Publications

March 2006
Module Note

Finance in Weak Institutional Environments

By: Mihir A. Desai and Kathleen Luchs

Describes the sixth module in the International Finance course at Harvard Business School. The module explores the issues confronting firms that operate in weak institutional environments. The cases examine situations where investor protections are limited and how... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Curriculum and Courses; Business Ventures; Framework; Organizational Design; Outcome or Result; Education Industry

May 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Supplement

La Ribera Health Department (B): Epilogue

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Emer Moloney and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The La Ribera case studies depict an innovative low cost/high quality privately financed hospital model struggling to achieve alignment with the Six Factors. It is reimbursed by the public sector in a Spanish environment whose Consumers, Structure, and Public Policy... View Details

Keywords: Trends And Opportunities; Government; Government Programs; Acquisition; Business Model; Business Plan; Trends; Opportunities; Government and Politics; Programs; Health Care and Treatment; Situation or Environment; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; Spain

December 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Client Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong, David M. Darst, Ann K Rusher and Catherine M. Conneely

The 1997 merger of retail giant Dean Witter and investment bank Morgan Stanley was a year old when Bob Sculthorpe was appointed director of Private Client Services (PCS) at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW). The firm was still operating under two separate broker-dealer... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Investment Banking; Brands and Branding; Salesforce Management; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry

02 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Leading Professional Service Firms

motivated you and your HBS colleagues to develop a course specifically for leaders of professional service firms? Lorsch: Professional service firms represent an $80 billion industry worldwide. In the US and Europe, they comprise 17... View Details

Keywords: Re: Jay W. Lorsch; Service; Consulting; Accounting

September 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Teaching Note

Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation

By: Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation (619-018). In August 2017,... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Experimentation; Banks and Banking; Credit Cards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Australia

November 2012
Case

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (Abridged)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Robert S. Huckman, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Matthew Preble

Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok—a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique... View Details

Keywords: Production; Competitive Strategy; Supply Chain; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; United States

July–August 2013
Article

How Experts Gain Influence

By: Anette Mikes, Matthew Hall and Yuval Millo

In theory, the risk management groups of two British banks—Saxon and Anglo—had the same influence in their organizations. But in practice, they did not: Saxon's was engaged in critical work throughout the bank, while Anglo's had little visibility outside its areas of... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Banking Industry

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February 2009 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Exeter Group, Inc. (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

Jonathan Kutchins and Mark Cullen, managing partners of IT consulting firm Exeter Group, Inc., are considering four potential client engagements. Three of them involve prominent universities, an area of market strength for the firm, and one involves a top-tier strategy... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Resource Allocation; Market Entry and Exit; Service Operations; Performance Capacity; Business Strategy; Information Technology; Consulting Industry

28 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 28

Publications 2006 Journal of Organization Design The Strategic Fitness Process: A Collaborative Action Research Method for Developing Organizational Prototypes and Dynamic Capabilities By: Beer, Michael Abstract—Organizations... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

we asked 600 global CEOs across a variety of industries what concerns were keeping them awake at night. Their topics ranged widely, but a handful of overarching mental tasks emerged: Comprehend complex, rapidly changing circumstances... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

October 2008 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Lawrence Trinh: Venturing to Vietnam

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Rachel Gordon

Should Lawrence Trinh pursue his aspiration of working in Vietnam—and if so, what set of principles and practices should he adopt if he encounters corruption? These are questions that reverberate for many students who wish to work in emerging markets and other contexts... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Ethics; Investment; Leadership Development; Emerging Markets; Personal Development and Career; Welfare; Financial Services Industry

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28 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

Forget Cash. Here Are Better Ways to Motivate Employees

types of work Cash rewards are best suited as a motivator for work that is measured quantitatively, Whillans says. Many studies of the service and sales industries show that cash rewards lead to increased sales and improved customer... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

12 Mar 2024
HBS Case

How Used Products Can Unlock New Markets: Lessons from Apple's Refurbished iPhones

Some of Apple’s most loyal customers think nothing of upgrading to the latest iPhone every time one comes out. But what about consumers who can’t splurge on a $1,000 iPhone 15 Pro? And what about the electronic waste that would accrue if people threw away functional... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Electronics; Information Technology

April 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

General Motors Technical Center India – Powertrain Engineering

By: Willy Shih, William Jurist, Brian McIntosh and Helen Wang

Prabjot Nanua was proud of the growing capabilities of the General Motors Technical Center India Powertrain Engineering group that he oversaw. Since 2003, engineers there had expanded the center's capabilities, developing a reputation within GM for completing... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Headquarters; Research and Development; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; India

10 Nov 2015
First Look

November 10, 2015

Don't Learn: Our Traditional Obsessions—Success, Taking Action, Fitting In, and Relying on Experts—Undermine Continuous Improvement By: Gino, F., and B. Staats Abstract—For any enterprise to be competitive, continuous learning and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Should You Bring Advertising Expertise In-House?

reasons include structural changes in the advertising industry such as the unbundling of agency services, and improved communication tools that make it easier and more cost efficient for firms to manage some aspect of their own... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

16 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 16

raised potential challenges to the dominance of leading firms. Our research tells a fascinating story of an industry that has proved remarkably resilient in resolving economic and regulatory challenges. It provides practitioners and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2023
Article

Federated Electronic Health Records for the European Health Data Space

By: René Raab, Arne Küderle, Anastasiya Zakreuskaya, Ariel Dora Stern, Jochen Klucken, Georgios Kaissis, Daniel Rueckert, Susanne Boll, Roland Eils, Harald Wagener and Bjoern Eskofier

The European Commission's draft for the European Health Data Space (EHDS) aims to empower citizens to access their personal health data and share it with physicians and other health-care providers. It further defines procedures for the secondary use of electronic... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Cybersecurity; Information Management; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Health Industry

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2019
Working Paper

The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance

By: Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This paper investigates the impact of customer compatibility – the degree of fit between the needs of customers and the capabilities of the operations serving them – on customer experiences and firm performance. We use a variance decomposition analysis to quantify the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Compatibility; Satisfaction; Profitability; Customer Relationship Management; Service Operations; Customer Satisfaction; Banking Industry; Banking Industry