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Your Company's Energy Data Is an Untapped Resource
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleIt can drive revenue as well as cut costs. -
Crap Circles
Analytics and data science Magazine ArticleThe most dubious business plan can look solid—even smart—if it’s cast as a virtuous circle. “See, we invest our profits in innovation to create delightful products that customers buy—which generate profits that we invest in innovation!” Who could argue with that? Indeed, the merit of self-reinforcing systems seems so obvious that businesspeople instinctively describe their […] -
Cutting the Cost of HIV
Finance and investing Magazine ArticleCompanies doing business in the developing world have to contend with the staggering human and financial costs of HIV infection—and most would agree that conventional approaches to controlling the epidemic aren’t working. In our experience in the labor-intensive mining industries of Russia, South Africa, and Botswana, we’ve seen infection rates among workers exceeding 90% in […] -
Coal Cleans Up Its Act
Sustainable business practices Magazine ArticleAre the energy markets shifting back toward coal? In some ways, they never left—coal generates more than 50% of U.S. electricity, for example. Yet since the 1950s, coal’s share of that market has declined against natural gas and other fuels, largely because emissions from coal-fired plants have hurt the environment and stirred up not-in-my-backyard sentiments. […] -
What If All U.S. Coal Workers Were Retrained to Work in Solar?
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleA study quantifies the costs and identifies four ways to pay for it. -
Crisis Management Failures in Japan’s Reactors and the BP Spill
Crisis management Digital ArticleA potentially catastrophic technological problem, an incomplete crisis response plan, misleading early information, divided private and public authority, ineffective initial actions. This could describe the current situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and its six reactors. But, it also describes what happened after the April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil […] -
The “Wages Are Skyrocketing” Narrative Is False
Labor Digital ArticleAnecdotal evidence is at odds with the data. -
On the Horizon: Six Sources of Limitless Energy?
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleTrying to keep up with the world's insatiable appetite for energy, scientists and entrepreneurs are exploring six innovative concepts: high-altitude wind... -
The 3 Stages of a Country Embracing Renewable Energy
Economics Digital ArticleManaging the transition well benefits companies and the environment. -
Are You Ready for a Blackout?
Risk management Magazine ArticleEvery corporate executive needs to learn five lessons from California’s electricity crisis. -
Future-Proof Your Climate Strategy
Operations strategy Magazine ArticleSmart companies are putting their own price on carbon. -
The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers
Economics Magazine ArticleIt pays to be big in a global economy, right? Wrong. The rush toward huge cross-border mergers is based on a faulty understanding of economics. There are better ways to address globalization than relentless expansion. -
Oil and Troubled Waters
Power and influence Magazine ArticleWhen a crisis forces outside directors to navigate major changes, investors and directors must adopt new roles. The largest such case to date provides some useful lessons. The Royal Dutch/Shell Group was a 60/40 joint venture between Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading. It was run by a five-person committee of managing directors […] -
Why Elon Musk’s New Strategy Makes Sense
Disruptive innovation Digital ArticleThe history of architectural innovation is on his side. -
Four Strategies for the Age of Smart Services
Business models Magazine ArticleIf you’re like many product-centric companies, you’re scrambling to grow your revenues from services. The best ways begin with making the products themselves smarter. -
Outsourcing Integration
Mergers and acquisitions Magazine ArticlePostmerger integrations are tough. Generally, the acquirer puts the target’s distinctive capabilities under its own management and then struggles to pull the two companies’ operations together. Managers often end up plugging holes in dikes instead of focusing on the core business, and, when they finally emerge from this distraction, they often find that their customers […] -
Developing First-Level Leaders
Leadership development Magazine ArticleHow can you make sure that your company’s frontline managers—the backbone of the organization—feel committed and involved? Here’s how one of the world’s largest corporations answered that question. -
How Much Cash Does Your Company Need?
Financial analysis Magazine ArticleMore than you think—a lot more—if yours is a knowledge-based corporation. That’s because you need to provide for intangible liabilities—the investments a company has to make to realize the benefits of its knowledge. -
Can America’s Blue States Tackle Climate Change on Their Own?
Government Digital ArticleThere’s a certain logic to wealthier, more liberal states leading the way. -
"It Will Need to Be the Most Amazing Thing Humankind Has Ever Done"
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleClimate change is a pressing concern for Bill Gates, who has just published a new book on the subject. He spoke with HBR's editor-in-chief about the need...
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Serious Materials
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Serious Materials is a start up who is moving into clean tech markets. The company's first product, QuietRock, originated the sound proofing drywall category... -
ESSA: Who Do You Work For?
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details ESSA is a Colombian electricity utility company. Its origins date back to the late nineteenth century in the Department of Santander. Its history and... -
General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details GE is considering introducing a "just-in-time" production system to reduce inventory in its thermocouple manufacturing area. The case presents students... -
Should the Ethanol Blender's Credit Be Eliminated?
