Publications

January 2008 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Club Atlético Boca Juniors

By: Anita Elberse, Alberto Ballve and Gustavo Herrero

Club Atlético Boca Juniors is the most popular soccer club in Argentina and one of the most decorated clubs in the world. Throughout its storied history, the club has recruited and developed dozens of star players. In his eleven years at Boca Juniors, president... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Talent and Talent Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry; Argentina

September 1995
Case

Ares-Serono

By: Michael Y. Yoshino, Jean-Pierre Jeannet and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Ares Serono, a medium-size Swiss pharmaceutical company, is the global leader in the field of fertility drugs. The company has successfully transformed into one of the very few biotech firms in Europe. The case treats a set of major strategic and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Globalized Firms and Management; Asset Management; Balance and Stability; Expansion; Digital Platforms; Leadership Development; Health Care and Treatment; Transformation; Family Business; Problems and Challenges; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Switzerland; Europe

Program

Rising Generation in the Family Enterprise

while taking full advantage of the unique opportunities presented to you. Key Benefits Rather than immersing you in the details of family business management or wealth management, this program engages you in a broad exploration of the... View Details

April 2017 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must... View Details

March 2019 (Revised October 2020)
Case

GENTERA: Facing the Digital Age

By: Michael Chu and Carla Larangeira

After long dominating Mexican microfinance, Compartamos Banco faces the emergence of fintech, just as for the first time its loan portfolio and clients have declined. Enrique Majós, CEO of GENTERA, the bank´s parent company, is keenly aware of the profound changes... View Details

Keywords: Micro Finance; Base Of The Pyramid; Fintech; Microfinance; Disruption; Innovation and Management; Competitive Strategy; North America; Mexico

2019
Book

The Wise Company: How Companies Create Continuous Innovation

By: Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi

High-velocity change is the fundamental challenge facing companies today. Few companies, however, are prepared to continuously innovate—because they focus on the short-term and do not emphasize the wisdom needed to make sure that their interests are aligned with those... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge; Wise Leadership; Leaders; Innovation; Knowledge Management; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Change and Adaptation

July 2020
Case

Michael Solomonov: Jerusalem in a Bowl

By: Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht and Katherine Connolly Baden

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook had begun to wonder whether it might be time to rethink their opportunistic approach to the expansion of their small restaurant empire in Philadelphia, CooknSolo. The pandemic, however, caused an... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant Industry; Entrepreneur; COVID-19; Crisis; Crisis Response Plans; Entrepreneurship; Food; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Creativity; Strategy; Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Situation or Environment; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

September 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Strategic Services at Andersen Consulting

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Catherine M. Conneely and Abby J. Hansen PHD

Bill Copacino, Andersen Consulting's managing partner of Strategic Services Americas, needed to submit his recommendation to Peter Fuchs, Strategic Services worldwide director, for the operating plan for Strategic Services Americas for fiscal year 1999. Strategic... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Recruitment; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Business Units; Consulting Industry

January 2001
Case

World Bank and Knowledge Management, The: The Case of the Urban Services Thematic Group

By: William E. Fulmer and W. Earl Sasser

The World Bank has implemented a knowledge management initiative. One of its communities of practice is to take the lead in a $50 billion commitment to address urban slums. The community of practice is struggling with its mission and how knowledge management can help. View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Knowledge Management; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry

May 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Infosys Technologies

By: Ashish Nanda and Thomas J. DeLong

Creating and sustaining a third-world-based technology company to compete globally (i.e. in the first-world) poses many challenges. Such challenges are examined through the genesis and progression of Infosys Technologies Ltd. Key decisions made by Chairman N.R.... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Business Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Planning; Technological Innovation; Emerging Markets; Information Technology Industry

Program

Launching New Ventures

Pitch your business to potential investors and other stakeholders Evolve your leadership approach to manage ongoing innovation, radical change, and growth Address competitive challenges Make sound investment... View Details

February 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Supplement

Bancaja: Developing Customer Intelligence (B)

In 1996, CEO Fernando Garcia Checa wanted to make customer analytics a part of Bancaja's new strategy. Bancaja, a savings bank based in Valencia, Spain, was expanding and wanted to exploit customer information to increase commercial effectiveness. At the same time, it... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Credit Cards; Analytics and Data Science; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Strategy; Banking Industry; Spain

Program

Building a Legacy

with the tools to address these specific challenges and deepen your understanding of investment opportunities for high-net-worth families. You will emerge with the competence and confidence to design a wealth View Details

January 2007 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Brazil Under Lula: Off the Yellow BRIC Road

By: Aldo Musacchio

Covers President Lula's challenges to reduce "Brazil cost" and grow like other BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Experts agreed that for Brazil to grow like other BRIC countries, the Brazilian government would have to reduce the cost of doing business... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Cost; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Poverty; Equality and Inequality; China; India; Russia; Brazil

April 2018
Case

Hawk Electronics, Inc.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and John J. Lafkas

Hawk Electronics ("Hawk") presents the problems that a company can encounter when its divisions have distinct strategies, especially when one division has been favored at another's expense. It also highlights how such problems can reflect cognitive biases, which... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Resource Allocation; Strategy; Innovation and Management

Career Coach

Fran Davis

Fran has a Ph.D. in Psychology and has worked at Harvard for over 25 years. Over these three decades she has provided career coaching for MBA students, HBS Alumni, and in Executive Education programs and has taught psychology courses (including Positive Psychology aka... View Details

April 1995 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Silicon Graphics, Inc. (A)

By: Marco Iansiti and Ellen Stein

Based on a Silicon Valley company that has developed the capability to compete in a rapidly growing, highly turbulent environment. This capability hinges on its flexible and rapid development process, which the case characterizes in detail. Focuses on the development... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Information Infrastructure; Product Launch; Managerial Roles; Expansion; Design; Applications and Software; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; California

08 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Employee Analytics: Productivity Dream or Micromanagement Nightmare?

hiring and productivity, says Jeffrey T. Polzer, the UPS Foundation Professor of Human Resource Management at Harvard Business School. His recent paper probes how organizational researchers should study people analytics practices, which... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

July–August 2014
Article

Becoming a First-Class Noticer: How to Spot and Prevent Ethical Failures in Your Organization

By: Max Bazerman

We'd like to think that no smart, upstanding manager would ever overlook or turn a blind eye to threats or wrongdoing that ultimately imperil his or her business. Yet it happens all the time. We fall prey to obstacles that obscure or drown out important signals that... View Details

Keywords: Accountability; Business Ethics; Cognitive Psychology; Human Behavior; Personal Ethics In Business; Business or Company Management; Ethics