hbs case study free

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

HBS Case Selections

Revlon India's Turnaround: Navigating Online-Offline Decisions Using a Balanced Scorecard

• Tatiana Sandino
• Samuel Grad

Urban Company

• Krishna G. Palepu

RMZ 4.0: "How fast do we want to run?"

• Boris Groysberg
• Sarah L. Abbott

NIO: A Chinese EV Company's Global Strategy

• William C. Kirby
• Noah B. Truwit

India: Will the Giant Emerge?

• Christian H.M. Ketels
• Radhika Kak

JPMorgan Chase in Paris

• Joseph L. Bower
• Dante Roscini
• Elena Corsi
• Michael Norris

OpenAI: Idealism Meets Capitalism

• Shikhar Ghosh
• Shweta Bagai

Generative AI and the Future of Work

• Christopher Stanton
• Matt Higgins

Copilot(s): Generative AI at Microsoft and GitHub

• Frank Nagle
• Shane Greenstein
• Maria P. Roche
• Nataliya Langburd Wright
• Sarah Mehta

Innovation at Moog Inc.

• Brian J. Hall
• Ashley V. Whillans
• Davis Heniford
• Dominika Randle
• Caroline Witten

Innovation at Google Ads: The Sales Acceleration and Innovation Labs (SAIL) (A)

• Linda A. Hill
• Emily Tedards

Juan Valdez: Innovation in Caffeination

• Michael I. Norton
• Jeremy Dann

UGG Steps into the Metaverse

• Shunyuan Zhang
• Sharon Joseph
• Sunil Gupta
• Julia Kelley

Metaverse Wars

• David B. Yoffie

Roblox: Virtual Commerce in the Metaverse

• Ayelet Israeli
• Nicole Tempest Keller

Timnit Gebru: "SILENCED No More" on AI Bias and The Harms of Large Language Models

• Tsedal Neeley
• Stefani Ruper

Hugging Face: Serving AI on a Platform

• Kerry Herman
• Sarah Gulick

SmartOne: Building an AI Data Business

• Karim R. Lakhani
• Pippa Tubman Armerding
• Gamze Yucaoglu
• Fares Khrais

Honeywell and the Great Recession (A)

• Sandra J. Sucher
• Susan Winterberg

Target: Responding to the Recession

• Ranjay Gulati
• Catherine Ross
• Richard S. Ruback
• Royce Yudkoff

Hometown Foods: Changing Price Amid Inflation

• Julian De Freitas
• Jeremy Yang
• Das Narayandas

Elon Musk's Big Bets

• Eric Baldwin

Elon Musk: Balancing Purpose and Risk

Tesla's ceo compensation plan.

• John R. Wells
• Gabriel Ellsworth

China Rapid Finance: The Collapse of China's P2P Lending Industry

• Bonnie Yining Cao
• John P. McHugh

Forbidden City: Launching a Craft Beer in China

• Christopher A. Bartlett
• Carole Carlson

Booking.com

• Stefan Thomke
• Daniela Beyersdorfer

Innovation at Uber: The Launch of Express POOL

• Chiara Farronato
• Alan MacCormack

Racial Discrimination on Airbnb (A)

• Michael Luca
• Scott Stern
• Hyunjin Kim

Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

• William R. Kerr
• Emilie Billaud
• Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow

• Joseph B. Fuller
• Carl Kreitzberg

Leading Change in Talent at L'Oreal

• Lakshmi Ramarajan
• Vincent Dessain
• Emer Moloney
• William W. George
• Andrew N. McLean

Eve Hall: The African American Investment Fund in Milwaukee

• Steven S. Rogers
• Alterrell Mills

United Housing - Otis Gates

• Mercer Cook

The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management

• Herman B. Leonard
• Marc J. Epstein
• Melissa Tritter

The Great East Japan Earthquake (B): Fast Retailing Group's Response

• Hirotaka Takeuchi
• Kenichi Nonomura
• Dena Neuenschwander
• Meghan Ricci
• Kate Schoch
• Sergey Vartanov

Insurer of Last Resort?: The Federal Financial Response to September 11

• David A. Moss
• Sarah Brennan

Under Armour

• Rory McDonald
• Clayton M. Christensen
• Daniel West
• Jonathan E. Palmer
• Tonia Junker

Hunley, Inc.: Casting for Growth

• John A. Quelch
• James T. Kindley

Bitfury: Blockchain for Government

• Mitchell B. Weiss

Deutsche Bank: Pursuing Blockchain Opportunities (A)

• Lynda M. Applegate
• Christoph Muller-Bloch

Maersk: Betting on Blockchain

• Scott Johnson

Yum! Brands

• Jordan Siegel
• Christopher Poliquin

Bharti Airtel in Africa

• Tanya Bijlani

Li & Fung 2012

• F. Warren McFarlan
• Michael Shih-ta Chen
• Keith Chi-ho Wong

Sony and the JK Wedding Dance

• John Deighton
• Leora Kornfeld

United Breaks Guitars

David dao on united airlines.

• Benjamin Edelman
• Jenny Sanford

Marketing Reading: Digital Marketing

• Joseph Davin

Social Strategy at Nike

• Mikolaj Jan Piskorski
• Ryan Johnson

The Tate's Digital Transformation

Social strategy at american express, mellon financial and the bank of new york.

