Publications

23 Apr 2024
In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

With each month clocking record-breaking temperatures across the planet, this Earth Day reflected the renewed urgency of regulators and businesses to find climate-change solutions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted new rules that will mandate... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

12 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 12, 2017

announced a plan to relocate operations of a furnace factory from the United States to Mexico. The case notes that Carrier began to outsource and offshore operations, in an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

Fall 2017 Business History Review The Alternative Business History: Business in Emerging Markets By: Austin, Gareth, Carlos Davila, and Geoffrey Jones Abstract—This article suggests that the business history of emerging markets should be... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

05 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 5, 2019

case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/818043-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 618-044 ZBJ: Building a Global Outsourcing Platform for Knowledge Workers (A) ZBJ.com (ZBJ), an online platform that connects knowledge workers to small-... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling

By: Ethan Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley Staats and Luke Hassall

With 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace its entirely manual labor scheduling system with an automated software solution from Reflexis. Belk hoped the upgrade would simplify scheduling, reduce time employees spent in non-customer-facing roles,... View Details

October 2008
Case

Hrad Technika

Examines a struggling IT outsourcing project from the perspective of the IT services provider-Hrad Technika. When used in conjunction with "Tegan c.c.c." (9-609-038), it provides an opportunity to see both sides of the issue. When Hrad enters into a contract to create... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Globalized Firms and Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Projects; Information Technology; Wales

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Companies, Cultures and the Transformation to the Transnational

employment commitments and the need to promote employees within the organization further encourage Japanese companies to expand operations at home while reaching foreign markets through zaibatsu-linked trading companies or View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

2014
Working Paper

The Global Agglomeration of Multinational Firms

By: Laura Alfaro and Maggie Chen

The explosion of multinational activities in recent decades is rapidly transforming the global landscape of industrial production. But are the emerging clusters of multinational production the rule or the exception? What drives the offshore agglomeration of... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Market Entry and Exit; Industry Clusters

SSRN

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August 2011
Case

Ockham Technologies (A): Building the Team

By: Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-ceo regarding building a board, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing development work. View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Recruitment; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology

October 2008
Background Note

Note on the Global Wind Industry

By: Richard H. K. Vietor and Juliana Seminerio

This note provides background information on the global wind industry and is meant to accompany HBS cases "The Suzlon Edge" (708-051); "Cape Wind: Offshore Wind Energy in the USA" (708-022); and "Supergrid" (707-016). View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Energy Industry

August 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Supplement

Ockham Technologies (B): Building the Board

By: Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-ceo regarding building a board, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing development work. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Management Teams; Groups and Teams

October 2014
Supplement

Honeywell and the Great Recession: The Economic Recovery (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Susan J. Winterberg

Five years after the Great Recession, Honeywell's CEO Dave Cote and his executive team reflect on the choices they made to manage costs and earnings forecasts during that uncertain time. They discuss which cost cutting measures they decided to take and their personal... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Furloughs; Downsizing; Work Sharing; Short Time Work; Recessions; Earnings Forecast; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Cost Management; Executive Compensation; Crisis Management; Financial Crisis; Manufacturing Industry

January 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Sales Razor Technologies

By: Paul Gompers and Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

October 2018
Case

American Family Insurance and the Artificial Intelligence Opportunity

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

June 1998
Background Note

The Indian Software Industry

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Avnish S. Bajaj, Michael V. Kadyan, Devtosh K Khare and Suvir S Sujan

The increasing focus in the Western World on outsourcing has fueled the growth of the Indian software export industry. This note gives background on this phenomenen. View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Growth and Development; India

March 2007
Teaching Note

Bradley Marquez: Reduction in Force (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Terence Heymann

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Cisco Systems (2001): Building and Sustaining a Customer-Centric Culture

By: Ranjay Gulati

Customer centricity has been an important part of the culture at Cisco Systems since its inception. While part of this is attributable to values put in place by the founders and retained by subsequent management, it is also closely interwoven with its organizational... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Research and Development; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Employees; Brands and Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Business Units

July 2006 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Cathay Pacific

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Waishun Lo and Fred Young

Explores the various aspects of information technology that can be outsourced. Cathay Pacific outsourced a significant part of its vital operations from Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia. View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Globalized Economies and Regions; Information Technology; Air Transportation Industry; Sydney; Hong Kong