Harvard Business Review Cases

[Reginald Hanfy]

Googles Project Oxygen started with a fundamental question raised by executives in the early 2000s: do managers matter? The topic generated a multi-year research project that ultimately led to a comprehensive program, built around eight key management...

Bang Si-Hyuk ('Hitman Bang') is the founder and co-chief executive officer of Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind BTS, a 'K-pop' band that has found unparalleled success around the globe-a remarkable feat given that most of their songs are in...

Retaining talent is an issue for any company whose success relies on the creativity and excellence of its employees. This is especially true for Cirque du Soleil, the spectacularly successful "circus without animals," whose 2,100 employees include 500...

GE is faced with Jack Welch's impending retirement and whether anyone can sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the Welch era. After briefly describing GE's heritage and Welch's transformation of the company's business...

Although inexperienced in real estate, Edward Alexander hopes in June 2013 that youthful enthusiasm and an $240,000 in savings and inheritance will help him enter the real estate business. His experience chronicles the process of finding, evaluating, and...

The coach of the varsity Army crew team at West Point assembled his top eight rowers into the first crew team and the second tier of rowers into the second team using objective data on individual performance. As the second boat continually beat the first...

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). The launch of the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card was enthusiastically received by Millennial consumers,...

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). Based on a variety of metrics, Trader Joe's ranked as one of the most successful grocers in the United...

Provides an opportunity to examine leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, a compelling story of crisis, survival, and triumph. Summarizes Shackleton's career as an officer in the British Merchant...

The Inside the Case video that accompanies this case includes teaching tips and insight from the author (available to registered educators only). How should historic social injustices be addressed? Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and their...

This case traces the rise of Nelson Mandela from his tribal home in South Africa to president of the country. Rejecting expectations that he would be a tribal leader, Mandela instead dedicates his life to fighting Apartheid. After peaceful approaches...

Revlon India was founded as a joint venture in 1995, pairing the industrial conglomerate UMG with the global beauty brand Revlon, Inc. to bring international color cosmetics to India. After growing rapidly and pioneering the Beauty Advisor (BA) model in...

When the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson, unexpectedly died in 2009, he left behind an estate that was over $500 million in debt, with largely illiquid assets, and legions of creditors poised to begin to seize assets in as soon as 60 days. The task of...

Channels of distribution are a critical component of a firm's go to market strategy. A company may elect to sell its products directly to customers (DTC) without the assistance of any intermediaries or, alternatively, it may seek several channel partners...

The American Bully XL, first introduced to the United Kingdom around 2014, had been held responsible for a disproportionate share of both dog-related attacks and deaths. The case discusses the announcement, in October 2023, that the dog breed would be...

Firms and investors alike are beginning to recognize the importance of tracking how revenues from existing customers are evolving over time and to appreciate the value in understanding what might explain changes in these revenues. Consequently, in...

In 2023, the Singapore-based startup company Horizon Quantum Computing was on the cusp of fast expansion and the founder faced the challenge to decide where to open the second office outside Singapore. To make a choice from the list of 10 countries, the...

SofMedica Group had expanded from its origins as a medical equipment distributor in Romania to a holding company with four business lines operating in six countries. This expansion had been driven by SofMedica's mission: to make cutting edge medical...

The board of Aviva Plc, one of the world's largest insurers, must review its climate risk exposures and evaluate next steps. Risk experts at the firm have conducted a robust set of analyses prepared for its regulator, the Bank of England, simulating how...

This chapter provides a road map for how instructors can teach most effectively using the case method. It describes the history of the case method and the reasons to use it. It provides an overview of what instructors can do before, during and after...

Hwa Gung Tea (HGT), a premium tea brand founded in Taiwan, has a rich history dating back to 1918. For many decades, the family business has been producing and distributing alpine Oolong tea cultivated at above 2,000 metres on the famous tea-producing...