• Carliss Y. Baldwin
• Ryan D. Taliaferro

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar, Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire?

• Juan Alcacer
• David J. Collis

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas

• Benjamin C. Esty

Finance Reading: The Mergers and Acquisitions Process

• John Coates

Apple: Privacy vs. Safety? (A)

• Henry W. McGee
• Nien-he Hsieh
• Sarah McAra

Sidewalk Labs: Privacy in a City Built from the Internet Up

• Leslie K. John

Data Breach at Equifax

• Suraj Srinivasan
• Quinn Pitcher
• Jonah S. Goldberg

Apple's Core

• Noam Wasserman

Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple

• Barbara Feinberg

Apple Inc. in 2012

• Penelope Rossano

Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization (Abridged)

• Anthony J. Mayo
• Dana M. Teppert

Barbara Norris: Leading Change in the General Surgery Unit

• Nitin Nohria
• Deborah Bell

Adobe Systems: Working Towards a "Suite" Release (A)

• David A. Thomas
• Lauren Barley

Home Nursing of North Carolina

Castronics, llc, gemini investors, angie's list: ratings pioneer turns 20.

• Robert J. Dolan

Basecamp: Pricing

• Frank V. Cespedes
• Robb Fitzsimmons

J.C. Penney's "Fair and Square" Pricing Strategy

J.c. penney's 'fair and square' strategy (c): back to the future.

• Jose B. Alvarez

Osaro: Picking the best path

• James Palano
• Bastiane Huang

HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM

• Thomas Steenburgh

GROW: Using Artificial Intelligence to Screen Human Intelligence

• Ethan S. Bernstein
• Paul D. McKinnon
• Paul Yarabe

GitLab and the Future of All-Remote Work (A)

• Prithwiraj Choudhury
• Emma Salomon

TCS: From Physical Offices to Borderless Work

Creating a virtual internship at goldman sachs.

• Iavor Bojinov
• Jan W. Rivkin

Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal

• Nancy F. Koehn
• Kelly McNamara
• Nora N. Khan
• Elizabeth Legris

JCPenney: Back in Business

• K. Shelette Stewart
• Christine Snively

Arup: Building the Water Cube

• Robert G. Eccles
• Amy C. Edmondson
• Dilyana Karadzhova

(Re)Building a Global Team: Tariq Khan at Tek

Managing a global team: greg james at sun microsystems, inc. (a).

• Thomas J. DeLong

Organizational Behavior Reading: Leading Global Teams

Ron ventura at mitchell memorial hospital.

• Heide Abelli

Anthony Starks at InSiL Therapeutics (A)

• Gary P. Pisano
• Vicki L. Sato

Wolfgang Keller at Konigsbrau-TAK (A)

• John J. Gabarro

The 2010 Chilean Mining Rescue (A)

• Faaiza Rashid

IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design

• Ryan W. Buell
• Andrew Otazo
• Benjamin Jones
• Alexis Brownell

Midland Energy Resources, Inc.: Cost of Capital

• Timothy A. Luehrman
• Joel L. Heilprin

Globalizing the Cost of Capital and Capital Budgeting at AES

• Mihir A. Desai
• Doug Schillinger

Cost of Capital at Ameritrade

• Mark Mitchell
• Erik Stafford

Finance Reading: Cost of Capital

Circles: series d financing.

• Paul W. Marshall
• Kristin J. Lieb
• William A. Sahlman
• Michael J. Roberts

Andreessen Horowitz

• Thomas R. Eisenmann

Entrepreneurship Reading: Partnering with Venture Capitalists

• Jeffrey J. Bussgang

David Neeleman: Flight Path of a Servant Leader (A)

• Matthew D. Breitfelder

Coach Hurley at St. Anthony High School

• Scott A. Snook
• Bradley C. Lawrence

Shapiro Global

• Michael Brookshire
• Monica Haugen
• Michelle Kravetz
• Sarah Sommer

Kathryn McNeil (A)

• Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.
• Jerry Useem

Carol Fishman Cohen: Professional Career Reentry (A)

• Myra M. Hart
• Robin J. Ely
• Susan Wojewoda

Alex Montana at ESH Manufacturing Co.

• Michael Kernish

Michelle Levene (A)

• Tiziana Casciaro
• Victoria W. Winston

John and Andrea Rice: Entrepreneurship and Life

• Howard H. Stevenson
• Janet Kraus
• Shirley M. Spence

Partner Center

Case collection: Harvard Business Publishing

About Harvard Business Publishing

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) is the leading provider of teaching materials for management education.

HBP was founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, wholly-owned subsidiary of Harvard University, reporting into Harvard Business School. HBP's mission is to improve the practice of management in a changing world. This mission influences how they approach what they do and what they believe is important.

With approximately 450 employees, primarily based in Boston, with offices in New York City, India, Singapore, Qatar and the United Kingdom, HBP serves as a bridge between academia and enterprises around the globe through its publications and multiple platforms for content delivery, and its reach into three markets: academic, corporate, and individual managers. HBP has a conventional governance structure comprising a  Board of Directors , an internal  Executive Committee , and Business Unit Directors.

About the collection

The Case Centre distributes a comprehensive range of materials including the complete collection of more than 7,500 Harvard Business School case studies, teaching notes, background notes, case videos, and a selection of software ancillaries.