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In December 2010, one U.S. legislative action was largely overlooked in the popular press: the one-year extension of the 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric... -
Vestas' World of Wind
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details The wind turbine manufacturer Vestas launched the industry's first highly localized and customized new product launch campaigns which used also new tools... -
NIO: Developing a Business Model in China
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details By 2018, NIO Inc. was more than just a car company. By providing high-performance smart electric vehicles and the ultimate user experience, NIO had shown... -
Global Climate Change and BP
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Following the sudden resignation of Sir John Browne, Tony Hayward, BP CEO, must decide how global climate change management will figure into BP's corporate... -
Masdar City: Aiming for Sustainable and Profitable Real Estate
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Masdar City broke ground in 2008 and was conceived by the Abu Dhabi government to be an international beacon of innovation in sustainable energy and real... -
Enterprise Risk Management at Hydro One (Multimedia Case)
Finance & Accounting Tool25.00View Details An early adopter of Enterprise Risk Management, energy giant Hydro One anticipated new threats and opportunities in an industry that faced climate change... -
Genzyme Center (B)
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning... -
Río Curicó: Wentéche Role Material
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details -
Drilling South: Petrobras Evaluates Pecom
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details The Brazilian oil company, Petrobras, is evaluating the acquisition of an Argentine oil company, the Perez Companc Group (Pecom). The acquisition would... -
New Songdo City
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details The government of South Korea has chosen John Hynes and Gale International to construct New Songdo City. This is an entirely new city, about the size... -
GE's ecomagination Challenge: An Experiment in Open Innovation
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details The GE ecomagination Challenge case study takes place in 2010 when Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of General Electric... -
Note on the Global Wind Industry
Global Business Case Study8.95View Details This note provides background information on the global wind industry and is meant to accompany HBS cases 708-051, The Suzlon Edge; 708-022, Cape Wind:... -
Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details As Acumen Fund, a global venture philanthropy firm, moves forward with an investment portfolio exceeding $22 million, it runs into two critical measurement... -
Norway: The Embarrassment of Riches
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details In early 2013, Norway was by many accounts the world's most developed country; it topped various indices for everything from democracy to happiness, had... -
El Paso's Sale to Kinder Morgan
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details On October 16, 2011, El Paso agreed to sell itself to Kinder Morgan for just over $21 billion. Shareholders filed suit, arguing that the process was tainted... -
Russia and China: Energy Relations and International Politics
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Russia and China are neighbors with complementary needs: Russia has an abundance of energy resources, which China needs to fuel its industry. The case... -
Bunge: Food, Fuel, and World Markets
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In 2007, Bunge, an agribusiness company, had over $26 billion in worldwide sales and was considered, along with Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM),...
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Serious Materials
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Serious Materials is a start up who is moving into clean tech markets. The company's first product, QuietRock, originated the sound proofing drywall category... -
Your Company's Energy Data Is an Untapped Resource
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleIt can drive revenue as well as cut costs. -
ESSA: Who Do You Work For?
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details ESSA is a Colombian electricity utility company. Its origins date back to the late nineteenth century in the Department of Santander. Its history and... -
Crap Circles
Analytics and data science Magazine ArticleThe most dubious business plan can look solid—even smart—if it’s cast as a virtuous circle. “See, we invest our profits in innovation to create delightful products that customers buy—which generate profits that we invest in innovation!” Who could argue with that? Indeed, the merit of self-reinforcing systems seems so obvious that businesspeople instinctively describe their […] -
General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details GE is considering introducing a "just-in-time" production system to reduce inventory in its thermocouple manufacturing area. The case presents students... -
Should the Ethanol Blender's Credit Be Eliminated?
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In December 2010, one U.S. legislative action was largely overlooked in the popular press: the one-year extension of the 45-cent-per-gallon Volumetric... -
Vestas' World of Wind
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details The wind turbine manufacturer Vestas launched the industry's first highly localized and customized new product launch campaigns which used also new tools... -
Cutting the Cost of HIV
Finance and investing Magazine ArticleCompanies doing business in the developing world have to contend with the staggering human and financial costs of HIV infection—and most would agree that conventional approaches to controlling the epidemic aren’t working. In our experience in the labor-intensive mining industries of Russia, South Africa, and Botswana, we’ve seen infection rates among workers exceeding 90% in […] -
NIO: Developing a Business Model in China
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details By 2018, NIO Inc. was more than just a car company. By providing high-performance smart electric vehicles and the ultimate user experience, NIO had shown... -
Global Climate Change and BP
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Following the sudden resignation of Sir John Browne, Tony Hayward, BP CEO, must decide how global climate change management will figure into BP's corporate...