Publications

July 2014 (Revised December 2016)
Case

EcoMotors International

By: John D. Macomber and Hermes Alvarez

Eco-Motors, funded in part by Khosla Ventures, has to decide how to go to market with a new technology for internal combustion engines for automotive and industrial use. The OPOC engine has opposed pistons and is a two-stroke engine, as compared to a more traditional... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Engineering; Manufacturing Industry; Green Technology Industry; Auto Industry

December 2024
Article

Coordinating the Energy Transition: Electrifying Transportation in California and Germany

By: Nicholas Goedeking and Jonas Meckling

California and Germany share ambitious emission reduction targets. Yet California is ahead of Germany in electrifying transportation by several metrics, including the number of public charging stations. We show that variation in the politics of coordination in... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Coordination; Technology Adoption; Infrastructure; Transportation; Government and Politics; Energy; Utilities Industry; Germany; California

Read Now

26 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Learning from Failed Political Leadership

people's minds. This book takes a long look ahead—yes, the future can and must be envisaged, and it can be done well—and devises a strategy based on what is to come, not what is past. Business leaders must be able to predict the changing dynamics between View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 05 Oct 2016
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Negotiating the Impossible: Break Deadlocks and Resolve Conflicts (without Money or Muscle)

Some negotiations are easy. Others are more difficult. And then there are situations that seem completely hopeless. Conflict is escalating, people are getting aggressive, and no one is willing to back down. To top it off, you have little power or other resources with... View Details

10 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Long-Tail Economics? Give Me Blockbusters!

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge. The importance of blockbusters has been challenged recently by Chris... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Entertainment & Recreation; Pharmaceutical

December 2007 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Xanadu on Broadway

By: Anita Elberse

Can one of Hollywood's biggest flops magically turn into a Broadway hit? Xanadu, an adaptation of a 1980 Olivia Newton-John roller-disco film described by one critic as "the epic failure to end all epic failures," opened on Broadway in July 2007. Producer Rob Ahrens,... View Details

Keywords: Theater Entertainment; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Demand and Consumers; Risk and Uncertainty; Creativity; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

August 1984 (Revised June 1986)
Case

Cray Research, Inc.

By: Francis Aguilar

Cray Research faces several management problems as a result of rapid growth and the need for continued growth. Issues to be discussed include 1) whether Cray should be a marketing or a technology company; 2) new and powerful competition; 3) products to offer as Cray... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Growth Management; Product Marketing

25 Aug 2015
News

What To Expect From The Economic Deceleration In China

17 Jun 2015
News

Why Democrats should back Obama on TPP

07 Dec 2017
News

Can Index Funds Be a Force for Sustainable Capitalism?

14 Sep 2017
News

Political failure through a business lens

12 Feb 2015
Video

Carrying the (Olympic) Torch for Women's Sports

10 Jul 2019
News

Leadership Lessons From The Moon Landing

Research Summary

Research on Small Groups

Professor George recently completed a three-year study of small groups, in conjunction with Douglas M. Baker and Jane L. Cavanaugh. The output of this research was published as part of his new book, True North Groups: A Powerful Path to Personal and Leadership... View Details

January 2015
Case

Cresud and Argentina

By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman

Argentina-based Cresud managed 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land in South America. For 20 years, the publicly traded company's strategy had been to acquire underutilized properties and turn them into productive farmland for cattle and crops. In 2014,... View Details

Keywords: Argentina; Farmland Ownership; Farming; Government Agricultural Policy; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Argentina; South America

September 1988
Case

Skil Corp.

By: Michael E. Porter

The portable electric power tool market in the United States was approximately $1.1 billion in 1979. There were about a dozen manufacturers competing in the U.S. market, of which five were U.S. companies. Skil was the third largest U.S. competitor. Skil was acquired by... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Competitive Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Emerging Markets; United States