Publications

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05 May 2022
HBS Seminar

Caleb Kwon, Harvard Business School

Research Summary

Institutions and Firm Strategy at the Bottom of the Pyramid: The Case of Business Formalization in Vietnam

In this paper, written together with Edmund Malesky (UCSD), we test a series of hypotheses about how institutions shape a strategic decision of significant importance to the evolution of inclusive markets: registration as companies by previously informal businesses at... View Details

March 2018
Teaching Note

The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (A), (B), (C), and (D)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh

Responsibility for working conditions in contract factories within the supply chain presents an ongoing challenge for managers and area of debate. Much of the debate approaches the challenge from the perspective of large global apparel brands. This case helps students... View Details

Keywords: Labor; Working Conditions; Supply Chain; Safety; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh

August 1997 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Fabritek, 1992

By: Janice H. Hammond

Describes a large-volume automotive parts contract in a high-quality machine work company. Quality and delivery problems arise when one of the four men on the job is replaced with a high producer who cannot earn a substantial bonus because of machine interference. View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Compensation and Benefits; Selection and Staffing; Production; Quality; Manufacturing Industry

March 1969 (Revised August 1997)
Case

Fabritek Corp.

Describes a large-volume automotive parts contract in a high-quality machine work company. Quality and delivery problems arise when one of the four men on the job is replaced with a high producer who cannot earn a substantial bonus because of machine interference. View Details

Keywords: Production; Performance Productivity; Auto Industry

2021
Working Paper

No-fault Default, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, and Financial Institutions

By: Robert C. Merton and Richard T. Thakor

This paper analyzes the costs and benefits of a no-fault-default debt structure as an alternative to the typical bankruptcy process. We show that the deadweight costs of bankruptcy can be avoided or substantially reduced through no-fault-default debt, which permits a... View Details

Keywords: No-fault Default; Chapter 11; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Borrowing and Debt; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Institutions; Contracts

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14 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

What Do Managers Do? Exploring Persistent Performance Differences among Seemingly Similar Enterprises

An abstract is unavailable at this time. View Details

Keywords: by Robert Gibbons & Rebecca Henderson

October 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Joe Bachelder: Executive Pay Negotiator

By: Jason R. Barro, Brian J. Hall and Aaron Zimmerman

Joe Bachelder was the leading executive pay negotiator in the United States, securing generous contracts for CEOs and executives at Fortune 500 companies. The CEO of Victor Sports Co. resigned, and the board offered the job to Charles Suarez, a star executive from a... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Executive Compensation; Retail Industry; Sports Industry

12 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Liability Structure in Small-Scale Finance: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Keywords: by Fenella Carpena, Shawn Cole, Jeremy Shapiro & Bilal Zia

August 2000
Case

Project ACHIEVE - January 2000

By: H. Kent Bowen and Elizabeth Kind

Education services target public schools to assist the school with technology and services that will improve their communication with students, parents, and the community. There is also the goal of increasing scores of measured learning. How does a small company do... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Service Delivery; Learning; Interactive Communication; Measurement and Metrics; Performance Consistency; Business and Community Relations; Expansion; Technology Adoption; Education Industry

May 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Hilti Fleet Management (A): Turning a Successful Business Model on Its Head

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

This case explores the introduction of fleet management in the construction industry by the premium power tools manufacturer Hilti in 2000. Following its customers’ needs, Hilti moved from selling power tools to leasing them as a service. The introduction of the new... View Details

02 Mar 2011
News

Egypt faces critical decision on its future

06 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 6

http://www.cambridge.org/US/academic/subjects/economics/economics-general-interest/democracy-and-its-elected-enemies-american-political-capture-and-economic-decline August 2013 Journal of Marketing Research Contingent Match Incentives... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1986 (Revised December 1986)
Case

Smartfood

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a major financing decision confronting the management and advisors of Smartfood, Inc., a company which hopes to market a cheese flavored popcorn product. The primary pedagogic objective is to teach students about matching the financing plan... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Market Entry and Exit; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Management; Food and Beverage Industry

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2020
Working Paper

To Infinity and Beyond: Scaling Economic Theories via Logical Compactness

By: Yannai A. Gonczarowski, Scott Duke Kominers and Ran I. Shorrer

Many economic-theoretic models incorporate finiteness assumptions that, while introduced for simplicity, play a real role in the analysis. Such assumptions introduce a conceptual problem, as results that rely on finiteness are often implicitly nonrobust; for example,... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Analysis; Game Theory

SSRN

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11 Jan 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Can Entrepreneurs and Governments Team Up to Solve Big Problems?

Keywords: Re: Mitchell B. Weiss; Technology

August 1999 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Double Dealmaking in the Browser Wars (A)

By: James K. Sebenius

Recounts two complex negotiations in which Netscape and Microsoft compete to win a browser contract with AOL--then later with KPMG. After reviewing the web and browser sectors, this case recounts AOL's dramatic negotiations with Netscape and with Microsoft over which... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Deal; Web; Web Services Industry

March 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Supply Chain Close-Up: The Video Vault

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

The owners of the Video Vault struggle to determine the optimal stocking levels of home videos in an industry fraught with new technology, new pricing paradigms, and stiff competitive pressure from large national chains. Teaching Purpose: To demonstrate the role of... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Competition; Motivation and Incentives; Price; Technological Innovation; Service Delivery; Entertainment and Recreation Industry