South Africa - Publications - Faculty & Research

13 Jun 2011
HBS Case

Mobile Banking for the Unbanked

to dig in and figure out what their real needs are and their pain points." The Problem With Wizzit WIZZIT entered the mobile banking market in 2004 because the mobile phone penetration rate in South View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Banking; Communications; Telecommunications

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

South Africa and spread worldwide, how Lipton tea became the world's biggest tea brand, the origins of the sensual Magnum ice cream, and how Pond's Cream became a Unilever brand. The story behind the brands... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

October 2017 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Coaching Makena Lane

By: Ethan Bernstein and Om Lala

Makena Lane has a gift for producing results, even in the challenging retail context of the 2010s, but she also has a knack for “ruffling some feathers” in the process. Recruited to a Fortune 500 grocery and pharmacy retailer after climbing to Associate Principal in... View Details

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06 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Are You a Level-Six Leader?

Mandela. He was able to soar above hatred for his white jailers, the political tug of the African National Congress, the pull of his racial and tribal group, and the rejection by the Afrikaners to build a South View Details

Keywords: by Mitch Maidique

23 Jun 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovative Ways to Encourage Personal Savings

savings. They play the lottery heavily. They are optimistic about their future. That characterized more than half of the folks in the survey. I have observed use of the products elsewhere, and wrote a case study about one in South View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

February 2017
Supplement

The De Beers Group: Exploring the Diamond Reselling Opportunity

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Daniel P. Gross and Lauren G. Pickle

In September 2014, Tom Montgomery (SVP of strategic initiatives at the De Beers Group) and his team launched a pilot program in the United States to explore the $1 billion diamond market for pre-owned (recycled) diamonds. According to Montgomery, the motivation for the... View Details

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27 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Reputation is Vital to Survival in Turbulent Markets

from Latin America, Africa, Turkey, and South Asia exuded this idea of stability, which assured employees, partners, customers, and everyone else. “After the crisis of 2009, the orders increased and our growth rate over the following five... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

02 Mar 2021
HBS Case

The Tulsa Massacre: Is Racial Justice Possible 100 Years Later?

make up for crimes by the Nazis, and South Africa paid Black victims of apartheid. In the United States, the federal government provided payments in the 1990s to Japanese civilians interred in camps during... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

December 2023
Article

Advances in Power-to-Gas Technologies: Cost and Conversion Efficiency

By: Gunther Glenk, Philip Holler and Stefan Reichelstein

Widespread adoption of hydrogen as an energy carrier is widely believed to require continued advances in Power-to-Gas (PtG) technologies. Here we provide a comprehensive assessment of the dynamics of system prices and conversion efficiency for three currently prevalent... View Details

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April 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Uber: Competing Globally

By: Alexander J. MacKay, Amram Migdal and John Masko

This case describes Uber’s global market entry strategy and responses by regulators and local competitors. It details Uber’s entry into New York City (New York), Bogotá (Colombia), Delhi (India), Shanghai (China), Accra (Ghana), and London (United Kingdom). In each... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Geography; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Globalization; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Law; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Consumer Behavior; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Design; Market Entry and Exit; Market Participation; Supply and Industry; Industry Structures; Planning; Strategic Planning; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Transportation; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; Africa; Ghana; Asia; China; Shanghai Shi; Shanghai; India; New Delhi; Europe; United Kingdom; England; London; Latin America; North and Central America; United States; New York (city, NY); New York (state, US); South America; Colombia

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17 Dec 2007
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Medical Tourism

Patients with resources can easily go where care is provided. "Historically doctors moved from Africa and India to London and New York to provide care. Now we are basically flipping it around and saying, 'Why don't the patients move?... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

25 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Adjusting the Fit for Government

productivity revolution due to the loss of skills in society. "The other key underpinning is education," he continued. "In South Africa in particular, the legacy of apartheid was extremely... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

24 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

In Troubled Africa, Botswana Flowers

Debora L. Spar's research in Africa has looked at the diamond industry, the AIDS crisis, and the democratization of South Africa since apartheid. Now she has turned her... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

06 Dec 2013
Op-Ed

HBS Faculty Remember Nelson Mandela

Editor's note: With the death of Nelson Mandela, the words of the Roman poet Horace (65 - 27 BC) seem particularly appropriate in celebrating his life and achievements in freeing South Africa from the... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, Linda Hill, Rosabeth Moss Kanter & Gautam Mukunda

24 Mar 2002
Lessons from the Classroom

Case Study: A Lesson in Private Venture Financing

With few opportunities for IPOs, a developing infrastructure, low transparency, and a limited labor market, the environment for private venture financing in Africa could be described as "challenging" at best. Yet if the demands... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

28 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

attempts to copy successful services haven’t always worked out. For example, despite Vodafone’s widespread success in Kenya, its effort to take the M-Pesa model to South Africa fell flat. Mobile money... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Telecommunications

07 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

How an African History Scholar Became a Modern Righter of Wrongs

traveled to Cape Town, South Africa, where they engaged with 10 global partners on a dozen different design projects. A renowned scholar of colonial-era African history, she isn’t the most obvious candidate for teaching modern business... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

02 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

The Curse of Double-Digit Growth

problems. Werker's research adds to a body of work, largely in Africa, that examines fragile states, foreign aid and investment, and conflict and governance. Into Africa Werker found his way to Africa after... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

23 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

AIDS in Africa—What’s the Solution?

On a continent with many challenges to development, no issue is more pressing in Africa than the heavy toll of the AIDS epidemic. In addition to the staggering costs in terms of social upheaval and human suffering, AIDS cuts down workers... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

January 2014
Case

Anglo American: Implementing a 'Social Way' for Global Mining

By: Christopher Marquis, David Plumb, Tom Blathwayt and Zoe Yang

The mining giant Anglo American attempts to differentiate itself through its social performance, yet public expectations are still growing. Maintaining a "social license" to operate was increasingly challenging and critical to business success.

The case... View Details