Publications

29 May 2020
Op-Ed

How Leaders Are Fighting Food Insecurity on Three Continents

COVID-19 is creating unprecedented strains on food security worldwide. The United Nations' World Food Programme warns that the pandemic could almost double the number of people facing food crises in low- and middle-income populations to 265 million by the end of 2020.... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence; Agriculture & Agribusiness

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

26 Jun 2000
Research & Ideas

A New Ecosystem for Business and Society

In their opening comments at the IS2K conference, Harvard University President Neil L. Rudenstine and Harvard Business School Dean Kim B. Clark called forth, respectively, the spirits of the industrial past View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 1977 (Revised April 1987)
Case

Crown Cork & Seal Co., Inc.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Karen Gordon Mills and John P. Reed

Describes the technical, economic, and competitive trends in the metal container industry. The strategy of Crown Cork and Seal is then described in relation to these trends. Focuses on two immediate threats to Crown's strategy: the future of aerosol cans, given the... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Industry Structures; Environmental Sustainability; Trends; Manufacturing Industry

01 Feb 2021
News

The Recession Exposes the US’ Failures on Worker Retraining

19 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019

We conclude with directions for future research. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55591 February 2019 American Economic Journal: Economic Policy Does It Matter If Your Health Insurer Is For Profit? Effects... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2011 (Revised July 2019)
Background Note

Note on Neuromarketing

By: Uma R. Karmarkar

This note provides some general perspective on the neuromarketing field, with a discussion of both current practices and future directions. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Technological Innovation

18 Nov 2020
Podcast

WWT: IT innovation rooted in diversity and employee wellbeing

Corporate social responsibility and commitment to a local workforce can go hand-in-hand with profitability. World Wide Technology in St. Louis is managing to thrive while dealing head-on with the pandemic and social and racial issues. One of the largest minority-owned... View Details

06 Aug 2020
Podcast

Unilever’s workforce transformation: hard truths and help with change

Unilever is several years into a company-wide plan to revolutionize its workforce. Faced with the challenge of selling its employees on change as opportunity, the multinational offers job counseling, retraining, and assistance with career moves—within the company or... View Details

01 Oct 2001
News

HBS Alumnae Chart Career Choices and Transitions

focused on future direction rather than past achievements and was attended by fifty women, primarily from the 10th, 15th, and 20th Reunion classes. This new HBS lifelong... View Details

Keywords: Laura Singleton; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

01 Mar 2014
News

Faculty and Alumni Books for March 2014

Research: Past, Present, and Future by Boris Groysberg and Paul M. Healy (Stanford Economics and Finance) Professors Groysberg View Details

16 Jul 2020
News

Love Is Medicine for Fear

12 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 12, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52111 Learning to Become a Taste Expert By: Latour, Kathryn A., and John A. Deighton Abstract—Evidence suggests that consumers seek to become more expert about hedonic products to enhance... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

April 2003 (Revised December 2006)
Case

ZARA: Fast Fashion

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Jose Luis Nueno

Focuses on Inditex, an apparel retailer from Spain, which has set up an extremely quick response system for its ZARA chain. Instead of predicting months before a season starts what women will want to wear, ZARA observes what's selling and what's not and continuously... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Competitive Advantage; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Spain