Also included are:

• Brief Cases that are rigorous and compact with five-eight pages and three-four exhibits
• case studies that are popular for undergraduate-level courses
• executive education cases that provide rich yet efficient learning for managers at every level.

Additional top quality HBP teaching materials available from The Case Centre include:

• articles from the  Harvard Business Review  and other top management journals
• case method books from the Harvard Business School Press
• over 2,000  individual chapters  from popular Harvard Business School Press books
• newsletter articles  from Harvard Management Update, Strategy & Innovation, Negotiation, and Balanced Scorecard Report
• Core Curriculum Readings  that cover the foundational concepts, theories, and frameworks that business students must learn. Authored by faculty at Harvard Business School, each Reading includes a teaching note, related course materials, and exhibit slides. Many include test banks, practice questions, video clips, and Interactive Illustrations to enhance student comprehension of specific topics.

HBP also offer a number of free cases.  Browse here

Collection contact

For any queries related to the Harvard Business Publishing collection, please visit:

Travis Stewart e [email protected]

Browse the full collection Browse prize-winning cases

Available from the case centre.

The HBP collection of over 16,000 cases, and their accompanying instructor materials, software and videos, 7,000 management articles and 2,000 individual book chapters are available from The Case Centre.

See what's available

There are restrictions on the distribution of some items. To see any restrictions login to our site (or register if you've not already done so) and use our online search to find the item you're interested in. Any restrictions will be shown alongside the product.

Materials from Harvard Business Publishing are not available to customers at corporate organisations or at organisations in China.

www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators

Top ten bestselling cases

Browse the top ten bestselling cases from Harvard Business Publishing in 2023.

Browse the full collection

View all case collections

Learning with cases can be a challenging experience.

Our interactive study guide takes students through the process, providing practical tips, tricks and tools.

Discover more

Register now for Free Access to Case Studies from Harvard and Other Renowned Institutions

Your free harvard business publishing educator account includes.

- Access to over 50,000 learning materials - Latest ideas from Harvard Business Review - Digital access to teaching guides & resources - Simulations with real-world choices and outcomes

Our catalog includes a variety of learning topics such as

• General Management
• Business Ethics
• Finance & Accounting
• Operations Management
• Organizational Behavior
• Information Technology
• Entrepreneurship
• HR Management
• International Business

What are Other Business Educators Saying about Our Collection?

“I can’t imagine a more versatile resource than Harvard Business Publishing - everything from cases, videos to simulations are available. The advantage of teaching with HBP materials is twofold: ease of mind for the faculty and credibility for the students.”

“After 35 years as an academic, I have come to the conclusion that there is a magic in the way Harvard cases are written. Cases go from specific to general, to show students that business situations are amenable to hardheaded analysis that then generalize to larger theoretical insights. The students love it!”

“For almost 25 years, I’ve used HBP’s cases, articles and simulations in my MBA classes. The material is always updated, so that new company stories are featured alongside some of the most classic articles.”

We offer access to learning materials from 50+ partners including:

About the Case Method

Harvard Business School pioneered the case method of teaching in the 1920s as a way of bringing management lessons to life in the classroom. The HBS case method presents real-life situations that executives have faced and asks readers to consider how they would respond. Today the vast majority of HBS classes are built on the case method. Our exhibit, From Inquiry to Action: Harvard Business School & the Case Method , provides an in-depth look at the teaching practice.

Requesting Cases from the Library

Baker Library provides active HBS cases to students currently enrolled in an HBS MBA or doctoral course only.

Baker Library's HBS Archives also maintains a collection of approximately 45,000 retired (inactive) cases available to all users for their research.

Please use the forms below to request cases.

Individuals not currently enrolled in an HBS MBA or Doctoral course may purchase cases from the Harvard Business Review Store . Educators may visit Harvard Business School Publishing for Educators to purchase cases for teaching.

Request Active HBS Cases

Request retired hbs cases, requesting cases (general public).

Educators: Please visit Harvard Business School Publishing for Educators to search for and purchase cases for teaching.

Non-Educators may purchase HBS cases from the Harvard Business Review Store .

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Business Insights →

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

• Career Development
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Earning Your MBA
• Negotiation
• News & Events
• Productivity
• Staff Spotlight
• Student Profiles
• Work-Life Balance
• AI Essentials for Business
• Alternative Investments
• Business Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Climate Change
• Creating Brand Value
• Design Thinking and Innovation
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Disruptive Strategy
• Economics for Managers
• Entrepreneurial Marketing
• Entrepreneurship Essentials
• Financial Accounting
• Global Business
• Launching Tech Ventures
• Leadership Principles
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
• Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
• Leading with Finance
• Management Essentials
• Negotiation Mastery
• Organizational Leadership
• Power and Influence for Positive Impact
• Strategy Execution
• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Sustainable Investing
• Winning with Digital Platforms

5 Benefits of Learning Through the Case Study Method

• 28 Nov 2023

While several factors make HBS Online unique —including a global Community and real-world outcomes —active learning through the case study method rises to the top.

In a 2023 City Square Associates survey, 74 percent of HBS Online learners who also took a course from another provider said HBS Online’s case method and real-world examples were better by comparison.

Here’s a primer on the case method, five benefits you could gain, and how to experience it for yourself.

Access your free e-book today.

What Is the Harvard Business School Case Study Method?

