Publications

January 1986 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Peripheral Products Company: The 'Gray Market' for Disk Drives

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In mid-1985, the vice president of marketing for a large manufacturer of disk drives is considering how to deal with a growing "gray market" for his company's products. The case provides good background material on the evolution of gray markets throughout the disk... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development; Code Law; Leadership; Marketing; Distribution; Production; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Distribution Industry

07 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Three Steps for Crisis Prevention

exactly that." The Big Five also spent millions of dollars urging members of Congress to threaten the SEC leadership with budget cuts if it imposed limits on auditor services. The lobbying worked. The SEC backed off, and the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael D. Watkins & Max H. Bazerman

28 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

HBS Celebrates Social Enterprise Initiative

mobilizes 7 million volunteers. Worldwide, the sector makes up almost 5 percent of the GDP. In this e-mail Q&A, Professor James E. Austin, Chair of the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative, discusses the development of the program and its... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

04 Aug 2003
What Do You Think?

Are We Facing an Attitude Shortage?

pointed out that "So many managers are afraid that attitude is too soft, too difficult to assess and to use as a key hiring criteria." Saurabh Dwivedy commented that "...attitude, morals, ethics, and leadership skills are... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

April 2011
Case

Felipe Calderón: Leading with Light and Power (A)

By: J. Bruce Harreld and David Lane

This sequence of cases explores how leaders get their team focused on framing, analyzing, and ultimately acting upon complex decisions. The A case provides an inside look as President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, works with his cabinet ministers to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decisions; Public Sector; Leadership; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Urban Development; Welfare or Wellbeing

August 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Tenova: Mining for Growth in an Economic Crisis

By: Gary P. Pisano, Elena Corsi and Elisa Farri

In December 2008, Gianluigi Nova, CEO of Tenova SpA, a technology and equipment supplier to the metals and mining industry, had to choose between two options. The first was to continue growing in the company's core business: equipment for the steel production. The... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Leadership; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Diversification; Industrial Products Industry; Mining Industry

15 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: November 15

PublicationsTrue North Groups: A Powerful Path to Personal and Leadership Development Authors:Bill George and Doug Baker Publication:Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2011 Abstract All too often, we find... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2021
What Do You Think?

How Will the Metaverse Affect Productivity?

described the Metaverse as “alternate digital realities where people work, play, and socialize.” That reminds us of the things that were promised us by futurists at the time of the development of the internet, many of which have exceeded... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2017 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Irene Rosenfeld at Mondelēz International: Crafting a Corporate Strategy

By: Raffaella Sadun, David J. Collis, Amram Migdal and Kerry Herman

The case focuses on Irene Rosenfeld’s tenure as CEO of the global snack food company Mondelēz International. Beginning in 2006, she had led the company through many acquisitions, including France’s LU Biscuit and British confectionery company Cadbury, before, in 2012,... View Details

02 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Where Does Apple Go From Here?

spent roughly a billion dollars to deliver OS X. They get to amortize that investment over 3 million annual buyers. Microsoft spends the same billion dollars to develop XP and they get to amortize that investment over roughly 120 million... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

27 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Customer Experts Lose Influence When Teams are Pressured

some people's inputs count more than their actual knowledge warrants, to the detriment of the project. The problem is common—and avoidable, says HBS professor Heidi K. Gardner, who has developed and tested a theory of pressure on teams... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

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

March 2008 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Lisa Sherman (A)

By: Bill George and Jens Audenaert

Lisa Sherman is a successful executive at Verizon who is struggling with the decision to reveal her sexual orientation. After attending a diversity training workshop in which participants expressed extremely negative views about people in her community, Sherman wonders... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Identity; Personal Development and Career; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; Organizational Culture

02 Apr 2001
What Do You Think?

Telecommuting: Dangerous to Health?

for successful telecommuting is now within reach, Loretta Donovan reminds us that "what is still most lacking ... is the corporate leadership that acknowledges that there must be time set aside for [collaboration, problem solving,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

June 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Judah Folkman and the War on Cancer

Judah Folkman, professor in the Division of Vascular Biology at Children's Hospital in Boston, is considering how best to advance the research in his lab in an era where biomedical research has gotten more interdisciplinary and collaborative. Specifically, Folkman has... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Leadership; Research; Personal Development and Career; Health Care and Treatment; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Biotechnology Industry; Health Industry; Boston