Publications

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04 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Shackleton: An Entrepreneur of Survival

In recent years, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton has been celebrated through books, memoirs, several films, and a major museum exhibit. His achievements on the ice have much to teach business students and executives, says Harvard Business School professor Nancy F.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Customer-Centric Design with Artificial Intelligence: Commonwealth Bank

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Jin Hyun Paik and Steven Randazzo

As Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) CEO Matt Comyn delivered the full financial year results in August 2021 over videoconference, it took less than two minutes for him to make his first mention of the organization's Customer Engagement Engine (CEE), the AI-driven customer... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Customer-centricity; Banks and Banking; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance; AI and Machine Learning; Financial Services Industry; Australia

15 May 2015
Research & Ideas

Kids Benefit From Having a Working Mom

©iStockphoto Here's some heartening news for working mothers worried about the future of their children. Women whose moms worked outside the home are more likely to have jobs themselves, are more likely to hold supervisory responsibility at those jobs, and earn higher... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

June 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Global Wine War 2015: New World Versus Old

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Sarah McAra

This case contrasts the tradition-bound Old World wine industry with the market-oriented New World producers in the battle for the Chinese wine market in 2015. China’s wine consumption growth presented a large and fast-growing export target that was extremely... View Details

18 Jul 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Diversity and Inclusion at Mars Petcare: Translating Awareness into Action

Keywords: Re: Katherine B. Coffman; Food & Beverage; Health

October 2018 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation

By: Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

In August 2017, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing banks and was also trying to improve the financial well-being of... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Experimentation; Banks and Banking; Credit Cards; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Australia

June 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Seeking to go beyond global best practices in reducing environmental impacts, FIJI Water, a premium artesian bottled water company in the United States, launched a Carbon Negative campaign that would offset more greenhouse gas emissions than were released by the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Footprint; Carbon Offsetting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Brands and Branding; Negotiation Tactics; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Fiji

April 2017
Case

Yushan Bicycles: Learning to Ride Abroad

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Paul S. Myers

Yushan Bicycles, one of Taiwan's leading bicycle manufacturers, is pursuing an international expansion strategy by increasing demand for its range of traditional and electric bicycles and shifting its product mix toward higher-margin models sold through specialty... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Conflict Management; Learning; Bicycle Industry; Taiwan; Australia

November 2018 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Zespri Grows

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Controlling about a third of global kiwifruit exports by volume and nearly half by value in 2018, Zespri was a grower-owned “corporatized cooperative” with the exclusive right to export New Zealand-grown kiwifruit (except to Australia). Zespri did not grow fruit but... View Details

October 2017 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Coaching Makena Lane

By: Ethan Bernstein and Om Lala

Makena Lane has a gift for producing results, even in the challenging retail context of the 2010s, but she also has a knack for “ruffling some feathers” in the process. Recruited to a Fortune 500 grocery and pharmacy retailer after climbing to Associate Principal in... View Details

December 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Zespri

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Mary Louise Shelman

Grower-owned Zespri is the sole exporter of New Zealand-grown kiwifruit outside of Australia and New Zealand. Facing growing international competition, Zespri invested in consumer branding and innovation, which has led to new types of kiwifruit that taste better and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Globalized Firms and Management; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Brands and Branding; Cooperative Ownership; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; New Zealand

09 May 2023
Research & Ideas

Where to Find Remote Work Now: 250 Million Job Postings Paint a Complex Picture

Remote work is here to stay—but not everywhere, and not in all companies. As the business world emerges from the pandemic, some companies are demanding a full return to the office. Others are embracing remote work options for their employees. New research suggests how... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

31 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

Can a ‘Basic Bundle’ of Health Insurance Cure Coverage Gaps and Spur Innovation?

By the early 1980s, several high-income countries—including Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand—had universal health insurance covering 100 percent of the population. Meanwhile, 40 years later, the United States continues to lag behind,... View Details

Keywords: by Kasandra Brabaw; Insurance; Health

April 2019
Case

Barber Cardiosystems

By: Ranjay Gulati and Paul S. Myers

Barber Cardiosystems, based in Melbourne, Australia, designs and manufactures therapeutic devices used for treatment of coronary conditions. Over four decades, it has grown to be among the top 200 medical device companies in the world. It competes against much larger... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Strategic Alignment; Cost Management; Performance Productivity; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Strategy; Leadership; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Australia

11 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?

The 70th anniversary of Israel’s founding last year stirred reflection about the country’s image, values, and position in the world among everyone from former diplomats to Hollywood actors. Despite efforts to portray Israel as modern and safe, the Israeli-Palestinian... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Tourism

September–October 2020
Article

Social-Impact Efforts That Create Real Value

By: George Serafeim

Until the mid-2010s few investors paid attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data—information about companies’ carbon footprints, labor policies, board makeup, and so forth. Today the data is widely used by investors. How can organizations create... View Details

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2019
Chapter

Origins and Development of Global Business

By: Geoffrey Jones

This chapter explores how business enterprises have been powerful actors in the spread of global capitalism between 1840 and the present day. Emerging out of the industrialized Western economies, global firms created and co-created markets and ecosystems through their... View Details

Keywords: Global Business; Multinational; Globalization; Business History; Strategy; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America; Oceania

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December 2012
Case

Chobani: Growing a Live and Active Culture

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Matthew Preble

Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of the Greek yogurt company Chobani, Inc., was reflecting on what explained his young company's meteoric rise. The company held over half of the U.S. Greek yogurt market, and nearly 20% of the total yogurt market. The company's innovative approach to... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Growth Strategy; Growth Management; Yogurt; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Culture; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Agribusiness; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; Australia