The case study method , or case method , is a learning technique in which you’re presented with a real-world business challenge and asked how you’d solve it. After working through it yourself and with peers, you’re told how the scenario played out.

HBS pioneered the case method in 1922. Shortly before, in 1921, the first case was written.

“How do you go into an ambiguous situation and get to the bottom of it?” says HBS Professor Jan Rivkin, former senior associate dean and chair of HBS's master of business administration (MBA) program, in a video about the case method . “That skill—the skill of figuring out a course of inquiry to choose a course of action—that skill is as relevant today as it was in 1921.”

Originally developed for the in-person MBA classroom, HBS Online adapted the case method into an engaging, interactive online learning experience in 2014.

In HBS Online courses , you learn about each case from the business professional who experienced it. After reviewing their videos, you’re prompted to take their perspective and explain how you’d handle their situation.

You then get to read peers’ responses, “star” them, and comment to further the discussion. Afterward, you learn how the professional handled it and their key takeaways.

Learn more about HBS Online's approach to the case method in the video below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more.

HBS Online’s adaptation of the case method incorporates the famed HBS “cold call,” in which you’re called on at random to make a decision without time to prepare.

“Learning came to life!” said Sheneka Balogun , chief administration officer and chief of staff at LeMoyne-Owen College, of her experience taking the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program . “The videos from the professors, the interactive cold calls where you were randomly selected to participate, and the case studies that enhanced and often captured the essence of objectives and learning goals were all embedded in each module. This made learning fun, engaging, and student-friendly.”

If you’re considering taking a course that leverages the case study method, here are five benefits you could experience.

5 Benefits of Learning Through Case Studies

1. take new perspectives.

The case method prompts you to consider a scenario from another person’s perspective. To work through the situation and come up with a solution, you must consider their circumstances, limitations, risk tolerance, stakeholders, resources, and potential consequences to assess how to respond.

Taking on new perspectives not only can help you navigate your own challenges but also others’. Putting yourself in someone else’s situation to understand their motivations and needs can go a long way when collaborating with stakeholders.

2. Hone Your Decision-Making Skills

Another skill you can build is the ability to make decisions effectively . The case study method forces you to use limited information to decide how to handle a problem—just like in the real world.

Throughout your career, you’ll need to make difficult decisions with incomplete or imperfect information—and sometimes, you won’t feel qualified to do so. Learning through the case method allows you to practice this skill in a low-stakes environment. When facing a real challenge, you’ll be better prepared to think quickly, collaborate with others, and present and defend your solution.

3. Become More Open-Minded

As you collaborate with peers on responses, it becomes clear that not everyone solves problems the same way. Exposing yourself to various approaches and perspectives can help you become a more open-minded professional.

When you’re part of a diverse group of learners from around the world, your experiences, cultures, and backgrounds contribute to a range of opinions on each case.

On the HBS Online course platform, you’re prompted to view and comment on others’ responses, and discussion is encouraged. This practice of considering others’ perspectives can make you more receptive in your career.

“You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from your peers,” said Ratnaditya Jonnalagadda , a software engineer who took CORe.

In addition to interacting with peers in the course platform, Jonnalagadda was part of the HBS Online Community , where he networked with other professionals and continued discussions sparked by course content.

“You get to understand your peers better, and students share examples of businesses implementing a concept from a module you just learned,” Jonnalagadda said. “It’s a very good way to cement the concepts in one's mind.”

4. Enhance Your Curiosity

One byproduct of taking on different perspectives is that it enables you to picture yourself in various roles, industries, and business functions.

“Each case offers an opportunity for students to see what resonates with them, what excites them, what bores them, which role they could imagine inhabiting in their careers,” says former HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in the Harvard Business Review . “Cases stimulate curiosity about the range of opportunities in the world and the many ways that students can make a difference as leaders.”

Through the case method, you can “try on” roles you may not have considered and feel more prepared to change or advance your career .

5. Build Your Self-Confidence

Finally, learning through the case study method can build your confidence. Each time you assume a business leader’s perspective, aim to solve a new challenge, and express and defend your opinions and decisions to peers, you prepare to do the same in your career.

According to a 2022 City Square Associates survey , 84 percent of HBS Online learners report feeling more confident making business decisions after taking a course.

“Self-confidence is difficult to teach or coach, but the case study method seems to instill it in people,” Nohria says in the Harvard Business Review . “There may well be other ways of learning these meta-skills, such as the repeated experience gained through practice or guidance from a gifted coach. However, under the direction of a masterful teacher, the case method can engage students and help them develop powerful meta-skills like no other form of teaching.”

How to Experience the Case Study Method

If the case method seems like a good fit for your learning style, experience it for yourself by taking an HBS Online course. Offerings span eight subject areas, including:

• Business essentials
• Leadership and management
• Entrepreneurship and innovation
• Digital transformation
• Finance and accounting
• Business in society

No matter which course or credential program you choose, you’ll examine case studies from real business professionals, work through their challenges alongside peers, and gain valuable insights to apply to your career.

Are you interested in discovering how HBS Online can help advance your career? Explore our course catalog and download our free guide —complete with interactive workbook sections—to determine if online learning is right for you and which course to take.

