Publications

Find at Harvard

02 Apr 2024
What Do You Think?

What's Enough to Make Us Happy?

meeting them brings a sense of wellbeing that contributes to one’s happiness. It’s not necessarily a signal that it’s time to retire; it’s a self-generated milestone that may enable us to branch off into new, interesting directions with... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells, Carole A. Winkler and Benjamin Weinstock

In August 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The first major storm of protest followed the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States on November 8, 2016; many put the blame at the door of fake... View Details

March 2021 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Applied: Using Behavioral Science to Debias Hiring

By: Ashley Whillans and Jeff Polzer

The UK government’s Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) needed to hire a new associate and were trying to increase the diversity of their job candidates. This decision was based on academic research showing that recruiters and managers often fell into common traps like... View Details

Keywords: Hiring; Bias; Behavioral Science; Selection and Staffing; Diversity; Prejudice and Bias; Information Technology; Recruitment

20 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Using Investor Relations Proactively

linked to politics, economics, and ecology. Any bit of news, such as an oil tanker spill, a technical problem at a plant, or a political crisis in 1 of their sourcing countries, can send their share prices into a tailspin. Even good news... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

14 Dec 2010
Op-Ed

Tax US Companies to Spur Spending

United States. President Obama's proposal to allow for immediate expensing of investments could help ensure that firms were tilted toward spending that excess cash on new projects within the United States. A reduction in the corporate tax... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir A. Desai

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

What Great American Leaders Teach Us

based on our financial thresholds. The bulk of the business leaders on our list were culled from an extensive review of historical biographical references and business rankings. The rankings included historical lists by Fortune, Forbes, Time, The Wall Street Journal,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

November 2017
Teaching Note

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 717-473. In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The election of Donald Trump as the next president of the United States in November 2016 had triggered a national storm of protests, and... View Details

October 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Team New Zealand (A)

By: Marco Iansiti and Alan D. MacCormack

The case describes the development process used by Team New Zealand to design their two yachts for the 1995 America's Cup. During development, the team makes extensive use of simulation and physical prototyping to improve the initial design concept. As they approach... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Design; Product Development; Sports; Ship Transportation; Research and Development; Situation or Environment; Decisions; Sports Industry; New Zealand

November 2022
Case

GE: A New Way Forward?

By: David J. Collis and Haisley Wert

One of the most iconic American companies, General Electric (GE) was founded in 1892 in New York state. Named among the original dozen companies on the Dow Jones index in 1896, it was the list’s most tenacious holdout, maintaining its “blue chip” stock status for over... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; GE; Conglomerate; Conglomerates; Corporate Strategy; Management; History; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Change Management; Transformation; Strategic Planning; Value Creation; New York (state, US)

Article

Using Internet Data for Economic Research

By: Benjamin Edelman

The data used by economists can be broadly divided into two categories. First, structured datasets arise when a government agency, trade association, or company can justify the expense of assembling records. The Internet has transformed how economists interact with... View Details

Keywords: Data and Data Sets; Research; Internet; Cost Management; Information Management; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Reports; Archives; Surveys; Economics

Read Now

June 1998
Article

A New Takeover Defense Mechanism: Using an Equal Treatment Agreement as an Alternative to the Poison Pill

By: Guhan Subramanian

Keywords: Strategy; Agreements and Arrangements; Horizontal Integration

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Competing in New Markets

Strategic advisors counsel managers to conduct a thorough competitive analysis emphasizing key points of differentiation. But for new markets, Professor McDonald’s research suggests that reports of the threat posed by similar rivals may be greatly exaggerated, and... View Details

2018
Book

American Capitalism: New Histories

By: Sven Beckert and Christine Desan

The United States has long epitomized capitalism. From its enterprising shopkeepers, wildcat banks, violent slave plantations, huge industrial working class, and raucous commodities trade to its world-spanning multinationals, its massive factories, and the centripetal... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; History; Finance; Trade; Economy; Policy; United States

Find at Harvard

January 2005 (Revised March 2008)
Exercise

New Service Design Exercise

By: Frances X. Frei

Used in the second module of a course on Managing Service Operations, which addresses the design of sustainable service models (606-031). Provides an opportunity for students to design a new service offering, paying careful attention to the link between strategic... View Details

Keywords: Design; Management; Service Operations; Strategy

21 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 21, 2018

new world. Typical approaches used by legacy players such as using technology to improve efficiency, encouraging business units to do digital experiments, or launching... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

16 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Does Competition Make Us More Creative?

much competition pushes them in the opposite direction. The findings could help organizations generate more innovative ideas, sharpen R&D, and even improve “bake-off” competitions between vendors used to award contracts. “You could... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising

June 2009 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Christian Dior: A New Look for Haute Couture

By: Geoffrey Jones and Veronique Pouillard

The case describes the foundation of Christian Dior, the leading Parisian fashion house, in 1946 and its subsequent globalization strategy. After explaining the historical origins of France's preeminence in upscale fashion, the case explores the challenges to this... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Luxury; Fashion Industry; France; New York (city, NY)

April 2006 (Revised June 2008)
Case

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.

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

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: Mergers and Acquisitions; Production; Supply Chain Management; Performance Improvement; Competition; Consolidation; Apparel and Accessories Industry