Publications

June 2008
Case

Starbucks Coffee Company in the 21st Century

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Marya Lisl Hill-Popper Besharov and Katherine Miller

The case explores the opportunities and challenges confronting Starbucks in the early 21st century. For more than 15 years, Starbucks has grown swiftly and successfully, helping create a large, dynamic market for specialty coffee, building one of the world's most... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Economy; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competition

February 2009 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Publicis Groupe 2009: Toward a Digital Transformation

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

After a series of acquisitions, Maurice Levy, the Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, had created the fourth largest marketing and communications company in the world. His next major challenge was managing the firm's digital transformation. In December 2006, the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; Financial Crisis; Globalized Firms and Management; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Information Technology; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry

2005
Book

Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book examines the history of Unilever over the last half century. Managing such a firm in the era of globalization posed enormous challenges. The book covers the company's strategies and provides compelling evidence of its decision-making, marketing, brand... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Globalization; Transformation; Human Resources; Business Strategy; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Consumer Products Industry

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December 2014 (Revised July 2016)
Case

HEINEKEN—Brewing a Better World

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, José Alvarez, Tonia Junker and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Dutch company HEINEKEN, one of the leading global brewers known for its brands like Heineken, Amstel, and Desperados and for its award-winning marketing campaigns, seeks to closely integrate its long-term sustainability "Brewing a Better World" approach into its... View Details

Keywords: Beer/brewing Industry; Sustainability; Local Sourcing; Corporate Strategy; Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry

09 Sep 2011
News

Business schools need to focus on students’ ‘doing’ skills: Srikant Datar, Harvard University professor

TeachingInterests

Exec Ed: Real Estate Executive Seminar: Capital, Partnerships, and Portfolios

By: John D. Macomber

With both a quest for yield and new opportunities emerging across the real estate supply chain, business leaders must have the financial capabilities, analytical tools, and strategic skills to ensure the long-term profitability of their development projects and... View Details

February 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Harvard Business School

By: Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In 2008 the Boston-based Harvard Business School would turn 100. As the centennial year began, the HBS community and leadership were reflecting on how the School might fulfill its mission to "develop business leaders who make a difference in the world" in the next... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Cases; Leadership Development; Management; Management Skills; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Planning; Problems and Challenges; Segmentation; Education Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2024
Case

Funderbeam: Teaming Up or Going Alone?

By: Paul A. Gompers, Elena Corsi and Orna Dan

Funderbeam, a global platform founded in Estonia to enable start-ups to run private syndications and secondaries while offering liquidity for private equity investors, was at a crossroads. Over its ten-year run, the company had expanded its services and areas of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Business Exit or Shutdown; Transition; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Law; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financing and Loans; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Ownership Stake; Expansion; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Financial Services Industry; Estonia; Republic of Ireland; United Kingdom; Singapore

December 2009
Case

Philips versus Matsushita: The Competitive Battle Continues

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the development of the global strategies and organizations of two major competitors in the consumer electronics industry. Over four decades, both companies adapt their strategic intent and organizational capability to match and counter the competitive... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Multinational Firms and Management; Restructuring; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

July 2008 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Corruption in Germany

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer

Why do managers become corrupt? Does corruption ever pay? When do friendly relations cross into bribery? How can CEOs manage and prevent outbreaks of corruption? These and other questions are raised by three short case studies of corruption in Germany: at the global... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Law; Managerial Roles; Practice; Conflict of Interests; Germany

September 2010 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Better World Books

By: Michael I. Norton, Fiona Wilson, Jill Avery and Thomas J. Steenburgh

Better World Books, a young start-up, provides a socially conscious alternative to Amazon, collecting and selling used books to keep them out of the waste stream, while donating a portion of their profits to support global literacy efforts. The case presents an... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Online Technology; Retail Industry

March 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Cognizant 2.0: Embedding Community and Knowledge Into Work Processes

By: Robert G. Eccles and Thomas H. Davenport

Knowledge management has been a high priority for Cognizant Technology Solutions since its inception since its global delivery model requires the global sharing of knowledge. Its first major tool was called the Knowledge Management Appliance but as Web 2.0 tools came... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Product Development; Service Delivery; Business Processes; Organizational Structure; Cooperation; Information Technology Industry

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales. These results were in marked contrast... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

August 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Supplement

Narayana Hrudayalaya Heart Hospital: Cardiac Care for the Poor (B)

By: Tarun Khanna and Tanya Bijlani

Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH) has expanded into a multi-specialty health city in Bangalore and has grown to twelve locations across India. The hospital plans to build 300-bed secondary-care hospitals in smaller cities across India, with a goal to operate 30,000 beds in... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Social Enterprise; Health Care and Treatment; Poverty; Welfare; Health Industry; Bangalore; Cayman Islands; Africa

August 2019 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Lemonade: Disrupting Insurance with Instant Everything, Killer Prices, and a Big Heart

By: Elie Ofek and Danielle Golan

Launching its first products in the fall of 2016 in New York, insurtech startup Lemonade was on a mission to disrupt the insurance market by using AI and behavioral economics principles. The company offered renters, homeowners, and condo insurance and mainly targeted... View Details

Keywords: AI; Business Startups; Insurance; Technological Innovation; Business Model; Disruption; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Decision Making; Insurance Industry; Technology Industry