About the Author

• Browse All Articles
• Newsletter Sign-Up

Marketing →

• 17 Sep 2024
• Cold Call Podcast

Fawn Weaver’s Entrepreneurial Journey as an Outsider in the Spirits Industry

In 2017 Fawn Weaver launched a premium American whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest. It became the fastest growing and most awarded whiskey brand in America, despite the challenges Weaver faced as a Black woman and outsider to the spirits industry, which is capital-intensive, highly regulated, competitive, and male-dominated. In October 2023, Weaver announced plans to expand into cognac with the goal of building the next major alcoholic beverages conglomerate. But the company was still heavily reliant on capital. How could Weaver convince new investors that her plans for cognac would yield success? Harvard Business School senior lecturer Hise Gibson discusses Weaver’s leadership style, growth strategies, and her use of storytelling to connect customers with her brand in the case, "Uncle Nearest: Creating a Legacy."

• 20 Aug 2024

Angel City Football Club: A New Business Model for Women’s Sports

Angel City Football Club (ACFC) was founded in 2020 by venture capitalist Kara Nortman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and actor and activist Natalie Portman. As outsiders to professional sports, the all-female founding team had rewritten the playbook for how to build a sports franchise by applying lessons from the tech and entertainment industries. Unlike typical sports franchises that built their teams and track records over many years before extending their brand beyond a local base, ACFC had inverted the model, generating both global and local interest in the club during its first three years. The club’s early success was reflected in its market valuation of $250 million as of its sale in July 2024 — the highest in the National Women’s Soccer League. Equally important, ACFC had started to bend the curve toward greater pay equity in women’s sports — the club’s ultimate goal. But the founders knew there was much more to do to capitalize on the club’s momentum. As they developed ACFC’s first three-year strategic plan in 2024, they weighed the most effective ways to build value for the franchise. Was it better to allocate the incremental budget to investments in digital brand building or to investments in the on-field product? Senior Lecturer Jeffrey Rayport is joined by case co-author Nicole Keller and club co-founder Kara Nortman to discuss the case, “Angel City Football Club: Scoring a New Model.”

Why Competing With Tech Giants Requires Finding Your Own Edge

In the new book Smart Rivals, Feng Zhu and Bonnie Yining Cao show business leaders how to create competitive advantages by uncovering their hidden strengths and leveraging their individual capabilities.

• 06 Aug 2024

How EdTech Firm Coursera Is Incorporating GenAI into Its Products and Services

In early 2023, Jeff Maggioncalda, CEO of Coursera, started developing the EdTech firm’s strategy for incorporating GenAI into their offerings. By early 2024, the firm had made significant progress in bringing four key capabilities to market, but GenAI was evolving quickly and Coursera needed to continuously improve its offerings. While the firm had been an early mover, competitors were adapting fast. Was Coursera taking full advantage of the opportunities presented by the technology? What more could it do to remain competitive?

• 09 Jul 2024

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and Brand Building

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which allow individuals to own their digital assets and move them from place to place, are changing the interaction between consumers and digital goods, brands, and platforms. Professor Scott Duke Kominers and tech entrepreneur Steve Kaczynski discuss the case, “Bored Ape Yacht Club: Navigating the NFT World,” and the related book they co-authored, The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform The Way We Buy, Sell, And Create. They focus on the rise and popularity of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and the new model of brand building created by owning those tokens.

• 07 May 2024

Lessons in Business Innovation from Legendary Restaurant elBulli

Ferran Adrià, chef at legendary Barcelona-based restaurant elBulli, was facing two related decisions. First, he and his team must continue to develop new and different dishes for elBulli to guarantee a continuous stream of innovation, the cornerstone of the restaurant's success. But they also need to focus on growing the restaurant’s business. Can the team balance both objectives? Professor Michael I. Norton discusses the connections between creativity, emotions, rituals, and innovation – and how they can be applied to other domains – in the case, “elBulli: The Taste of Innovation,” and his new book, The Ritual Effect.

• 29 Feb 2024

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

Reach soccer's pinnacle. Become a global brand. Buy a team. Sign Lionel Messi. David Beckham makes success look as easy as his epic free kicks. But leveraging world-class talent takes discipline and deft decision-making, as case studies by Anita Elberse reveal. What could other businesses learn from his ascent?

• 17 Jan 2024

Psychological Pricing Tactics to Fight the Inflation Blues

Inflation has slowed from the epic rates of 2021 and 2022, but many consumers still feel pinched. What will it take to encourage them to spend? Thoughtful pricing strategies that empower customers as they make purchasing decisions, says research by Elie Ofek.

• 05 Dec 2023

What Founders Get Wrong about Sales and Marketing

Which sales candidate is a startup’s ideal first hire? What marketing channels are best to invest in? How aggressively should an executive team align sales with customer success? Senior Lecturer Mark Roberge discusses how early-stage founders, sales leaders, and marketing executives can address these challenges as they grow their ventures in the case, “Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing Vignettes.”

Tommy Hilfiger’s Adaptive Clothing Line: Making Fashion Inclusive

In 2017, Tommy Hilfiger launched its adaptive fashion line to provide fashion apparel that aims to make dressing easier. By 2020, it was still a relatively unknown line in the U.S. and the Tommy Hilfiger team was continuing to learn more about how to serve these new customers. Should the team make adaptive clothing available beyond the U.S., or is a global expansion premature? Assistant Professor Elizabeth Keenan discusses the opportunities and challenges that accompanied the introduction of a new product line that effectively serves an entirely new customer while simultaneously starting a movement to provide fashion for all in the case, “Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive: Fashion for All.”

