Publications

SSRN

July 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy Is Making Me Crazy!

By: Willy Shih

For Carl Zeiss Microimaging, modular hardware and software enabled customers to tailor Zeiss's broad range of microscopy systems hardware and software to meet a wide range of needs from basic scientific research in the biological and medical sciences to clinical... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Corporate Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Science-Based Business; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Business Conglomerates; Digital Platforms; Opportunities; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

August 2020
Case

Zoom Video Communications: Eric Yuan's Leadership During COVID-19

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Christopher Stanton, Andy Wu and George Gonzalez

In the first half of 2020, worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought explosive growth to the Zoom Video Communications platform, as people replaced in-person work and social events with videoconferencing. Months into the pandemic, CEO Eric Yuan... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Communication Technology; Customer Value and Value Chain; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Health Pandemics; Technology Industry; United States; California

03 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 3

supply chain system. When commodity prices became more volatile in 2007 and 2008, executives at Domino's changed the way they worked with suppliers and franchisees to manage costs and risks and better... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

21 May 2021
Blog Post

Alumni Spotlight: Cissy Chen (MBA 2019)

similar companies in their industry and recommended areas of expense adjustments that would be of help. I also quantified the environmental impact on the company’s supply chain... View Details

October 2015 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Ozark Feed and Ag Corporation: The ERP Decision

By: Jan Hammond, Paul Kalmbach and Eric Bernstein

This case describes a medium-sized business that manufactures animal feed for commercial and companion animals. The company has been growing rapidly and is considering whether or not to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Ozark currently uses an IT... View Details

Keywords: ERP Systems; Information Technology; Supply Chain Management; Growth Management; Performance Improvement; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Decision Choices and Conditions; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Missouri; Oklahoma; Texas; Arkansas

October 2019
Case

Agility Africa

By: Juan Alcacer, Caroline M. Elkins and Esel Çekin

This case illustrates the challenge and opportunities that firms face when developing and executing new business models in high-risk, low-infrastructure, low-trust countries. It features a global logistics group, Agility, that aimed to become the leader in supplying... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Expansion; Emerging Markets; Decision Choices and Conditions; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Africa

Web

HBS Entrepreneurship Summit - Alumni

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration Ann Dewitt (MBA 2009), The Engine Unpacking the Supply Chain Mess with Some First Principles and Common Sense Willy C. Shih, Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of... View Details

September 2022
Technical Note

Addressing Social Determinants of Health in the American Landscape

By: Susanna Gallani and Jacob Riegler

Social determinants of health (SDOH) have gained significant attention in recent years. A growing body of research shows that a person’s health is influenced by a large number of non-genetic factors, most of which operate outside the realm of health care and are... View Details

Keywords: Socioeconomic Determinants Of Health; Social Determinants Of Health; Population Health; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Social Issues; Health Industry; Health Industry; Health Industry; United States

18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

supplies to disrespectful behavior, falsifying documents, bullying people, and sexual harassment, and what I’m observing are those people who are actually terminated,” Minor says. “If you’re overconfident, you think you’re less likely to... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

Steven C. Wheelwright

Steve Wheelwright is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at Harvard Business School.

Following his retirement from HBS in 2006, he served with former Dean Kim B. Clark at BYU-Idaho and then from 2007-2015 he served as... View Details

July 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Saffronart.com: Bidding for Success

By: Mukti Khaire and R. Daniel Wadhwani

Saffronart, a five-year-old online art auction company, leads the market for modern Indian art and now faces competitors in the market it created. Established in 2000 by the wife-and-husband team of Minal and Dinesh Vazirani, Saffronart.com is an innovative online... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Auctions; Industry Growth; Competition; Online Technology; Fine Arts Industry; India

01 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 1

chief supply-chain management officer, chief human resources officer, and CEO. It offers a road map for ambitious managers who want to know which skills they should focus on developing in order to rise up the chain of command. Read the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

CSV in Practice - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

but for Cisco customers, increasing industry growth. The program has also strengthened Cisco’s relationships with suppliers, customers and government. Integrating Strategy Across Levels - Novartis in Rural India Reconceiving Products &... View Details

July 2008 (Revised March 2010)
Case

McDonald's Plan to Win (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karla Ingrid Gravis and Annette Kristine Rodriguez

As of 2007, McDonald's had made significant progress on its “Plan to Win,” and the company was rewarded by reaching an all-time high share price. However, McDonald's competitors had expanded beyond the typical fast food giants, such as Wendy's and Burger King, as... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Complexity; Supply and Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

06 Sep 2022
Blog Post

Student Spotlight: Summer Internships in Business & Environment

Summer Associate at Izuba Energy Izuba Energy is a leading developer of renewable energy in Fragile States in Africa. Izuba’s projects are often first-in-class and allow industrial partners to produce in African countries using clean... View Details

04 Oct 2022
What Do You Think?

Have Managers Underestimated the Need for Face-to-Face Contact?

experience working on supply chain challenges in China, doesn’t dispute China’s interest in regaining “their historical hegemony over SE Asia.” However, he stressed the need to recognize “we are in a... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Costco Companies, Inc.

By: David E. Bell and Ann Leamon

Costco Companies, one of the major players in the wholesale club industry, has developed a new class of membership that offers discounted services--auto, health, and home insurance, business credit card processing, real estate services--in exchange for a higher annual... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Cost Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Supply and Industry; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Risk and Uncertainty; Retail Industry

Web

Our Mission & Team | Institute for Business in Global Society

toward paying living wages in their supply chains with Shift and HBS’s Impact Weighted Accounts Project. Drew started his career as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company and holds an MBA from Harvard... View Details

July 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

The DivaCup: Navigating Distribution and Growth

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-055. When the mother-daughter founders of DivaCup set out with a mission to disrupt the menstrual care industry with an innovative product form, they initially struggled to gain legitimacy and convince retailers to carry their unique... View Details