven Vickers

Vanguard Group management, led by CEO John Brennan, was considering whether to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in early 2000. ETFs, first created in the early 1990s, combined aspects of traditional mutual funds and closed-end funds. The US ETF industry had reached... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Market Entry and Exit; Network Effects; Profit; Business and Shareholder Relations; Product Launch; Asset Management; Distribution Channels; Ownership; Financial Services Industry; United States

August 2019
Case

Creating Accountability in Afghanistan

By: Jonas Heese, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos, Eugene F. Soltes and Grace Liu

By early 2019, the United States had contributed $132 billion to the Afghan reconstruction. John Sopko, in his role as the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR), was in charge of providing accountability for U.S. aid funding. Sopko’s oversight... View Details

Keywords: Auditing; Fraud; Accountability; Crime and Corruption; Law Enforcement; Governance; Infrastructure; Information; Networks; Strategy; Afghanistan

04 Feb 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Markets with Price Coherence

Keywords: by Benjamin Edelman & Julian Wright

September 2015 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Wanda Studios Qingdao

By: Henry McGee and Willy Shih

Wang Jianlin, founder and Chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group (Wanda), kept close tabs on one of his flagship projects going up on the shores of the Yellow Sea. There construction was underway on Wanda Studios Qingdao, the largest film and production facility in the... View Details

Keywords: Dalian Wanda Group; AMC Entertainment; Wang Jianlin; Movie Industry; Vertical Specialization; Film; Film Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Entertainment; Vertical Integration; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; China; United States

August 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Tower Software

Tower Software (TS) is a publicly traded corporation engaged in multiple facets of the computer software business. Its flagship product, TS SERVE, is a successful proprietary network operating system. TS also develops and sells applications software for word... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Product Launch; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

February 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Background Note

Leader's (Dis)Advantage, The

Provides a rigorous description of the economic dynamics that may produce inherent advantages for large and/or first-mover firms within an industry, as well as those factors that may result in disadvantages for such leading firms. The leader advantages discussed... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Semiconductor Industry

January 2012 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Hengdeli: The Art of Coexistence

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2011, Zhang Yuping, founder and chairman of Hengdeli, the largest Swiss watch retailer in the world, wondered how to work more closely with its key suppliers—Swatch Group, Richemont Group, LVMH Group, and Rolex Group—to maintain strong growth in the Greater... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; China

2009
Working Paper

Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What to Do About It

By: Benjamin Edelman

The Internet's current numbering system is nearing exhaustion: Existing protocols allow only a finite set of computer numbers ("IP addresses"), and central authorities will soon deplete their supply. I evaluate a series of possible responses to this shortage: Sharing... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Resource Allocation; Market Transactions; Internet; Technology Networks; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry

Read Now

February 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Atheros Communications

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Managers at Atheros, a leading provider of wireless local area network chipsets, must decide whether to join a special interest group (SIG) proposed by Intel to end an impasse over standards for the 802.11n (11n), the next generation of "Wi-Fi" technology. Two factions... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Standards; Wireless Technology; Semiconductor Industry; United States

18 Apr 2011
News

Harvard Business School Announces New Leadership Fellows

21 Dec 2020
News

Why middle managers are feeling the most stressed out during COVID

18–19 Nov 2022
HBS Alumni Events

D^3 Catalyst: Building AI Companies

The Building AI Companies D^3 Catalyst Program is focused on the opportunities and challenges created by the digital transformation of our economy, and the emergence of digital networks and artificial intelligence (AI) as a foundation of the modern organization - both... View Details

December 2022
Case

Mission Produce in 2022

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Founded by CEO Steve Barnard in 1983, California-based Mission Produce was a leading supplier of Hass avocados with a global sourcing, marketing, and distribution network and $892 million in 2021 sales. Barnard had been influential in the global avocado trade’s... View Details

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; California; Peru; Guatemala; Colombia; Mexico; Chile

December 2008
Article

Which Kind of Collaboration Is Right for You?

By: Roberto Verganti and Gary P. Pisano

Nowadays, virtually no companies innovate alone. Firms team up with a variety of partners, in a wide number of ways, to create new technologies, products, and services. But what is the best way to leverage the power of outsiders? To help executives answer that... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Framework; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy