Publications

April 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Willy Jacobsohn and Beiersdorf: Managing Expropriation and Anti-Semitism

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Christina Lubinski

This case examines the management of home and host country risk by Beiersdorf during the interwar years. It can be used both in business history courses and more generally to teach political risk management by multinational corporations. Beiersdorf, a German personal... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; War; Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Global Strategy; Ownership; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Consumer Products Industry; Germany

02 Feb 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Mobile Money: The Effect of Service Quality and Competition on Demand

Keywords: by Karthik Balasubramanian & David F. Drake; Banking

13 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

The Case Against Racial Colorblindness

needed minority officers who were college graduates to lead their diverse enlistees," Norton says. "Statements like these help to reframe the general notion of why developing effective strategies for... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

breakthrough performance from those that tried it but never delivered the results? When Bob McCool became head of Mobil NAM&R in 1992, he made it clear that the performance of the past was not acceptable; things had to change. Working with his leadership team, he... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

June 1999
Supplement

Conversation with Donna Dubinsky, A (Video)

Donna Dubinsky, president and CEO of Handspring, Inc. and former president of Palm Computing, speaks about her career. Topics include: early mentors, strategies for building and maintaining business and personal relationships, developing her personal style and... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career

January–February 2014
Other Article

Barriers to Health Care Innovation: Regina Herzlinger Warns That Innovators Need to Know What Obstacles They Face and How to Overcome Them

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Health care in the United States and in most other developed countries is ailing, says Regina E. Herzlinger. A chaired professor of business administration specializing in health care at Harvard Business School, Herzlinger says that although the world has witnessed... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Healthcare IT; Innovation; Health Care and Treatment; Health; Information Technology; Innovation and Invention; Health Industry; Technology Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

16 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Are You a Strategist?

exaggerated emphasis on sustainable competitive advantage has drawn attention away from the fact that strategy must be a dynamic tool for guiding the development of a company over time. "Strategy has become... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

February 1985 (Revised September 1988)
Case

Komatsu Ltd.

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Reviews and updates the structure and characteristics of the earth-moving equipment industry presented in the companion case, Caterpillar Tractor Co. After revealing that CAT has suffered major financial losses during the period from 1981 through 1984, the case... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Machinery and Machining; Price; Growth and Development; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Production; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Industrial Products Industry

December 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

FIRA: Confronting the Mexican Agricultural Crisis

By: James E. Austin, Michael Chu and Cate Reavis

In fall 2003, Mexico's agriculture sector was facing a crisis brought on largely by a surge in cheap U.S. imports resulting from NAFTA and inaccessible and/or expensive terms of credit for Mexican agricultural producers. It was getting harder for Mexican producers to... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Public Sector; Trade; Financial Instruments; Crisis Management; Markets; Strategic Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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May 1999 (Revised December 2003)
Case

European Monetary Union

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Sabina M. Ciminero

On January 1, 1999, 11 European countries unified their currencies--48 years after their first integrative efforts. This marks a huge development in the structure of Europe and the world's economy. This case examines the integrative process, the Single Europe Act and... View Details

Keywords: Money; Currency; Globalized Economies and Regions; Markets; International Relations; Alliances; System; Integration; Macroeconomics; Business and Government Relations; European Union

June 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max?

By: William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case describes the development of the Boeing 737 Max airplane model and the events leading up to two tragic plane crashes, in which a total of 346 people died: the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29, 2018, in Indonesia, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Communication Strategy; Forms of Communication; Announcements; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Globalization; Global Strategy; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Systems; Risk Management; Time Management; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Digital Platforms; Supply and Industry; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Industry Structures; Operations; Product Development; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Outcome or Result; Failure; Success; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Strategy; Transportation; Air Transportation; Aerospace Industry; Air Transportation Industry; Africa; Ethiopia; Asia; Indonesia; North and Central America; United States; Seattle; Chicago

February 1984 (Revised February 1986)
Case

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.: Titanium Dioxide

By: W. Carl Kester, Robert R. Glauber, David W. Mullins Jr. and Stacy S. Dick

Disequilibrium in the $350 million TiO2 market has prompted Du Pont's Pigments Department to develop two strategies for competing in this market in the future. The growth strategy has a smaller internal rate of return than the alternative strategy due to large capital... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Projects; Chemical Industry

03 May 2016
Blog Post

Working With Organizations That Recruit at HBS: An Interview with Renee Pappastratis

Tell us about your role at HBS. As a Recruiting Relations Manager in Career and Professional Development, I engage daily with organizations looking to develop and refine their recruiting strategy at HBS. The... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Consumer Products / Retail

October 1992 (Revised September 1996)
Case

McDonald's Corporation

By: David M. Upton and Joshua D. Margolis

McDonald's has over many years built an operating strategy based on consistency and quality through a limited product range. Competitive forces have drawn the company into a much wider variety of foods and services in order to maintain growth. Now, new competitors... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Problems and Challenges; Environmental Sustainability; Quality; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Integration; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Srikant M. Datar became the eleventh dean of Harvard Business School on 1 January 2021. During his tenure as a faculty member, he served as Senior Associate Dean for University Affairs (including Faculty Chair of the Harvard Innovation Lab), for Research, for... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; airline; automobiles; banking; biotechnology; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; health care; high technology; investment banking industry; management consulting; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals; venture capital industry

18 Aug 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Emerging Markets and the Future of Business History

Keywords: by Gareth Austin, Carlos Dávila, and Geoffrey Jones

04 Feb 2009
News

Academy of International Business Fellow

December 2010 (Revised April 2012)
Background Note

Stalemate at the WTO: TRIPS, Agricultural Subsidies, and the Doha Round

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This note analyzes disputes over intellectual property enforcement and agricultural trade barriers at the center of the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations. Fundamental principles of intellectual property rights and agricultural subsidies are... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Trade; Globalization; Governance; International Relations; Intellectual Property; Agreements and Arrangements; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

May 26, 2021
Article

The Challenge of Rebuilding U.S. Domestic Supply Chains

By: Willy C. Shih, Robert S. Huckman and James Wyner

Massachusetts-based Shawmut scrambled to expand production to meet the soaring demand for N95 masks and hospital gowns during the pandemic. Its experience illustrates a crucial point that policymakers should take to heart: Once a country loses its industrial commons... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Health Pandemics; Production; Management; United States