Publications

15 Jun 2011
News

Quiet China giant embodies technology aspirations

08 Jun 2021
News

Plexiglass Is Everywhere, With No Proof It Keeps Covid at Bay

January 2018
Case

Under Armour

By: Rory McDonald, Clayton M. Christensen, Daniel West and Jonathan E. Palmer

After 20 years of growth unprecedented in the sports apparel industry, Under Armour finds itself with a new record to beat: making the leap from $5 to $10 billion in sales—a feat only accomplished to date by competitors Nike and Adidas. At the heart of this challenge... View Details

September 2004 (Revised April 2005)
Case

U.S. Market Framework for Gasoline, The: Individual Incentives and Societal Goals in Global Markets

By: Bruce R. Scott and Edward Murphy

Traces the role of gasoline taxes in financing U.S. highways and the use of regulations to increase fuel economy to show how and why the U.S. market framework for gasoline is so different from that in Europe. Focuses on whether the U.S. tax should be raised, as... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy Sources; Digital Platforms; Sovereign Finance; Growth and Development Strategy; United States; Europe

May 2016
Case

OPET: Precision Marketing in Uncertain Times

By: Rajiv Lal, Esel Çekin and Eren Kuzucu

During Timucin Guler’s decade at OPET, a prominent fuel distributor in Turkey, he transformed the definition of marketing in the company. Under Guler’s lead, OPET, once a local player in the downstream distribution market, became the second largest fuel distributor in... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Customer Service; Emerging Market; Focusing On Customers; Competition; Turkey; Loyalty Program; Marketing Strategy; Downstream Distribution; Customer Relationship Management; Energy Industry; Turkey

May–June 2018
Article

The Surprising Power of Questions

By: Alison Wood Brooks and Leslie K. John

Much of an executive’s workday is spent asking others for information—requesting status updates from a team leader, for example, or questioning a counterpart in a tense negotiation. Yet unlike professionals such as litigators, journalists, and doctors, who are taught... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Communication Strategy; Information; Knowledge Sharing; Performance Effectiveness

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27 Feb 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How Could Harvard Decarbonize Its Supply Chain?

Keywords: Re: Robert S. Kaplan & Shirley Lu; Green Technology

October 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Russia and China: Energy Relations and International Politics

By: Rawi Abdelal and Sogomon Tarontsi

Russia and China are neighbors with complementary needs: Russia has an abundance of energy resources, which China needs to fuel its industry. The case analyzes the evolution of the China-Russia energy relations in the post-Cold War period, with an emphasis on the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; International Relations; Energy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; China; Russia

19 May 2015
News

Small Business Lending: The World Has Changed

09 Nov 2021
News

Holiday Season 2021: When Should you Mail Packages Amid Shortages and Delays

06 Aug 2014
News

Firms bemoan stalled changes on visa limits

19 Aug 2011
News

Are high achieving professionals neurotic?

14 Jun 2012
Working Paper Summaries

“Power from Sunshine”: A Business History of Solar Energy

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones & Loubna Bouamane; Energy; Utilities

October 2020 (Revised August 2025)
Case

Divesting Harvard's Endowment

By: Daniel Green, Luis M. Viceira and Holly Fetter

By early 2020 Harvard University was facing growing pressure from students, faculty, and alumni to divest its $40 billion endowment of financial stakes in fossil fuel producers. Its previous policy of avoiding the issue was quickly becoming outdated—$21 trillion of... View Details

Keywords: Divestment; Harvard University; ESG; Higher Education; Investment Portfolio; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

24 Aug 2016
News

Entrepreneurs versus regulators

March 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

The Market for Prisoners: Business, Crime and Punishment in the "American Dream"

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Laura Winig

In 2010, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison operator in the U.S., was considering expansion options. The company's largest customers, federal and state governments, were under economic pressure to reduce the incarceration rate and... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Crime and Corruption; Profit; Law Enforcement; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; United States

08 Jun 2021
News

Plexiglass Is Everywhere, With No Proof It Keeps Covid at Bay

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

October 2019
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (L): Discontinuing the A380 (February 2019)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes Airbus’ February 2019 announcement that it was ending production of the A380, with the last delivery scheduled for 2021. The announcement followed an order cancellation by Emirates, a major customer of the A380. The A380 had faced significant... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Europe