• Research & Ideas

Are Virtual Tours Still Worth It in Real Estate? Evidence from 75,000 Home Sales

Many real estate listings still feature videos and interactive tools that simulate the experience of walking through properties. But do they help homes sell faster? Research by Isamar Troncoso probes the post-pandemic value of virtual home tours.

• 17 Oct 2023

With Subscription Fatigue Setting In, Companies Need to Think Hard About Fees

Subscriptions are available for everything from dental floss to dog toys, but are consumers tiring of monthly fees? Elie Ofek says that subscription revenue can provide stability, but companies need to tread carefully or risk alienating customers.

• 29 Aug 2023

As Social Networks Get More Competitive, Which Ones Will Survive?

In early 2023, TikTok reached close to 1 billion users globally, placing it fourth behind the leading social networks: Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. Meanwhile, competition in the market for videos had intensified. Can all four networks continue to attract audiences and creators? Felix Oberholzer-Gee discusses competition and imitation among social networks in his case “Hey, Insta & YouTube, Are You Watching TikTok?”

• 26 Jun 2023

Want to Leave a Lasting Impression on Customers? Don't Forget the (Proverbial) Fireworks

Some of the most successful customer experiences end with a bang. Julian De Freitas provides three tips to help businesses invest in the kind of memorable moments that will keep customers coming back.

• 31 May 2023

With Predictive Analytics, Companies Can Tap the Ultimate Opportunity: Customers’ Routines

Armed with more data than ever, many companies know what key customers need. But how many know exactly when they need it? An analysis of 2,000 ridesharing commuters by Eva Ascarza and colleagues shows what's possible for companies that can anticipate a customer's routine.

• 30 May 2023

Can AI Predict Whether Shoppers Would Pick Crest Over Colgate?

Is it the end of customer surveys? Definitely not, but research by Ayelet Israeli sheds light on the potential for generative AI to improve market research. But first, businesses will need to learn to harness the technology.

• 24 Apr 2023

What Does It Take to Build as Much Buzz as Booze? Inside the Epic Challenge of Cannabis-Infused Drinks

The market for cannabis products has exploded as more states legalize marijuana. But the path to success is rife with complexity as a case study about the beverage company Cann by Ayelet Israeli illustrates.

• 07 Apr 2023

When Celebrity ‘Crypto-Influencers’ Rake in Cash, Investors Lose Big

Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, and other entertainers have been accused of promoting crypto products on social media without disclosing conflicts. Research by Joseph Pacelli shows what can happen to eager investors who follow them.

• 10 Feb 2023

COVID-19 Lessons: Social Media Can Nudge More People to Get Vaccinated

Social networks have been criticized for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, but the platforms have also helped public health agencies spread the word on vaccines, says research by Michael Luca and colleagues. What does this mean for the next pandemic?

• 02 Feb 2023

Why We Still Need Twitter: How Social Media Holds Companies Accountable

Remember the viral video of the United passenger being removed from a plane? An analysis of Twitter activity and corporate misconduct by Jonas Heese and Joseph Pacelli reveals the power of social media to uncover questionable situations at companies.

• HKS Library & Research Services

Q. How can I get a copy of an HBS (Harvard Business School) case study?

• 1 Academic Integrity
• 1 Alerts & Feeds
• 11 Borrowing
• 6 Business Research
• 1 Campaigns and Elections
• 6 Citation Styles
• 7 Citation Tools
• 3 Copyright & Licensing
• 4 Country Research
• 5 Course Readings
• 14 Data & Statistics
• 13 Databases
• 2 Directories
• 2 Faculty Publications & Testimony
• 1 Faculty Services
• 2 Google Scholar
• 8 Government Documents
• 11 Harvard Libraries (non-HKS)
• 3 Hours and Locations
• 1 Job Search
• 8 Legal Research
• 4 Library Access
• 1 Literature Review
• 1 Mobile Apps
• 4 Multimedia
• 3 Open Access
• 3 Policy Analysis Exercise
• 2 Publishing
• 2 Recommendations
• 1 Research Consultations
• 3 Research Tools
• 1 Scanning & Faxing
• 6 Search Tips
• 3 Second Year Paper
• 1 Study Rooms
• 6 Technology
• 1 Workshops

Answered By: James Capobianco Last Updated: Jun 16, 2023     Views: 3112

HKS Students

Unless provided by a course within Canvas, HBS case studies are only available for purchase. Go to the Harvard Business Publishing Store to purchase HBS cases.

Faculty & Faculty Assistants

To add an HBS case to an HKS course please see the OCM KNet page.

Course instructors can register for an Educator Premium account, which provides free access to HBS cases and teaching notes by clicking on the at Educator Premium Register Now link.

Return to Search and Browse All FAQs

• Boston University Libraries

Business Case Studies

Open access cases.

• Getting Started
• Harvard Business School Cases
• Diverse Business Cases
• Databases with Cases
• Journals with Cases
• Books with Cases
• Case Analysis
• Case Interviews
• Case Method (Teaching)
• Writing Case Studies
• Citing Business Sources

A number of universities and organizations provide access to free business case studies.  Below are some of the best known sources.

