Publications

December 2018
Case

Good Energy Group PLC

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

Founded at the end of 1999 by Juliet Davenport and Martin Edwards, Good Energy was the number-two renewable-energy seller in the United Kingdom at the end of 2016, supplying over 71,000 of the country’s 27 million households and small businesses with 100% renewable... View Details

Keywords: Power/Energy; Green Energy; Renewables; Wind Power; Electricity; Power; Strategy Development; Electric Vehicles; Customer Service; Energy Policy; Barriers To Entry; Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

2023
Welcome

Robin J. Ely and Lakshmi Ramarajan Deliver Opening Remarks at the 2023 Race, Gender & Equity at Work Symposium - Tools for Humanity: Rage and Love as Acts of Resistance and Renewal

March 2020
Article

Synergistic Value in Vertically Integrated Power-to-Gas Energy Systems

By: Gunther Glenk and Stefan Reichelstein

In vertically integrated energy systems, integration frequently entails operational gains that must be traded off against the requisite cost of capacity investments. In the context of the model analyzed in this study, the operational gains are subject to inherent... View Details

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18 May 2023
Video

Robin J. Ely and Lakshmi Ramarajan Deliver Opening Remarks at the 2023 Race, Gender & Equity at Work Symposium - Tools for Humanity: Rage and Love as Acts of Resistance and Renewal

2022
Article

Reversible Power-to-Gas Systems for Energy Conversion and Storage

By: Gunther Glenk and Stefan Reichelstein

In the transition to decarbonized energy systems, Power-to-Gas (PtG) processes have the potential to connect the existing markets for electricity and hydrogen. Specifically, reversible PtG systems can convert electricity to hydrogen at times of ample power supply, yet... View Details

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February 2023
Article

Climate Solutions Investments

By: Alex Cheema-Fox, George Serafeim and Hui (Stacie) Wang

An increasing number of companies are providing products and services that help reduce carbon emissions in the economy. We develop a methodology to identify those companies and create a sample of publicly listed climate solutions companies allowing us to study their... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Climate Finance; Climate Impact; Climate Risk; Environment; Sustainability; Carbon Emissions; Electric Vehicles; Energy; Renewables; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Emerging Markets; Investment Portfolio

SSRN

Article

Are REC Markets a WRECk Waiting to Happen?

By: Jurgen Weiss

The paper examines a weakness of renewable portfolio standards (RPS) implemented via the use of renewable energy certificates (RECs) related to the uncertainty of REC-based revenue streams for renewable projects. Since the production of RECs in any given year depends... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Markets; Energy Industry

Find at Harvard

Dec 16 2020
Short Film

A Virtual Offering of AMP

09 Nov 2022
In Practice

COP27: What Can Business Leaders Do to Fight Climate Change Now?

The US government’s newly passed Inflation Reduction Act will direct $370 billion toward advancing renewal energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions—the country's largest investment in fighting climate change so far. As business and government leaders around the... View Details

Keywords: by Lynn Schenk and Danielle Kost

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales. These results were in marked contrast... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

28 Mar 2012
What Do You Think?

Are Factory Jobs Important to the Economy?

Summing Up: What Next, If Manufacturing Proves Not To Be A Creator Of Those Good "factory Jobs" Of The Past? Manufacturing is essential to the health of an economy. It both fuels and results from innovation. It is natural in the course of economic activity that... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing

2024
Working Paper

When Batteries Meet Hydrogen: Dual-Storage Investments for Load-Shifting Purposes

By: Christian Kaps and Simone Marinesi

Power systems account for nearly 40% of global emissions. As the world tries to reduce emissions by increasing renewable penetration, storage technologies are playing an increasingly important role in matching variable renewable supply with demand. Batteries have... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Renewable Energy; Transition; Utilities Industry; Battery Industry

SSRN

Christian Kaps is an Assistant Professor of business administration in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Unit at Harvard Business School. Kaps' research focuses on emerging topics in renewable electricity generation and storage - notably how new... View Details

Career Coach

Oscar Mak

Oscar is currently a Senior Director at NORD/LB, a leading bank in financing renewable energy and infrastructure projects. He previously led strategic investments (e.g., M&A, corporate VC, joint ventures) in North America for Toyota... View Details

Keywords: Auto/Transportation/Logistics; Consulting; Clean Technology; Energy; Energy; Startup - Joiner; Entrepreneurship

April 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

L'Oreal and the Globalization of American Beauty

By: Geoffrey G. Jones, David Kiron, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Examines L'Oreal's acquisition of leading U.S. cosmetics brands, including Maybelline, Redken, and Kiehl's, and their subsequent renewal and globalization. Reviews the history of L'Oreal, now the world's largest cosmetics company, from its origins in France in 1907.... View Details

Keywords: Management; Corporate Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Business History; Globalization; Acquisition; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; France; United States

15 Dec 2020
Video

A Virtual Offering of AMP

01 Jul 2020
Video

AUG 2020 Session with Virtual Module 2

August 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Technical Note

Power-to-X

By: Willy Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions that were contributing to climate change, the world needs to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. Power-to-X (PtX) refers to an array of processes that convert electricity (power) to various gaseous and liquid... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Strategies; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Transition; Renewable Energy; Energy Industry

June 2005 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Samsung Electronics

By: Jordan I. Siegel and James Jinho Chang

When is it possible to create a dual advantage of being both low cost and differentiated? In this case, students assess whether Samsung Electronics has been able to achieve such a dual advantage, and if so, how this was possible. Moreover, Samsung Electronics'... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Electronics Industry; China; South Korea