Publications

2009
Working Paper

Private Equity and Industry Performance

By: Josh Lerner

The growth of the private equity industry has spurred concerns about its potential impact on the economy more generally. This analysis looks across nations and industries to assess the impact of private equity on industry performance. Industries where PE funds have... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment; Common Law; Industry Growth; Performance Productivity; Europe; United Kingdom; United States

April 2017
Case

Luminopia: Improving Treatment for Visual Disorders

By: Doug J. Chung and Sarah Mehta

Luminopia—a start-up founded in January 2016 by three Harvard College freshmen—uses virtual reality technology to treat amblyopia (more commonly called “lazy eye”), the single biggest cause of visual disorders among children. By February 2017, the three founders had... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Virtual Reality; Startup; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Startups; Price; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts; United States

01 Oct 2002
News

What's Cookin'

Diego–based chain of more than ninety buffet-style restaurants serving fresh salads, soups, pastas, and breads, CEO Michael Mack has implemented a flexible system that allows hourly employees to change their schedule with as little as one... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia

23 Aug 2019
Blog Post

A Summer of Peaks and Swells: Interning at Patagonia

company -- we’re fighting the good fight. This past year Patagonia changed its mission to: “we’re in business to save our home planet.” The company is constantly working to improve its supply chain and... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Consumer Products / Retail

July 2010
Technical Note

Note on the Insurance Industry

By: Clayton S. Rose and Scott Waggoner

This note provides an overview of the structure and function of the Insurance industry, with a primary focus on the U.S. It was designed to support the HBS MBA course "Managing the Financial Firm." View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Business or Company Management; Industry Structures; Insurance Industry; United States

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Turning High Potential into Real Reward

into outdoor gear. He builds up a worldwide supply chain by recruiting people who want to gamble that there is a customer need not being met by polyester. NB: For prospective entrepreneurs, what are the key... View Details

Keywords: Re: Joseph B. Lassiter; Consumer Products

2015
Working Paper

The Integrity of Private Third-party Compliance Monitoring

By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Government agencies are increasingly turning to private, third-party monitors to inspect and assess regulated entities’ compliance with law. The integrity of these regulatory regimes rests on the validity of the information third-party monitors provide to regulators.... View Details

SSRN

July 2010 (Revised March 2015)
Teaching Note

1366 Technologies

By: Ramana Nanda and Joseph B. Lassiter III

Teaching Note for 810005. View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Production; Supply and Industry; Corporate Strategy; Capital; Manufacturing Industry

15 Feb 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

Delivering Information Services: A 30-Year Perspective

example of a non-high-tech company we study is H.E. Butt Grocery Company. This is a large, very successful privately held chain in southern Texas that has used technology to combat some of the threats of its competitors, including... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

09 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 9

organization's operations and supply chain and a product or service. Illustrates concepts with examples of calculating the carbon footprint of an organization (Harvard Business School) and a product (a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 5, 2008

http://papers.nber.org/papers/w14189 Cross-Functional Alignment in Supply Chain Planning: A Case Study of Sales and Operations Planning (revised) Authors:Rogelio Oliva and Noel H. Watson Abstract In most... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Aug 2016
First Look

August 2, 2016

of CP Group This case describes the megafarm model launched by the CP Group as part of their efforts to ensure the safety and quality of their supply chain of agricultural products (particularly eggs) in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Camposol

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

With $289 million in 2015 revenues, Camposol is a Peruvian grower, exporter, and marketer of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the high-growth, high-margin blueberry category. Camposol aspires to become Peru’s first multinational branded produce company. It... View Details

January 1992
Teaching Note

MCI Communications Corporation (1983) TN

By: Richard S. Ruback

Teaching Note for (9-284-057). View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Growth and Development Strategy; Debt Securities; Risk and Uncertainty; Monopoly; Communications Industry

08 Jan 2001
What Do You Think?

Have We Extended the Boundaries of the Firm Too Far?

Summing Up "What we are looking at is a fundamental challenge to our assumptions about which corporate structures work," commented Daniel Hayes in response to the recent piece on the future bounds of the organization. Raman Julka was just as dramatic:... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 2008 (Revised August 2008)
Supplement

Medtronic Vision 2010 (CW)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James Zeitler

Keywords: Business Plan; Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Opportunities; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2019
Working Paper

Golden Opportunity? Voluntary Sustainability Standards for Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

By: Kristin Sippl

While much is known about voluntary sustainability standards' contributions to certain issues in certain sectors, less is known about their contributions to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper helps balance the... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability Standards; Gold; Certification; Eco-labeling; International Law; Extractive Industries; Fair Trade; United Nations; Sustainable Development; Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Adoption; Governance; Global Range; Luxury; Mining Industry

Read Now

2003
Article

Closing the Loop: Product Take-back Requirements and their Strategic Implications

By: Michael W. Toffel

In Asia, Europe, and North America, regulators are seeking to reduce waste disposal and develop recycling markets by requiring manufacturers to manage the end-of-life disposition of products they produce. Such policies attempt to "close the loop" for products ranging... View Details

Keywords: Wastes and Waste Processing; Energy Conservation; Product Development; Strategy; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America