Why do people often resist knowledge that might benefit them? A new study suggests that they do so to protect their self-esteem.

Investors these days are paying close attention to companies'' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. But business leaders are discovering that it''s not enough just to disclose ESG data or invite shareholders to a sustainability-focused event; those sorts of cookie-cutter efforts fail to bring rewards from capital markets. The Spotlight feature "Social-Impact Efforts That Create Value" suggests a better approach--one .....more

The U.S.-China trade war and the supply and demand shocks brought on by the Covid-19 crisis are forcing manufacturers everywhere to reassess their supply chains. For the foreseeable future, they will face pressure to increase domestic production, grow employment in their home countries, reduce their dependence on risky sources, and rethink strategies of lean inventories and just-in-time replenishment, which can be crippling when material shortages .....more

In April 2020, global financial markets were still reeling as the Covid-19 pandemic spread rapidly across the world. Global equity markets had initially fallen by 30% in response to the pandemic, and high-yield credit markets had dropped by nearly 20%. In contrast, U.S. Treasury markets were up 20% year-to-date (YTD). Interestingly, the U.S. Mortgage Backed Security (MBS) market had been much less responsive to the health crisis, exhibiting very low .....more

The case opens with Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding, anticipating on the Group''s next phase in the multi-year transformation journey and reflecting on the initiatives he implemented to create the Group''s growth-oriented culture. Founded in 1995, MAF Group was a regional conglomerate, operating shopping malls, and retail and leisure establishments across 12 businesses in 15 markets in the Middle East, Africa, .....more

The Jill Draeger case is designed as an introduction to a general course on entrepreneurship. It is appropriate for many levels of students. It attempts to portray the archetype of opportunity-focused, resource-constrained behavior that is the hallmark of entrepreneurship. The case describes the career of Jill Draeger, an MBA with a background in the consumer electronics industry, principally smartphones. After a career hiatus, she has the idea of .....more

Spreadsheet supplement for case 920578.

In late 2019, Dr. Hiroaki Kitano, the president and director of research at Sony Computer Science Laboratories (Sony CSL), had decided he would be stepping down from his position soon. Sony CSL, a small blue-sky fundamental research facility funded by Sony, had always operated on the strength of the trust between Sony''s CEO and the lab''s director. Sony had been hands-off in its management, leaving Kitano to hire, fire, fund, and .....more

Erste Group ("Erste"), one of the largest financial services providers in Central and Eastern Europe, faced a rapidly changing business environment in 2019: fintech startups were unbundling retail banking services as consumers'' expectations for service in the digital age were evolving-and increasing. Yet, on the 200th anniversary of its inception as the first Austrian savings bank, Erste had overcome a number of strategic, leadership .....more

In the mid-1990s, Thyrocare disrupted the Indian medical diagnostic industry and steadily gained market share over the next two decades to become one of the top five competitors in India. Thyrocare built and sustained a competitive advantage and entered closely-related businesses. By 2017, the diagnostic industry had become extremely dynamic and competitors were attempting to replicate the unique operating model of Thyrocare. Stand-alone companies .....more