Publications

January 2014
Case

Emirates Airline: Connecting the Unconnected

By: Juan Alcacer and John Clayton

Narrates the story of Emirates, an airline founded in 1985 in Dubai that by 2013 was among the three largest commercial airlines in the world. The case emphasizes how Emirates capitalized on its location—a small city–state strategically located to reach ¾ of the world... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Airlines; Multinational; Location Strategies; Geographic Location; Multinational Firms and Management; Air Transportation; Competitive Advantage; Business Strategy; Air Transportation Industry; Middle East; Dubai

June 2008
Article

Bringing the Context Back In: Settings and the Search for Syndicate Partners in Venture Capital Investment Networks

Most existing network-based theories of relationship formation, whether based on homophily or structural constraint, imply that actors form highly cohesive, homogenous clusters. Yet real networks also include many "bridging" ties—isolated links between parties that... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Networks; Theory; Partners and Partnerships; Investment; Risk and Uncertainty; Business Growth and Maturation; Size; Geographic Location

Find at Harvard

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

01 Jan 2014
News

To Spot Financial Trouble Early, Use Three Circles: A conversation with Blythe McGarvie of Harvard Business School

05 Dec 2016
Research & Ideas

How The 2016 Presidential Candidates Misled Us With Truthful Statements

federal lawsuit—were sued. We settled the suit with zero—no admission of guilt. It was very easy to do. But they sued many people.” The facts: While it’s true that the Trumps did not admit guilt in the consent decree, a View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

30 Oct 2019
Video

María Emilia Correa

María Emilia Correa, co-founder of Sistema B, a Latin American organization promoting B Corporations and sustainability, discusses the origins of the B Corporation in the United States, and how she and her... View Details

June 2016
Case

Big Spaceship: The Evolving Agency

By: Boris Groysberg and Matthew G. Preble

This case discusses the evolution of Big Spaceship, an advertising and marketing agency, from a product-focused business to a relationship-oriented one as clients seek deeper and more meaningful long-term partnerships. The 15-year-old company had already evolved... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Social Media; Advertising Industry; United States; New York (city, NY)

Research Summary

Overview

In industries characterized by extreme dynamism, complexity, and uncertainty, formal structure often “falls behind” actual work processes. The nature of work in these environments evolves continuously while formal structure can only do so at specific times in discrete... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Identity; Identity Work; Strategy; Strategic Change; Collaboration; Cross-functional Integration; Cognition; Organizational Evolution; Organizational Alignment; Social Media

17 Jan 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Competition in Modular Clusters

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin & C. Jason Woodard; Consulting; Communications; Telecommunications; Pharmaceutical

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

Alaska and Nebraska, and to states where incomes tend to be lower, like Georgia and New Mexico. Aligning with affiliates meeting the moment About one-third of the organizations... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

December 1997 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan

Describes the efforts of the new managing director of Merck's subsidiary for Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to transform the organization and its culture. Focuses on a critical decision: whether to offer the son of a high-ranking official in the government's national... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Ethics; Decision Making; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Conflict of Interests; Argentina; Uruguay; Paraguay

October 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

World Economic Forum (A)

By: Tarun Khanna, Rakesh Khurana and Forest L. Reinhardt

Covers strategy and leadership. World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab has created the world's most famous-and exclusive-global business conference, held annually in Davos, Switzerland, and backed by a formidable membership organization that includes many of the... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Economics; Globalization; Leadership; Social Enterprise; Welfare; Strategy; Davos

Find at Harvard

November 2008 (Revised October 2009)
Case

American Cancer Society: Access to Care

By: Robert L. Simons and Kathryn Rosenberg

CEO John Seffrin decides to radically change the strategy of the American Cancer Society. The new Access to Care strategy relies on advocacy to change public policy and increase the number of Americans eligible for cancer prevention and treatment. The new strategy... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Governance Controls; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Strategy; Health Industry; United States

Corporate Leaders Say They Are For Stakeholder Capitalism — But Which Version Exactly?

The past few years have seen an outpouring of articles and statements heralding the arrival of a new and more inclusive form of capitalism often called stakeholder capitalism. The new capitalism promises to strengthen companies, improve outcomes for their... View Details

August 2007 (Revised January 2009)
Exercise

Real Options Exercises

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Introduces students to simple forms and solution techniques for real options found in corporate settings. Revised versions of problems appearing in an older problem set (293-095). The basic differences are that the new set is shorter, but also a bit more demanding. View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Valuation

February 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

The Dabbawala System: On-Time Delivery, Every Time

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Mona Sinha

Describes the Mumbai-based Dabbawala organization, which achieves very high service performance (6 Sigma equivalent or better) with a low-cost and very simple operating system. The case explores all aspects of their system (mission, information management, material... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Logistics; Alignment; Management Systems; Human Resources; Innovation and Invention; Mumbai