• << Previous: Books with Cases
• Next: Case Analysis >>
• Last Updated: Sep 24, 2024 3:15 PM
• URL: https://library.bu.edu/business-case-studies

• Harvard Business School →
• Faculty & Research →
• Publications
• Global Research Centers
• Case Development
• Initiatives & Projects

Research Services

• Seminars & Conferences

Case Services

• Case Research & Writing Group
• Research Computing Services
• Research Staff Services
• Case Services →

Case Services is part of the Division of Research and Faculty Development (DRFD). The team offers a full complement of support services to assist faculty in producing and disseminating high-quality HBS cases and other course material. Case Services also works with faculty to maintain records of their research papers and publications as well as provide a wide audience of educators and practitioners around the globe access to their research.

The team committed to providing faculty with high-quality customer service and timely turnaround. They review course material for copyright compliance, reaching out to copyright holders for permission to use their material. They also verify that course material is accompanied by appropriate releases. Case Services works with faculty and their research partners to formalize nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, ensuring the confidentiality of information entrusted to HBS faculty during their case development and other research.

Experienced editors are available to faculty for either copyediting or developmental editing. Case Services also provides training and support in the use of the HBS case template, a user-friendly tool to aid in the production of course material that is both consistent and professional in appearance. In addition, the Case Research & Writing Group coordinates case leads provided by the School’s research centers and other sources by regularly circulating a case leads newsletter to faculty.

The HBS Directors of Research is a body comprised of HBS faculty who are responsible for the research policies of the School. Case Services communicates those policies to case writers and provides support to the faculty in interpreting and applying the policies to their work.

Located in Chase Hall, Case Services is within easy walking distance to all campus facilities. Although many of its business transactions are conducted electronically for the convenience of customers, its location provides quick access for faculty and their support staff who wish to interact with the staff on a more personal basis.

Working at the Case Services Center

The Case Services staff is comprised of individuals experienced in delivering high-touch, high-quality customer support in an atmosphere dominated by tight deadlines. They support one another in their work with a common goal of leveraging the time spent by faculty on the clerical and administrative aspects of their research output. The result is a friendly and supportive environment.

Guide for Business Faculty: Cases/HBR

• Faculty Toolkit
• Textbooks/Course Reserves/Persistent Links
• Journals & Databases
• How I Can Help You
• Cite Sources
• AI & Teaching

On This Page

• HBR Articles for Classroom Use

HBS Content Copyright Policy

• Cases & Case Studies
• Sage Business Cases

Free Case Studies

Other sources for case studies, sage business cases.

Cases & Case Studies

The definition of "Case Study" varies from publication to publication. The "case studies" in traditional journals and books are not necessarily the same as commercial "cases" from publishers like Harvard Business School Publishing.

The Library does  NOT  collect commercial cases (except for those from the SAGE Business Cases listed above) due to licensing restrictions imposed by the publishers. Each student must pay for their own copies. To find and use non-SAGE commercial cases, go to Harvard Business Publishing. By  registering for a free educator account , you can create an online course pack to provide online access to specific cases (with "up to 60% off" for students).

• Harvard Business Publishing - Cases Includes cases from multiple institutions like Harvard, Darden, Stanford, Ivey, and more.
• The Case Centre Another clearinghouse of cases. Many cases are available on both Harvard Business Publishing and Case Centre.

You can also search for freely available case studies in the resources mentioned below. 

There isn't one single clearinghouse similar to Harvard Business School Publishing or Case Centre to search for free cases. Below is a list of sources that provide free cases on various topics. 

• ** PSU Case Studies Collection Award-winning cases authored by PSU School of Business faculty.
• Acadia Institute of Case Studies [archived link] Archived website focusing on entrepreneurship and small business operations.
• Arthur Andersen Case Studies in Business Ethics A "collection of 90 business ethics cases developed from 1987-1994 with funding provided by Arthur Andersen."
• Asian Case Research Journal "A selection of high-quality cases on Asian companies & MNCs operating in Asia-Pacific" (with 12 month embargo).
• Business Case Journal "Cases and research related to case writing or teaching with cases" 2006-2019.
• Business Ethics Case Analyses Business ethics.
• Business Insights: Global (Case Studies) Case studies available in the database Business Insights: Global
• Case Centre Free case collection (most other cases on this site are fee-based).
• Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Case Bank Business ethics.
• Ethics Unwrapped "More than 50 case studies match ethics concepts to real world situations."
• Give to Get Marketing: Marketing and Advertising Case Studies Marketing and advertising.
• Journal of Business Cases and Applications "Quality applied business cases and classroom applications/exercises designed to assist business academics in the classroom"
• Journal of Business Case Studies "Case studies designed for use in business and economics courses and articles related to the use of case studies in the classroom."
• Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics Journal discontinued December 2014.
• Journal of Case Studies "A continual flow of effective up-to-date cases to promote excellence in case teaching."
• MarketingSherpa Click Case Studies under CONTENT TYPE on the filters menu.
• Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Business ethics.
• MaRS Startup Toolkit Type in "case study" in the search box.
• MERLOT Business Cases open education materials.
• MIT Teaching Resources Library Covers "entrepreneurship, leadership/ethics, operations management, strategy, sustainability, and system dynamics."
• Native Case Studies -- Featuring Business and Management "Culturally relevant curriculum and teaching resources in the form of case studies on key issues in Indian Country"
• Oikos Cases Program "High-quality cases... on sustainability in management, entrepreneurship and finance."
• Penske Logistics Case Studies Logistics and supply chain (with a marketing bend: about how Penske helps solve problems).
• SHRM Case Studies Human resources.
• South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases "Provide a space for high-quality Qualitative Case Study Research (QCSR)"
• Stanford Graduate School of Business (Subset of Free Cases) Select "Narrow your results," then under Availability, check the box "Available to download at no charge."
• UBC Open Case Studies Written by UBC faculty and student initially focusing on environmental sustainability but with expanding topics.
• World Council for Sustainable Development Case Studies Sustainability.

