Publications

10 Dec 2007
HBS Case

One Laptop per Child

anticipated to nudge governments from polite handshakes to cash commitments. One problem: the price. Although originally envisioned as the "$100 PC," OLPC has struggled to bring the price below $175. And now it faces competition... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Computer

15 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: January 15

circumscribe citizen-employees, and they engage in production and trade. But individual corporations are no longer adequate to serve as the primary unit of analysis. Over the years, systems of distributed innovation-so-called business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2011
Article

Institutions and Inequality in Single Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China

Despite the fact that China and Vietnam have been the world's two fastest growing economies over the past two decades, their income inequality patterns are very different. In this paper, we take a deep look at political institutions in the two countries, demonstrating... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Developing Countries and Economies; Motivation and Incentives; Government and Politics; Policy; Power and Influence; Decision Making; Income; China; Viet Nam

Find at Harvard

April 1998 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.: Supply Management

By: Francis Aguilar, Paul Clark and Xin Xi He

This case depicts the supply-management practices--including planning, production, and distribution--at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, the world's leader in the genetically engineered hybrid crop-seed industry. Set in the context of a supply-management planning... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Production; Distribution; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Logistics; Planning; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry

08 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 8, 2007

regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Describes Latvia's economic development over this period, discussing the economic policy efforts that have taken place and includes general information on the country, its history and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Can a Continuously-Liquidating Tontine (or Mutual Inheritance Fund) Succeed where Immediate Annuities Have Floundered?

Keywords: by Julio J. Rotemberg; Financial Services

14 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 14

Samuel G. Hanson, Joshua S. Rudolph, and Lawrence H. Summers Abstract—This paper re-examines government debt management policy in light of the U.S. experience with extraordinary fiscal and monetary policies... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Background Note

Online Content Providers

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown

Describes the business model for online content providers, companies that distribute copyright content via the Internet. Focuses on their revenue and cost drivers and on the ways that online content providers create value for consumers. Also investigates the benefits... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Customers; Value Creation; Business Model; Internet and the Web; Cash Flow; Risk and Uncertainty; Growth and Development Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Profit; Information Industry

Find at Harvard

04 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 4, 2008

his company, and a discussion of recent efforts by Abrahams to break free of constraints that have limited the size and revenue-generating ability of Improbable Research for many years. Among those efforts are a decision to distribute... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

generous return policies motivate distributors to stock your full product line. This is particularly true with unproven new products. Be careful about expanding distribution to lower-priced channels; doing... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

November 2010 (Revised February 2013)
Supplement

Energy Security in Europe (B): The Southern Corridor

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Sogomon Tarontsi

Nabucco natural gas pipeline, initiated by a group of European energy companies, was intended to connect the broad gas-rich region of the Middle East and Central Asia to Europe for the first time, which would diversify supply sources. At the same time, an... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Distribution; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Energy Industry; Russia; European Union

Article

U.S. Multinationals in British Manufacturing before 1962

By: G. Jones and Frances Bostock

This article presents a new database on U.S. multinationals active in British manufacturing between 1907 and 1962. Britain was the largest European host economy for U.S. direct investment in manufacturing and the second largest host worldwide. This article identifies... View Details

Keywords: Production; Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Research and Development; Business Subsidiaries; Policy; Investment; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Great Britain

Find at Harvard

30 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 30, 2015

social auditors and for auditing firms. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=49303 Working Papers Monetary Policy Drivers of Bond and Equity Risks By: Campbell, John Y., Carolin E. Pflueger, and Luis M.... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

October 1991 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Becton Dickinson & Company: VACUTAINER Systems Division (Condensed)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Frank V. Cespedes

Becton Dickinson, a phenomenally successful company with an 80% market share in the blood collection needles and syringes market faces a change in the customer buying environment (cost containment pressures at hospitals). This forces a reevaluation of the company's... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Customer Satisfaction; Demand and Consumers; Market Participation; Distribution Channels; Success; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Health Industry

22 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Student Loan Debt Leads to Better Jobs, Stronger Consumers

cars, for instance. Source: “Second Change: Life Without Student Debt” by Marco Di Maggio, Ankit Kalda, and Vincent W. Yao. All of these results show that policy interventions in the student loan market should not be considered a zero-sum... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

2008
Working Paper

Accountability and Inequality in Single-Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China

Over the past two decades, no two economies have averaged more rapid economic growth than China and Vietnam. But while China's income inequality has risen rapidly over that same time frame, Vietnam's has only grown moderately. Structural and socio-cultural determinants... View Details

Keywords: Income Characteristics; Economic Growth; Policy; Government and Politics; Equality and Inequality; China; Viet Nam

April 1982 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Hart Schaffner & Marx: The Market for Separately Ticketed Suits

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Calls for a decision on whether Hart Schaffner & Marx, the nation's leading manufacturer of high quality, branded suits, should expand its product line by marketing suits that are separately ticketed (i.e., the coat, vest, and slacks are sold from individual hangers... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Decisions; Price; Markets; Distribution Channels; Production; Mathematical Methods; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry

February 1998 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Uganda and the Washington Consensus

By: Huw Pill and Courtenay Sprague

Under the direction of President Museveni, much of the world has heaped praise on Uganda for transforming its economy from devastation to growth and managing the ethnic and racial strife that has divided the country in the past. Following a decade of reforms, Uganda is... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Economy; Policy; Analysis; Development Economics; Borrowing and Debt; Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Uganda