Difficult Middles - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Mar 2017
News

The Middle Way

preservation. And Dallas Smith, head of a regional coalition of First Nations, thanked the other speakers for their efforts to make his community a better place to live. This scene seemed impossible when negotiations began in 1996. At the time, the four groups were in... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; photos by Kamil Bialous

03 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty on Revolution in the Middle East and North Africa

From Tunisia to Egypt, Bahrain to Yemen, as a number of nations in North Africa and the Middle East go through cataclysmic changes, the world watches and wonders what the future may hold as myriad protestors risk their lives for... View Details

Keywords: Re: Deepak Malhotra; Energy; Utilities

09 May 2021
Blog Post

Meet the MoMBAs – Persisting Through a Difficult Year

transformed during my first year at HBS. She keeps me grounded in a fast-paced environment. I am clear on my priorities and optimize every minute in my day to maximize my time here while still being involved in her life. Random hugs and kisses in the View Details

Web

Middle East & North Africa - Global Activities 2021

Middle East & North Africa Middle East & North Africa Helping Leaders Chart an Ethical Path Pictured: Plastic bottles are sorted for recycling at Cedar Environmental on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon.... View Details

2012
Case

Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (A)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Olivia Leskinen

Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (A) 2009 AL Fellow Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and seemed to address a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from... View Details

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23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

Is it possible to truly empower employees to make their own decisions—even when those decisions could mean life or death? That is the question posed by Dutch home healthcare organization Buurtzorg, which has radically avoided almost all View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

November 2018 (Revised January 2022)
Case

JUUL and the Vaping Revolution

By: Michael W. Toffel, John Masko and Sarah Mehta

In late 2019, San Francisco-based electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) maker JUUL Labs (pronounced “jewel”) faced intense pressure. Sales of JUUL products exceeded $1 billion in 2018, dominating the e-cigarette category. While JUUL Labs’ stated goal was to help current... View Details

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April 2014 (Revised February 2015)
Case

Saudi Arabia: Finding Stability after the Arab Spring

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Hilary White

In 2015, King Salman of Saudi Arabia was juggling several balls as the kingdom's new monarch. At home, there were pressures for liberalization, from women and youth, and pressures for more conservative religious observance and policy from the Muslim "ulema." His... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Policy; Balance and Stability; Change; Saudi Arabia

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21 Aug 2013
Research & Ideas

What Went Wrong at J.C. Penney?

for customers to come into the store, he came up with the idea of unique boutiques within each J.C. Penney—the store-within-a-store concept. He added services in the middle of the store where, for example, people got their nails done. He... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Retail

27 May 2015
News

A Playbook for Making America More Entrepreneurial

05 Oct 2016
What Do You Think?

Can the US Economy Regain the Growth and Prosperity of the Past?

Whose Job Is It to Rebuild the US Middle Class? Optimism among respondents to this month’s column concerning future United States growth rates hinges on whether the middle class can be restored. That’s a big... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Micromax: Scaling the Largest Indian Mobile Handset Company

By: Ranjay Gulati, Rachna Tahilyani and Alicia DeSantola

It is January 2014 and Rahul Sharma, cofounder of Micromax Informatics (Micromax), the largest Indian mobile handset company, is preparing for an emergency conference call with his private equity investors. In the last six years, Micromax had grown its annual product... View Details

Keywords: Mobile; Scaling; Indian Software Development; Consumer Behavior; Management Turnover; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Management; E-commerce; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; India

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Christina Wing is a Senior Lecturer in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. Her research focuses on families in business, and she is the creator of Demystifying the Family Enterprise, a course that explores... View Details

January 2021 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Snapp: Scaling Under Sanctions in Iran (A)

By: Meg Rithmire and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in November 2019 as Eyad Alkassar and Mahmoud Fouz, co-founders of Iran’s first and leading ride-hailing platform, Snapp, find out about Apple’s and Google’s decisions to remove all Iranian apps from their respective application stores.
The case... View Details

Keywords: Sanctions; Change Management; Disruption; Volatility; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Risk Management; Crisis Management; Transportation Industry; Iran; Middle East

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Profile

Ebru Dorman

Ebru Dorman (MBA 1999) is deputy CEO of the largest private health care provider in Turkey, focused on improving the patient experience. She is also working to introduce the “softer skills” into the primary school curriculum. View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Nonprofit / Government

Güler Sabancı

Keywords: Diversified

15 Jan 2020
Video

Rahmi M. Koç

Rahmi Koç, former Chair of of Koç Holding, the largest diversified business group in Turkey, relates how difficult it is to bring foreign investments to Turkey, in part due to its location in a volatile region... View Details

09 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 9

Working PapersOperational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting Authors:Julia Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer, and Michael W. Toffel Abstract Operational failures occur in all industries with consequences that range from minor... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Ouided Bouchamaoui

Keywords: Diversified, Politics

November 2010
Article

Stress-Test Your Strategy: The 7 Questions to Ask

By: Robert Simons

An economic downturn can quickly expose the shortcomings of your business strategy. But can you identify its weak points in good times as well? And can you focus on those weak points that really matter? I identify seven questions all executives should ask in order to... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Creativity; Success; Customers; Employees; Business and Shareholder Relations; Performance; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions

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