Publications

May 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Benetton Group S.p.A., 2000

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2000, Benetton was one of the leading mass fashion competitors in the world with approximately $1.9 billion in sales across 5,500 stores in 120 countries. But the company's fortunes seemed to be on the wane. Operating profits had fallen 9% from the prior year to... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Change; Strategic Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Performance Consistency; Management Teams; Strategy; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Italy

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Micro Insurance Agency: Helping the Poor Manage Risk

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

The notable success of insurance products for low-income clients of its microfinance network leads Opportunity International to launch the first global specialized microinsurance company, the Micro Insurance Agency (MIA). Building on the experience in 10 countries... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost Management; Microfinance; Globalization; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Infrastructure; Nonprofit Organizations; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Africa; Asia; Latin America

May 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Instant Messaging

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Explores the usage and technology of instant messaging (IM). IM enables two or more users to communicate almost instantaneously over the Internet with short, private text messages. Most IM service providers chose to remain proprietary and, therefore, a user of most IM... View Details

Keywords: Network Effects; Standards; Communication Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

July 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

XM Satellite Radio (A)

By: David B. Godes and Elie Ofek

XM Satellite Radio is a radically new way to listen to radio. Management must develop a marketing strategy to launch the firm and the category. A crucial aspect of the strategy is to determine which of two business models the company will pursue. Should it focus... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost Management; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Sales; Competitive Strategy; Communications Industry

28 Apr 2023
Blog Post

From Harvard Business School to Spotify: Four Lessons in My Journey to Land My Dream Job

industries During my second year at HBS I took courses like The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports (BEMS) and Launching Tech Ventures (LTV) that helped me gain a profound understanding of the space I wanted to play in: the... View Details

Web

Building Iconic Brands and Brighter Futures: Interview with Glossier CEO, Kyle Leahy - Recruiting

people push you up and you’ll continue to get better.” You Might Want to Read 05 May 2025 Meet the Tech Club Shira Amat 13 Mar 2025 Launching leaders: HBS's new initiative fuels first-generation and low-income student success Shoma Simkin... View Details

19 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

What Makes Employees Trust (vs. Second-Guess) AI?

industry now. AI improves human decision-making The research emerges as LISH joins the newly launched Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard. The 12-lab organization launched last year to study six... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Stata Temporary Files and Stata Tmp - Research Computing Services

Technical How-To’s & Notes Technical How-To’s & Notes Stata Temporary Files and Stata Tmp The Problem: On not-so-rare occasions, Stata creates problems on our cluster due its usage of temporary files. When launching Stata, when running... View Details

02 Nov 2023
News

Seeding Startups

Shirish Nadkarni (MBA 1987) was the director of product planning for Microsoft’s MSN when he decided he was ready to become an entrepreneur. He had recently led the growing internet portal’s 1997 acquisition of Hotmail, the first free, web-based email solution, and the... View Details

Keywords: April White

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

bankers, board members, or consultants). Purchase this case: http://hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=209137 First National Bank's Golden Opportunity Harvard Business School Case 208-072 Executives at First National Bank in South Africa are... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

25 Aug 2014
HBS Case

Starbucks Reinvented

Renewal," (available soon) Koehn and coauthors Kelly McNamara, Nora Khan, and Elizabeth Legris trace the dramatic arc of the company's past seven-plus years—a period that saw Starbucks teeter on the brink of insolvency, dig deep to renew its sense of purpose and... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

Web

Leadership Fellows | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

development throughout the year. Fellows apply their expertise to roles for which they produce immediate results and build long-term capacity within the organization. Launched in 2001, the Leadership Fellows program has placed 287 Fellows... View Details

June 2007 (Revised April 2016)
Case

Octone Records

By: Anita Elberse and Elie Ofek

In February 2007, Octone Records founders James Diener, Ben Berkman, and David Boxenbaum had been highly successful with the first two bands they had signed, Maroon 5 and Flyleaf. Known for its grassroots marketing campaigns, Octone operated through a unique... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Joint Ventures; Investment Return; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Outcome or Result; Creativity; Music Industry

15 Nov 2022
Op-Ed

Why TikTok Is Beating YouTube for Eyeball Time (It’s Not Just the Dance Videos)

the internet. We wrote a series of Harvard Business School case studies between 2009 and 2011 exploring viral videos—United Breaks Guitars, the JK Wedding Dance, and how Ford used influencers to launch the Fiesta car. What struck us right... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

17 Dec 2020
News

Making Club History in Japan; Startup Accelerator Case Goes Virtual in Atlanta

around the world, too, and I would love to collaborate with other clubs.” Virtual Case Discussion Dissects Launch of The Farm at Comcast More than 30 alumni from the HBS Club of Atlanta joined Professor Linda Hill, on November 23 for an... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

January 2009 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Sydney IVF: Stem Cell Research

By: Robert L. Simons, Kathryn Rosenberg and Natalie Kindred

This case examines the strategy implementation and risk management decisions at Sydney IVF, a research-based in vitro fertilization and stem cell company based in Australia. Drs. Robert Jansen and Jock Anderson, who co-founded Sydney IVF in 1986, developed novel... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Genetics; Commercialization; Health Industry; Australia