Publications

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

By: Anita Elberse and Melissa Rodman

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) develops and presents scripted hero-versus-villain storylines featuring its wrestlers at hundreds of live events—on several weekly television shows, on its own over-the-top streaming service, and on social media—to millions of... View Details

Keywords: Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; Labor Economics; General Management; Entertainment; Sports; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Contracts; Marketing; Strategy

17 Sep 2024
HBS Case

The Climate Targets Leaders Need to Know as Regulations Loom

Michael Toffel, the Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management at Harvard Business School. Roughly 42 percent of Fortune 500 companies said they’d reached an environmental target or committed to reaching one by 2030, an 11... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

10 Mar 2011
What Do You Think?

To What Degree Does the Job Make the Person?

new job. In other words, is there a self-selection bias in studies of the effects of job on a person's chemical makeup? As Stephanie Smith put it, "Perhaps it's a case of either the hormones and natural adaptability of the person... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

11 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Guts and Bliss: The Entrepreneur’s Journey

from frustration with the existing supply, agreed the panelists. Entrepreneurship, in part, is the skill of connecting different patterns in order to create a product or service that's more useful and convenient, said Stephani Khurana... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Feb 2009
What Do You Think?

Why Can’t We Figure Out How to Select Leaders?

give important insight ...." Stephanie Fuentes said that "It's not hard if you take the time to do the planning and preparation." But the comments of the first group leave us wondering whether theory serves us well when it... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

07 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 7

Simons. By posing these provocative questions, you identify critical gaps in your strategy execution processes, focus on the most important choices you must make, and understand what's at stake in each one. In this concise guide, Simons... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2023
Case

Vida Health: Transforming Chronic Disease Treatment

By: William Sahlman and Nicole Tempest Keller

San Francisco based Vida Health, founded by Stephanie Tilenius, former vice president of Commerce and Payments at Google, was a B2B digital health startup focused on the treatment of cardiometabolic conditions, such as diabetes and obesity. Its innovative digital... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Health Care and Treatment; Product Marketing; Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Health Industry; Technology Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

Experiment of On-the-job Learning of Knowledge Production by Local Workers Reporting to Return Migrants By: Choudhury, Prithwiraj Abstract—I study whether return migrants facilitate knowledge production by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 24, 2017

discriminate in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation. The veiled methodology also produces larger estimates of the fraction of the population that identifies as LGBT or has had a sexual experience with a member of the same sex. Self-reports of non-heterosexual... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 1

by managers facing intertemporal decisions. We assess the association between different types of performance measures and the time horizon of business unit managers who have profit responsibility. Our results, based on a sample of 105... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2011
Case

Shifting the Diversity Climate: The Sodexo Solution

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case profiles the evolution of Sodexo's diversity initiative. Diversity became a key priority for Sodexo, North America in 2001 after a class-action lawsuit was filed and certified in Washington, D.C. against Sodexo Marriot Services, Inc., the food services... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Business Strategy; Globalization; Management Teams; Gender; Race; Ethnicity; Age; Food and Beverage Industry; North America; Washington (state, US)

August 2014
Case

Netflix: Designing the Netflix Prize (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Wesley M. Cohen, Kynon Ingram, Tushar Kothalkar, Maxim Kuzemchenko, Santosh Malik, Cynthia Meyn, Greta Friar and Stephanie Healy Pokrywa

In 2006, Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, was looking for a way to solve Netflix's customer churn problem. Netflix used Cinematch, its proprietary movie recommendation software, to promote individually determined best-fit movies to customers. Hastings determined that a... View Details

Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Prizes; Digitization; Algorithms; Recommendation Software; Disruption; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Sharing; Applications and Software; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Technology Industry; United States

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

July 2011
Case

Teach Plus: Mobilizing a New Generation of Teacher Leaders

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case profiles the evolution of Teach Plus, a non-profit organization founded on the premise that in order for public schools to continuously improve urban student achievement, teaching must become a career that motivates and retains effective early career... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Making; Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Teaching; Cambridge; Boston

September 2017
Case

Sensing (and Monetizing) Happiness at Hitachi

By: Ethan Bernstein and Stephanie Marton

Inspired by research linking happiness and productivity, Hitachi had invested in developing new “people analytics” technologies to help companies increase employee happiness. Hitachi had begun manufacturing high-tech badges that quantify a wearer’s activity patterns.... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Japan; Sociometers; Wearables; Interpersonal Communication; Human Resources; Happiness; Technology Industry; Japan

September 2010 (Revised February 2013)
Background Note

The Cage-Free Egg Movement

By: Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Describes the social movement confronting conventional egg production techniques (battery cages) based on animal welfare concerns, and some merits and drawbacks of cage-free alternatives. Highlights animal rights activist campaigns, political and regulatory responses,... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Rights; Supply Chain Management; Natural Environment; Social Issues; Competitive Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry