Publications

Research Summary

Social media and user-generated content

In this project, Professor Piskorski, jointly with Andreea Gorbatai, examines inherent trade-offs in provision of user-generated content, using Wikipedia as a research setting. In Wikipedia, every user has the right to add material to an article, but with no... View Details

01 Apr 2015
News

Female-Run Venture Capital Funds Alter the Status Quo

Teaching

Overview

By: Robert J. Dolan

Professor Dolan's main teaching interest is marketing management. Recent materials developed include notes on marketing research, product policy, and marketing strategy and cases on leading companies such as Catalina Marketing, Kiehl's, Planters Nut and Cox Media's... View Details

November 1983 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Pepsi-Cola United Kingdom (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Edward J. Hoff

On January 2, 1983 Pepsi-Cola United Kingdom had to develop a plan to defend its successful Diet Pepsi brand against the about to be introduced diet Coke. Contains useful material on competitive behavior and on U.S. versus U.K. consumer behavior. View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Planning; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom; United States

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

Read Now

18 Aug 2010
News

H-1B visas result in more patents for the US: Panel

03 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit

It's been said that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." HBS Assistant Professor Deishin Lee, however, has taken that old adage a step further in her recent working paper Turning Waste into By-Product by showing how it's possible for companies to turn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

August 1997
Background Note

Accounting for Manufacturing Companies

By: Srikant M. Datar

The accounting for a manufacturing company is examined, including the flow of costs from raw materials to work in process to finished goods and the distribution between an inventoriable or product cost and a noninventoriable or period cost. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Product; Cost; Distribution; Accrual Accounting; Accounting; Manufacturing Industry

May 1990 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Technology Transfer at a Defense Contractor (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill

Covers the same material concerning the specific transfer of technology as described in the longer version but summarizes the environmental and organizational context of the transfer. Most appropriate when the instructor wishes to focus on the action questions. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Conflict Management; Managerial Roles; Management Teams; Employees; Competitive Strategy; Projects

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Research Summary

Globalization of Wind Power

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Professor Vietor has been working to develop teaching materials on energy - especially renewable energy. Towards this end, he has written cases on Cape Wind, Suzlon, Airtricity's Supergrid, and Sun Tech. He is currently expanding this research into... View Details

21 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

Faculty Research Looks to Latin America

With its abundance of complex management issues in a rapidly changing environment, Latin America offers a rich landscape for in-depth academic investigation. Some of the research work currently underway by HBS faculty is already earmarked for case studies and course... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

September 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Charles River Partnership XI

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a situation confronting the management of a highly successful venture capital firm in April 2002. The industry has changed materially since it raised a $1.2 billion dollar fund, and the partners must decide whether to scale back the size of the fund. View Details

Keywords: Management; Venture Capital; Partners and Partnerships

October 2002 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Aspen Aerogels

By: William A. Sahlman and Taslim Pirmohamed

Describes a newly formed manufacturer of insulation materials. The company has developed and patented a new insulation material that can be used in a wide range of markets. Capital must be raised to finance building a manufacturing facility and fund early market... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Patents; Production; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry

August 2023
Background Note

Pricing and Customer Psychology

By: Elie Ofek

This note provides an overview of how psychological principles may be used as part of a seller’s pricing strategy. The note defines the concept of psychological pricing and explains the motivations for firms to engage in it. Prominent practices and tactics, with... View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior

29 Aug 2018
Blog Post

From the Classroom to the Workplace: How I Applied Learnings to my Internship

The first year at Harvard business School gives you a breadth of courses to sink your teeth into. One of the real benefits of studying such a range of materials in the first year, is how easily I was able to apply my learnings while... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

March 2016
Case

N12 Technologies: Building an Organization and Building a Business

By: David A. Garvin and Aldo Sesia

N12 Technologies was a startup founded in 2010 that employed nanotechnology to manufacture a patented material to improve the performance of carbon fiber composites, which were used in a wide variety of products, ranging from bicycles to automobiles to aircraft parts.... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Organizational Structure; Nanotechnology; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Systems; Commercialization; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Bicycle Industry; Transportation Industry; United States

20 Dec 2018
News

I’m an Expert on Negotiations, and I Have Some Advice for Theresa May

September–October 2022
Article

The Essential Link Between ESG Targets and Financial Performance

By: Mark R. Kramer and Marc W. Pfitzer

Despite heightened attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, surprisingly few companies are making meaningful progress in delivering on their commitments. Most firms are not integrating ESG factors into internal strategy and operational decisions... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Governance; Financial Strategy; Decision Making; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Organizational Structure

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March 1982 (Revised April 1989)
Background Note

Industrial Buyer Behavior

May be used as background material for courses in industrial marketing and industrial procurement. Surveys the economic, behavioral, and organizational influences that shape buying decision-making in corporations and other institutions. Also describes the kinds of... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Marketing; Decision Making