Cases addressing "the dark side of contemporary capitalism." From the Academy of Management Dark Side Case Competition . 

• The Dark Side: Critical Cases on the Downside of Business
• The Dark Side 2: Critical Cases on the Downside of Business
• The Dark Side 3: Critical Cases on the Downside of Business

Policy Here , and regarding class use of cases and HBR articles:

... we prohibit the posting of cases, articles, or chapters on “e-reserve” course pages for student access, as well as in “electronic coursepacks” that link to our digitized content and content postings on course management systems such as WebCT or Blackboard. Such unauthorized postings are equivalent to distributing our copyrighted content to students without permission, which infringes that copyright. This is so even if the content is being used for the first time and is password-protected, accessible only to students in the course, and taken down at the end of the course.

Harvard Business Review

HBR articles in Business Source Premier (BSP, an EBSCOhost database) CANNOT be used for teaching purposes.

Harvard Business Review Notice of Use Restrictions, May 2009:

Harvard Business Review and Harvard Business Publishing Newsletter content on EBSCOhost is licensed for the private individual use of authorized EBSCOhost users.  It is not intended for use as assigned course material in academic institutions  nor as corporate learning or training materials in businesses. Academic licensees may not use this content in electronic reserves, electronic course packs, persistent linking from syllabi or by any other means of incorporating the content into course resources. Business licensees may not host this content on learning management systems or use persistent linking or other means to incorporate the content into learning management systems. Harvard Business Publishing will be pleased to grant permission to make this content available through such means. For rates and permission, contact [email protected].

That means an instructor should NOT do the following with HBR articles in BSP: 1) uploading PDFs, or 2) providing links in syllabus or Canvas, or 3) verbally assigning specific HBR articles during class. The instructor needs to set up an educator's account on the Harvard website and create a course pack containing the HBR articles, then share the course pack link with students who have to pay for the articles.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Why can't instructors use HBR articles since they are available in Business Source Premier? -- It's HBP's policy. The articles in Business Source Premier are for "research" only; articles used for "teaching purposes" are not covered by the license and not free to the students. This applies to linking to articles available for free on the hbr.org website. They don't even allow you to link to articles on their site if the articles are for "class use". This is what the HBR Permission Team conveyed in an email in March 2024:

Please note individuals are authorized to send a direct link of an HBR article at the hbr.org site to a friend or colleague for a Harvard Business Review they think their colleague may (or may not) be interested in, however, Harvard Business Publishing does not authorize corporate / institutional direct url linking to specific HBR articles at the hbr.org site.

Can students use Business Source Premier on their own and cite HBR articles in their papers or coursework? -- Yes, if they are doing research and find these articles serendipitously.

Can I just tell students to find these articles without linking to them? -- No, if the students are told to find them for a class, the articles are used for "teaching." HBP does track the usage of HBR and a sudden increase in the search and download of a specific article will be flagged as violation.

What are my options if I want to link to articles for a class so students can read them for free? -- If the HBR article is also in one of the HBR's 10 Must Reads ebooks , you can link to the ebook. To find out if an article is in the ebooks, just do a search by the article title in the library catalog. 

-- Articles from other journals PSU Library subscribes to can be used as course materials, whether you put them on Course Reserves , link to them in your course page , or verbally assign them as required reading. The Library is already paying for these resources so your students can read them without any additional cost. 

Who can provide more information regarding the online course pack? -- I recommend contacting HBP directly . 

What else do I need to know about HBR articles in BSP?

-- Starting 8/1/2013, Harvard Business Publishing has restricted access to  HBR's 500 most popular articles  (initial list -- titles change over time) to "read-only" in BSP. These articles cannot be printed or linked to from a persistent link. You can still search for them in BSP, download the PDF, or email the PDF to yourself. 

-- How do I know it's one of those articles?

• In the BSP article record you will see this message:  The publisher offers limited access to this article. The full text cannot be printed or saved.   Solution: There is nothing you can do. Just read it online.
• If you see this message in BSP through an external link (e.g., from searching the library catalog): " The publisher offers limited access to this article. The full text cannot be viewed from a persistent link. " Solution: do a new search directly in BSP and you will find the full text.

Case studies in journals and magazines : * these are different from "cases" in the commercial/traditional sense

Case studies in books : * these are different from "cases" in the commercial/traditional sense

You can do a keyword search in the PSU Library Catalog  (the search box in the middle of the page).

Or use the Advanced Search for a more targeted search (fewer, more relevant results): for example,

• << Previous: Faculty Toolkit
• Next: Textbooks/Course Reserves/Persistent Links >>
• Last Updated: Oct 31, 2024 11:11 AM
• URL: https://guides.library.pdx.edu/sbafaculty