Publications

13 Jul 2016
HBS Case

How Uber, Airbnb, and Etsy Attracted Their First 1,000 Customers

New businesses often struggle finding their first customers. The challenge is even more difficult with startups in the sharing economy that launch as platforms connecting independent service providers with consumers. Take Uber. Its platform is two-sided, connecting... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail; Service; Transportation

11 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

The First 90 Hours: What New CEOs Should—and Shouldn't—Do to Set the Right Tone

When you enter an organization as its new leader, forget about plotting out the first 90 days. Focus on the first 90 hours. Why are those initial hours on the job so important? Because you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. If you don’t get the first... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

Web

Case Development

Case writing is a vital force behind research at HBS. Nearly 80 percent of cases used at business schools worldwide are developed by HBS faculty. HBS case studies have helped refine the skills and business judgment of tens of thousands of students,... View Details

February 2022
Case

Toto Wolff and the Mercedes Formula One Team

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In December 2021, Toto Wolff, team principal and chief executive officer of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team (the ‘Mercedes team’) is preparing for the start of the 2021 Formula One (‘F1’) season’s last Grand Prix, in the United Arab Emirates. Everything the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Team Management; Culture; Organizational Culture; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Superstars; General Management; Engineers; Competition; Problems and Challenges; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

12 May 2021
Book

The Hard Truth About Being a CEO

Click to watch. David Fubini has never been a CEO of a major corporation, but during his 34-year career as a senior director at consulting firm McKinsey, he had ample opportunity to work closely with and observe CEOs and leaders of all types in action—and to analyze... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

13 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How To Reach It)

Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman's latest book, How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market, delves into the subconscious mind of the consumer—the place where most purchasing decisions are made. The question: How can marketers... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

Web

Alumni New Venture Competition

The New Venture Competition is designed to support both students and alumni on their entrepreneurial journey. View Details

16 May 2023
HBS Case

How KKR Got More by Giving Ownership to the Factory Floor: ‘My Kids Are Going to College!’

One thing that stuck with Pete Stavros from the dinner-table conversations of his youth was that capitalism seemed fundamentally broken for his father, who earned an hourly wage working construction. The incentive was not there for Stavros’ dad and his peers to try to... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

30 Apr 2024
Book

When Managers Set Unrealistic Expectations, Employees Cut Ethical Corners

In the 1990s, when Harvard Business School Professor Lynn S. Paine was researching and writing about examples of corporate misconduct, she hoped more businesses would take decisive action to root out fraud and other unethical behavior. Many companies have since formed... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

24 Oct 2016
Research & Ideas

Bernie Madoff Explains Himself

One December evening in 2011, while preparing a lesson plan, Harvard Business School professor Eugene Soltes picked up the phone for his weekly conversation with Bernie Madoff. Soltes, who was doing an in-depth investigation on white-collar crime, had been interviewing... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

Web

California Research Center

Established in 1997, the California Research Center (CRC) enriches the intellectual activities of HBS faculty and fortifies the connection between the Boston campus and the West Coast. The center’s primary mission is to facilitate faculty research... View Details

1996
Book

The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard

Find at Harvard

April 2020
Case

Apple Inc. in 2020

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

After a decade as CEO, Tim Cook is facing one of his biggest strategic transitions of his tenure. While Apple had performed spectacularly well under Cook, Apple's core business was maturing. Sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs were flat or down. However, Apple's new... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Market Positioning; Marketing Implementation; Planning; Products; Strategic Positioning; Strategy; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Product Positioning; Communication; Competition; Leadership; Strategic Planning; Computer Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

17 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Teaming in the Twenty-First Century

Even as academic journals and business sections of bookstores fill up with titles devoted to teams, teamwork, and team players, Harvard Business School Professor Amy C. Edmondson wonders if many might be barking up the wrong tree. "I've begun to think that teams are... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

February 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Mona Sinha

Describes the Mumbai-based Dabbawala organization, which achieves very high service performance (6 Sigma equivalent or better) with a low-cost and very simple operating system. The case explores all aspects of their system (mission, information management, material... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Logistics; Alignment; Management Systems; Human Resources; Innovation and Invention; Mumbai