Publications

December 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

OCP Group

By: Kristin Fabbe, Forest Reinhardt, Natalie Kindred and Alpana Thapar

This case explores the strategy of OCP Group, the 95% state-owned Moroccan firm charged with managing the North African country’s vast reserves of phosphate. Phosphate was one of the most vital macronutrients for plant health, along with nitrogen and potassium, and... View Details

Keywords: OCP; OCP Group; Casablanca; Chemicals; Operations; Transformation; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Chemical Industry; Morocco

12 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

How Can Financial Advisors Thrive in Shifting Markets? Diversify, Diversify, Diversify

How can financial planners expand their businesses as their core population ages and young investors flirt with novel financial products like cryptocurrency? The most profitable path forward is to follow the very advice they often give clients: diversify, diversify,... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Financial Services

Web

Strategy Explained - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

fundamental goal of a company is superior long-term return on invested capital (ROIC) . Only if you achieve strong ROIC are you creating true economic value, which says that you can produce a product f or a price that’s greater than the View Details

September 1977 (Revised June 1984)
Case

Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force

By: John J. Gabarro and James G. Clawson

Outlines events leading up to a meeting of a six-person task force which has been assigned to reduce overhead costs at a major manufacturing company. History of the company, and backgrounds of all the task force members are presented. Raises the following questions and... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Cost Management; Cooperation; Planning; Manufacturing Industry

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Renegotiating NAFTA

By: Laura Alfaro, Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason and Sarah Jeong

January 1, 2019 marked the 25th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Twenty-five years after the landmark trade pact was signed by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, considerable debate surrounded it. Trade and trade agreements were a... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Negotiation; Agreements and Arrangements; Cost vs Benefits; Auto Industry; United States; Mexico; Canada

August 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Background Note

Negotiation Strategy: Pattern Recognition Game

By: Gregory M. Barron and Michael A. Wheeler

In negotiation, correctly identifying your counterpart's strategy is vital. Only then can you constructively influence their behavior-or adapt appropriately to what they are doing. This case-and its related computer-based exercise (Negotiation Strategy... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Behavior; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Strategy; Competition; Cooperation

14 Dec 2022
News

Santa Claus Debates Whether to Outsource Toy Production

May 1992
Article

Coordination in Split-Award Auctions

By: James J. Anton and Dennis Yao

We analyze split award procurement auctions in which a buyer divides full production between two suppliers or awards all production to a single supplier, and suppliers have private cost information. An intriguing feature of split awards is that the equilibrium bids are... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Balance and Stability; Cost; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Production; Five Forces Framework; Supply and Industry; Situation or Environment; Information; Manufacturing Industry

Web

Lifelong Learning - Alumni

Re: Matthew McKnight (MBA 2012); By: Janine White 713 01 Mar 2024 HBS Alumni Bulletin Vital Signs How AI can help fix what ails the health care industry Re: Lorin Gresser (MBA 1998); By: Jen McFarland Flint 01 Mar 2024 HBS Alumni Bulletin Research Brief: The Real View Details

July 2019
Article

Evaluation of Economic and Clinical Outcomes Under Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mandatory Bundled Payments for Joint Replacements

By: Derek A. Haas, Xiaoran Zhang, Robert S. Kaplan and Zirui Song

In 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched its first mandatory bundled payment program, the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model, by randomizing metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) into the payment model. The paper analyzed... View Details

Keywords: Medicare; Medicaid; Bundled Payments; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Performance Evaluation; Outcome or Result

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Research Summary

Asset Specificity and Vertical Integration: Williamson's Hypothesis Reconsidered

A point repeatedly stressed by transaction cost economics is that the more specific the asset, the more likely is vertical integration to be optimal. In spite of the profusion of empirical papers supporting this prediction, recent surveys and casual observation... View Details

June 2016
Article

Technology Choice and Capacity Portfolios under Emissions Regulation

By: David Drake, Paul R. Kleindorfer and Luk N. Van Wassenhove

We study the impact of emissions tax and emissions cap-and-trade regulation on a firm's technology choice and capacity decisions. We show that emissions price uncertainty under cap-and-trade results in greater expected profit than a constant emissions price under an... View Details

Keywords: Technology Management; Management; Technology; Service Operations; Environmental Sustainability

October 2002 (Revised December 2003)
Case

eShip-4U

By: Roy D. Shapiro and Timothy M. Laseter

eShip is a small Israeli start-up with a potentially exciting new concept for the residential package-delivery value chain--the Automatic Delivery Machine (ADM). Much like today's ubiquitous ATMs, ADMs would allow consumers to have parcels delivered to a nearby ADM... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Model; Service Operations; Logistics; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Saving; Innovation and Invention; Transportation Industry; Service Industry; Shipping Industry; Israel; United States

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Ball: EVA Driving the World's Leading Can Manufacturer (A)

By: Jonas Heese and Susan Pinckney

The case describes Ball’s multi decade history of using Economic Value Added to drive decision making and workforce compensation. In 2016, the company acquired Rexam PLC and became the world’s leading metal beverage container company. Consumer demand for varied... View Details

Article

The Growing Strategic Importance of End-of-Life Product Management

By: Michael W. Toffel

Requiring manufacturers to manage the their products when they become waste is an innovative form of regulation, one that has been adopted by countries in Asia, Europe, and North America on a variety of products that range from vehicles to appliances to batteries.... View Details

Keywords: Product; Environmental Sustainability; Cost Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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15 Mar 2024
HBS Case

Let's Talk: Why It's Time to Stop Avoiding Taboo Topics at Work

place, discussing one’s next step (or departure) wouldn’t feel abrupt or discriminatory. Health Wing works with a company that saw almost a million dollars in unexpected health care costs last year because the company’s generous health... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Web

Additional Harvard Funding - MBA

Additional Harvard Funding Tuition Assistance Additional Harvard Funding External Funding Student Loans 101 Evaluating Sponsorships Annual Cost of Attendance Summer Fellowships Career Support & Exploration Funds Fast Facts MBAid Stories... View Details

October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Esel Çekin

In July 2021, Sunil Lalvani, founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Dubai that had already provided sustainable, clean water solutions to 80,000 people living in rural communities across Ghana and Kenya, was facing an important... View Details

Keywords: Water; Pricing; Nonprofit Organizations; Projects; Price; Decision Making; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Equity; Green Technology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Africa; Dubai

August 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Stanley O'Neal at Merrill Lynch (A)

By: David A. Thomas and Ayesha Kanji

In the late 1970s, Stanley O'Neal joined Merrill Lynch as an investment banker. Profiles O'Neal's ascent at Merrill to CEO. O'Neal put Merrill through a comprehensive restructuring program, cutting costs and significantly reducing the work force. As CEO, O'Neal faces... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Race; Cost Management; Investment Banking; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Leadership; Management Succession; Performance Effectiveness; Personal Development and Career