Mjunction is India's largest private sector e-commerce company by transaction value, and is more profitable than the oft fancied Flipkart, Walmart Snapdeal, and Amazon India. This Kolkata-based B2B player created an e-auction platform for coal and steel,...

In 2023, Cindy Rose, President of Microsoft Western Europe, faced a critical decision. Rose grappled with the potential impact of widespread layoffs on psychological safety and the cultural transformation she had championed since her arrival. When Rose...

Based in Boston's Chinatown, the Asian Community Development Corporation's mission was to build affordable homes, empower families, and strengthen communities. The case examines whether ACDC should continue pursuing all three goals or focus on affordable...

In May of 2023, President Biden faced a crisis of debt. The debt ceiling was about to be breached, while House Republicans demanded cuts of $3.5 trillion if they were to raise the ceiling. President Biden refused. The case consists of excerpts from the...

At the end of 2023, the Swedish startup H2 Green Steel was mid-way through construction on an integrated steel plant in Northern Sweden that would use abundant local hydro power to create Europe's first commercial-scale green steel. Their goal was to...

By May 2023, Boortmalt was the word's leading producer of malt, with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes, 15% of global market share, and 27 malting plants across five continents. It had recently acquired a major competitor and had sustained an...

This is a background note that surveys part of the extensive literature on organizational learning. The focus is on learning from experiences, how those learnings get translated into organizational routines and processes, and how that can also lead to...

The case highlights deliberations led by Brett Barakett, CEO and chief investment officer of Tremblant Capital, just months prior to launching an actively managed ETF, Tremblant Global (TOGA). However, his team continued to have reservations around the...

Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH) faced the challenge of scaling a low-tech business in the incense stick market. Led by Prakash Agarwal and his sons, MDPH secured a substantial domestic market share through competitive pricing and extensive...

Is steward ownership the solution for mission-driven businesses facing the trade-off between purpose and profits? Organically Grown Company (OGC), a pioneering organic produce distributor in Oregon, transitioned from a nonprofit to a grower-owned...

Karim Nour, the founder of Kashat, an Egyptian nano-lending fintech company, is contemplating how to manage the growth of his startup. Over the summer of 2022, Kashat's loan disbursements had grown by nearly 40%, fueled by macroeconomic instability in...

Bob Hall, President of Green Gables Partners, evaluated whether to angel invest into an up-and-coming ski brand. As the son-in-law of the founder of Vera Bradley and having retired from a lengthy career on Wall Street, Hall was well-versed in both direct...

The executive director of Meals on Wheels London (MOWL) was struggling with a lack of volunteers to deliver meals to the not-for-profit organization's customers. MOWL provided nutritional support for adults with disabilities and older people who required...

Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS, must create a proposal to spend ALUS' $100,000 marketing budget for their brand "New Acre Project". The brand had experienced good growth in previous years, but sales had stagnated for the past two, creating concerns about the...

In March 2023, the Adani Group experienced a sharp decline in market value, losing over $150 billion. This downturn followed allegations from US short-seller Hindenburg Research, which accused Gautam Adani of inflating his net worth to $120 billion over...

Contrary to the typical practice of cutting operating expenses by compromising on employees' benefits, the chairman of Zentaku Kogyo Company Ltd. (Zentaku), David Wu Chongrang, aimed to improve the standard of living of his staff by steadily raising...

This case encapsulates the challenges faced by Jegan Damodaraswamy in extending the core competency of quality and customer service for the renowned Hotel Annapoorna, in Coimbatore, India. In addition, he had to figure out how to overcome the hurdles...

Bhima Jewels ("Bhima") was a household name in southern India, where the company had built up a loyal clientele spanning three generations over its 97 years in business as a retailer in the jewellery sector. In 2015, Abhishek Bindu Madhav, the grandson...

The latest offering by Reliance Brands Limited (an undertaking of Reliance India Limited) under the aegis of the Jio brand was Jio World Plaza (JWP), an ultra-luxurious mall with breathtaking architecture and an upscale range of brands and services,...

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