Publications

January 2001
Background Note

Country Analysis in a "Global Village"

By: Bruce R. Scott

Substantially rewritten to establish the relevance of countries in the global context. It does so in terms of their differing economic performance in recent decades, and also by contrasting those that have "converged" toward the rich country norm (as theory would... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Economies and Regions; Macroeconomics; Trade; Business Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Industry Growth; Currency; Policy; Development Economics

21 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Firms Use Non-Linear Incentive Schemes? Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Overconfidence

Keywords: by Ian Larkin & Stephen Leider

December 2014 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (A)

By: Willy Shih

When Dalian Wanda Group of China announced its plan to acquire the AMC Entertainment theatrical exhibition chain in the United States, many people in the U.S. were mystified. Unlike China where theatrical exhibition was experiencing rapid growth, the U.S. market was... View Details

Keywords: Dalian Wanda Group; AMC Entertainment; Wang Jianlin; Theater Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Foreign Direct Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; China; United States

October 2016 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Misaki Capital and Sangetsu Corporation

By: Ian Gow, Charles C.Y. Wang, Naoko Jinjo and Nobuo Sato

Japan’s corporate culture has traditionally prioritized the interests of stakeholders such as customers, employees, and suppliers over those of shareholders. After a decades-long economic slump, Japan’s government has revitalized efforts to improve corporate governance... View Details

Keywords: Activist Investing; Constructivist Investing; Japan; Valuation; Stock Screens; Return On Equity; Investment; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Financial Strategy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Japan

July 2005 (Revised September 2016)
Case

24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2004, Mark S. Mastrov, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, reflected on how far his company had come in just over 20 years. From humble beginnings in 1983 in San Leandro, California, 24 Hour Fitness had grown to become the largest privately-owned health-club chain in... View Details

Keywords: 24 Hour Fitness; Mark Mastrov; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Sales Force Compensation; Incentive Systems; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Private Equity; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Operations; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Capital Structure; Performance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

01 Sep 2023
News

Solving for Z

positions for every job seeker, resulting in significant labor shortages in sectors ranging from business services to manufacturing. Gen Zers, meanwhile, will comprise approximately one-third of the workforce by 2025. And they are... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; Illustrations by Doug Chayka; Administration of Human Resource Programs; Government

Web

Executive Education - Global

Executive Education For nearly 75 years, Harvard Business School Executive Education has been fulfilling its mission of educating leaders who shape the practice of business and innovation around the world.... View Details

September 2016
Case

Hotel Vertu: Financing the Venture in the Boutique Hotel Industry

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts

Two recent MBA graduates are considering a business opportunity in the boutique hotel industry. Having found a seemingly attractive property in Savannah, Georgia, Yvonne D'Arcy and Elisabeth Whiting face questions about financing, deal structure, and unequal power... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Accommodations Industry

23 Jul 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Balanced Scorecard in Action

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered How does the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) improve corporate governance? Does... View Details

12 Apr 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Productivity Suffers When Employees Are Allowed to Schedule Their Own Tasks

an associate professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. The study will appear in a forthcoming issue of Management Science. The researchers set out to answer two questions: One, what drives workers to deviate from an employer’s task... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

2009
Working Paper

Taking a 'Deep Dive': What Only a Top Leader Can Do

By: Howard H. Yu and Joseph L. Bower

Unlike most historical accounts of strategic change inside large firms, empirical research on strategic management rarely uses the day-to-day behaviors of top executives as the unit of analysis. By examining the resource allocation process closely, we introduce the... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure

SSRN

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22 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Earth Day: Recent Research on Sustainability

Recent articles have looked at research into the history, efficacy, and social responsibility found at the intersection of business and the environment. Here is a sample of some of the latest work from the School. How CEOs Sustain... View Details

2010
Working Paper

Multinational Strategies and Developing Countries in Historical Perspective

By: Geoffrey Jones

This working paper offers a longitudinal and descriptive analysis of the strategies of multinationals from developed countries in developing countries. The central argument is that strategies were shaped by the trade-off between opportunity and risk. Three broad... View Details

Keywords: History; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Business and Government Relations

Read Now

Web

Profiles - MBA

J.P. Morgan's new sustainable investing growth fund, focused on startups with Climate Tech. The simultaneous exposure to daily calls with founders and formal investment committee meetings painted a holistic picture of the entrepreneurial ecosystem — and the synergy... View Details

2011
Working Paper

The Impact of Horizontal Mergers and Acquisitions in Price Competition Models

The question of what impact mergers and acquisitions have on key equilibrium performance measures is fundamental to our understanding of competitive dynamics in an oligopolistic industry. We address these questions in the context of price competition models with... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Cost; Price; Profit; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Performance Efficiency; Mathematical Methods; Competition

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09 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Uncompromising Leadership in Tough Times

that avoids liquidation of human and cultural assets." The book looks broadly at what it takes to build a high commitment, high performance (HCHP) system inside companies. It asks and answers questions such as: What outcomes must... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

18 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

What Your Non-Binary Employees Need to Do Their Best Work

[research] hasn’t included everyone,” says Coffman, the Piramal Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. A 2021 Williams Institute study found that about 1.2 million people... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

March 2019 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Fetchr: A New Way of Last Mile Delivery

By: V.G. Narayanan and Eren Kuzucu

By mid-2016, five years of aggressive growth had transformed Fetchr from a small logistics startup to a 1,000-employee, full-fledged last-mile delivery company operating across four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Already beneficiaries of the... View Details