Publications

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December 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Migros

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros, is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to 600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Cooperative Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Product Marketing; Environmental Sustainability; Social Enterprise; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland

September 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Bill Connors and The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown)

By: Linda A. Hill and Eric Mankin

In 2017, Bill Connors, the President of Comcast’s Central Division, launched a startup accelerator in Comcast’s new Atlanta Regional headquarters. Comcast was America's largest cable and internet service provider, having built a profitable business bundling television... View Details

14 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 14

research, we propose that socialization leads to more effective employment relationships when it starts with newcomers expressing their personal identities. In a field experiment carried out View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

09 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 9, 2007

crisis), they are relieved to find their superiors more tolerant of their questions and mistakes than they had expected. Purchase this article: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=R0701D What to Ask the Person... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Top Ten Legal Mistakes Made by Entrepreneurs

may be exposed to trade secrets, and they agree not to use or disclose them without permission. Business plans should expressly state on the cover page that they are confidential and proprietary. That's not as strong as a nondisclosure... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

07 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

When Glasses Land the Gig: Employers Still Choose Workers Who 'Look the Part'

graphic design. Freelancers constituted 36 percent of the US workforce in 2021, according to Upwork, a freelance platform. Aiming to establish trust in this largely virtual gig world, many platforms... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

The Treasure You Seek: A Guide to Developing and Leveraging Your Leadership Capital

Most leadership books are written for people who are already labeled as “leaders”—corporate execs, high-ranking managers, entrepreneurs. They may not speak to the underrepresented young person or uncommon experienced person with a dream to create change in the... View Details

01 Dec 2015
First Look

December 1, 2015

of the model reasonably matches the (i) sensitivity of the aggregate stock market to changes in the likelihood of a disaster and (ii) loss rates of disaster risky stocks during the 2008 financial crisis. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Nestlé: Agricultural Material Sourcing Within the Concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV)

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Lorin A. Fries

Corporate Head of Agriculture Hans Jöhr's mind raced in anticipation of the executive board meeting that afternoon. Jöhr recognized the meeting as a key opportunity to strategize far into the future, reexamining how his team's efforts in sustainable agricultural... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Value Creation; Quality; Supply Chain Management; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Health Industry

22 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 22

decision-making is successful. Using plausibly exogenous variation in exposure to state-mandated personal finance and mathematics high school courses, affecting millions of students, this paper answers the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2010
Case

Scollon Productions: Working with a Bunch of Characters

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Chad Carr

As the sole female employee in an 11 person production shop, Lisa Ocheltree complained about being subjected to crass sexual "jokes" and antics; after being discharged, she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employer, Scollon Productions, alleging... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Ethics; Employee Relationship Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender

2004
Other Teaching and Training Material

Great Negotiator 2002: Lakhdar Brahimi

By: James K. Sebenius and Kristin Schneeman

The Program on Negotiation honored Ambassador Brahimi in events on October 2, 2002. These began with an in-depth faculty-moderated discussion with a group of students, faculty, and guests at Harvard Business School. On the evening of the 2nd, Ambassador Brahimi... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Learning; Strategy; Afghanistan

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A1)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979, they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States