Publications

August 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Career at a Crossroad: Akhil Patel

By: Noam Wasserman, Lisa Brem and Yael Braid

Akhil Patel is passionate about his business idea: an innovative green technology fuel cell. He wants to dive in and commit to his startup, but his fiancée is much more risk averse, his parents don't approve of the startup, and Akhil has an enticing alternative offer... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Risk and Uncertainty; Opportunities; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Green Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

25 Oct 2012
News

The Silent Killer of Big Companies

Kathleen L. McGinn

Kathleen L. McGinn

Professor Kathleen L. McGinn, Baker Foundation Professor and Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration (emeritus) at Harvard Business School, has served in various leadership roles at HBS, including Research... View Details

06 Mar 2019
News

Caregiving crisis? Employers slow to catch up to ‘sandwich generation.’

26 Feb 2019
Blog Post

How Financial Aid Makes All the Difference

Josue Zapata, MD/MBA 2012, wanted to be a doctor as a little kid of loving parents – his mom a Spanish teacher, his dad a manager in Riverside County, CA – who emigrated to the U.S. from Colombia. Financial aid at HBS made his dream... View Details

09 Jan 2020
News

The open banking movement is inspiring consumers to ask who owns their banking data

August 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Intel NBI: Radio-Frequency Identification

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

The Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) group was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought initially to develop and sell a high performance Rf fast read rate module targeted at fixed position readers that might be found in loading docks... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Structure; Failure; Diversification; Integration; Semiconductor Industry

2016
Working Paper

College Tuition, Public Finance and New Business Starts

By: Gareth Olds

A growing public discourse cites the rising cost of education and student debt overhang as a contributor to slow economic growth. A parallel discussion explores the causes of the secular decline in business dynamism and entrepreneurship rates in the United States over... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship

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January–February 2019
Article

What Does Your Corporate Brand Stand For?

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Mats Urde

While most firms are adept at defining product brands, they’re less sure-footed with their corporate brands. What exactly does a parent company’s name represent, and how is it perceived in the marketplace?
A strong corporate identity provides direction and... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Identity; Brands and Branding; Reputation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Corporate Strategy

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September 1994 (Revised January 1997)
Case

This Case Sucks: Beavis, Butt-head, and TV Content (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

Beginning in 1992, "Beavis and Butt-head," an animated series on MTV about two uncivilized teenaged misfits, became both a runaway popular sensation and the symbol of a heated national debate about violent and inappropriate programming on television. Especially after... View Details

Keywords: Debates; Decision Choices and Conditions; Animation Entertainment; Fairness; Governance Controls; Media; Outcome or Result; Social Issues; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

13 Jun 2019
News

Ask a Professional Negotiator: How Do You Reason With Kids?

November 2007
Class Lecture

The Baby Business (FSS)

By: Debora L. Spar

In vitro fertilization and genetic screening are possible with the advent of biotechnology. International adoptions, surrogacy, and other approaches to family planning are on the rise. But few rules govern these measures, medical costs can be prohibitive, and... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Genetics; Societal Protocols; Commercialization; Biotechnology Industry; Health Industry

December 1995
Case

Layton Canada

By: Debora L. Spar

In 1993, Layton Canada finds itself caught in an intractable political situation. As part of a global reorganization process, the firm has been transformed from a subsidiary of a Dutch parent corporation to a subsidiary of a U.S. parent. Now, if it continues with its... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Government and Politics

February 1999
Article

The Persistence of Shocks to Profitability

By: Anita M. McGahan and Michael E. Porter

In this study, we use data for 1981 through 1994 on a large sample of U.S. companies to examine the persistence of incremental industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific effects on profitability. Our results indicate that the incremental effects of industry on... View Details

Keywords: Profit; System Shocks; Strategy

19 Aug 2014
News

The Tax Dodge That Has Plagued the U.S. for More Than a Decade

July 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Dragonfly Corporation

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Jim Sharpe

After 3 years of losses and under legal threats from their landlord, a husband and wife team are faced with shutting the company down, buying time with the landlord or turning to their parents for additional funds. Despite opening a new location and seeing that sales... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Management; Turnarounds; Bankruptcy; Bank Loan; Crisis Management; Family Business; Retail Trade; Financial Crisis; Financial Analysis; Entrepreneurship; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Retail Industry; United States

November 2019
Case

Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After losing market share to low-priced competitors such as Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club for several years, Gillette decided to fight back by launching new products and increasing advertising. When these efforts failed to stem the losses, Gillette decided to cut the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competition; Price; Public Equity; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Research Summary

Competitive Strategy

Anita M. McGahan and Michael E. Porter and are completing a series of statistical papers on the sources of company and industry profitability. Based on a large new database on the profitability of U.S. business segments between 1981 and 1994, their research examines... View Details

June 2016
Case

Career at a Crossroad: Akhil and Roopa

By: Noam Wasserman

Akhil Patel is passionate about his business idea: an innovative green technology fuel cell. He wants to dive in and commit to his startup, but Roopa Rao, his fiancee, is much more risk averse, his parents don't approve of the startup, and Akhil has an enticing... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Opportunities; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Green Technology Industry