Publications

August 2013
Case

Desi Shack: Location Choice in the Big Apple

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Desi Shack is a “fast casual” restaurant, started by two HBS alumni, that serves Indian and Pakistani cuisine in midtown Manhattan. The founders are looking to expand into a second location and also plan to hire a COO, and there is very little room for error in the... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant; New York City; Location Choice; Entrepreneurship; Food; Geographic Location; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (city, NY)

October 2014 (Revised January 2016)
Case

IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design

By: Ryan W. Buell and Andrew Otazo

The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,... View Details

Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Service Management; Service; Design; Service Delivery; Innovation and Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Peru

05 May 2022
HBS Seminar

Caleb Kwon, Harvard Business School

28 May 2013
News

10 Questions to Ask When Determining Your Salary

Web

What Google, Lego, and Other Brands Know About the Promise and Peril of AI | Working Knowledge

Marketing. Levi Strauss partnered with startup Lalaland.ai to create AI-generated models from diverse backgrounds to supplement human models. However, the plan backfired when critics saw the move as a cheap shortcut, instead of a real... View Details

27 Mar 2025
HBS Seminar

John Horton, MIT Sloan

April 2008
Case

Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Collins

In May 2007, the Engstrom Auto Mirrors plant, a relatively small supplier based in Indiana, faces a crisis. The business was in the second year of a downturn. Sales had started to decline in 2005; a year later, plant manager Ron Bent had been forced to lay off more... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Manufacturing; Leadership; Change Management; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Manufacturing Industry; Indiana

October 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

3PLex.com

By: Myra M. Hart and Judith Marie Dror

A start-up team is faced with the challenge of building a senior management team with relevant industry experience. The marriage of e-commerce and the transportation logistics industry creates unusual problems in blending "old economy" employees and employee practices... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Executive Compensation; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Organizational Culture; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technology Adoption; Transportation Industry

July 24, 2019
Editorial

How to Make Even the Most Mundane Tasks More Motivating

By: Jaewon Yoon, A.V. Whillans and Ed O'Brien

People want purposeful work, and managers know it. That’s why companies try to inspire employees with mission statements about the impact their work can have. Ikea tells employees they’re “creating a better everyday life”; Microsoft says they’re “empowering every... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Perspective

Video

Hüsnü Özyeğin

Hüsnü Özyeğin, the founder of one of Turkey’s largest financial services groups, expresses the view that corporate culture is key in banking, and explains how he delegated responsibility to his future successor... View Details

20 Dec 2024
News

Clubs Open HBS Doors for Local Leaders; Meet the Club Leaders: HBS PRIDE; Favorite Reads of 2024

To Boost Communities, Alumni Clubs Send Nonprofit Leaders to HBS For one week every summer, nonprofit leaders from across the globe convene on the HBS campus to sharpen their leadership skills and expand their impact through the Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

October 2024 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Lanco Medical Group: Fostering Happiness for Growth

By: Susanna Gallani, Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago and Katherine Sonnefeldt

This case describes how Lanco Medical Group, a fast-growing pharmaceutical distributor serving Latin America, approached the design of their employee benefits and incentives program. After learning about gaps between what leadership believed motivated employees and... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth Management; Motivation and Incentives; Expansion; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America

April 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Neeley University Investment Management Company

This case analyzes the problem of a university looking to reduce its private equity exposure in its endowment. The university hires Cogent Partners, a small investment bank specializing in private equity secondary trading. View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Private Equity; Higher Education; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry

January 2013 (Revised February 2013)
Case

EverTrue: Mobile Technology Development (A)

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Brent Grinna is evaluating different options for the technology development of his start-up's iPhone app, including hiring local programmers, finding a CTO, or outsourcing. He only has a little over two months before he presents his alumni networking app to Brown... View Details

Keywords: Start-up; Mobile App; oDesk; Outsourcing; CTO; Minimum Viable Product; App Development; Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Intellectual Property; Product Development; Globalization; Technology Industry; Massachusetts; Boston; India

19 Apr 2016
Blog Post

First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation

M. Cable, Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats. The first few minutes of new employee orientation, if done right, can lead to happier and more productive workers and, ultimately, increased customer... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Article

The Business Case for Curiosity

By: Francesca Gino

Although leaders might say they value inquisitive minds, in reality most stifle curiosity, fearing it will increase risk and inefficiency. Harvard Business School’s Francesca Gino elaborates on the benefits of and common barriers to curiosity in the workplace and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Employees; Creativity; Cognition and Thinking; Learning; Decision Making; Performance Effectiveness