Publications

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October 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Newsweek: Driving a Digital First Strategy

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Suraj Srinivasan

The case describes the transformation at Newsweek, the storied news magazine that had fallen from its commanding position as a premier print publication unable to find its footing in the fast changing digital media landscape. After buying Newsweek and taking over as... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Analytics and Data Science; Performance Evaluation; Partners and Partnerships

Research Summary

Relational Contracts

George Baker is exploring (with Robert Gibbons of MIT and Kevin Murphy of the USC) how relational contracts--contracts secured by reputation and trust, rather than by legal enforcement--affect the performance and boundaries of firms. Such relational contracts are... View Details

2010
Working Paper

Conceptual Foundations of the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan

David Norton and I introduced the Balanced Scorecard in a 1992 Harvard Business Review article (Kaplan & Norton, 1992). The article was based on a multi-company research project to study performance measurement in companies whose intangible assets played a central role... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Performance Improvement; Strategy

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November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 14: Managing Strategic Risk

By: Robert Simons

This module reading provides an overview of the business conduct boundaries, strategic boundaries, and internal control systems used to manage risk. Boundary systems—linked to clear, enforceable sanctions—are essential whenever demanding performance goals are set and... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Boundary Systems; Innovation; Internal Controls; Fraud; Human Behavior; Staff Experts; Strategy; Risk Management; Behavior; Governance Controls; Management Practices and Processes; Boundaries; Employees; Business Strategy; Innovation and Invention

May 1998 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Morningstar, Inc.

By: Andre F. Perold and Markus Mullarkey

Morningstar, Inc., a publisher of information for mutual fund investors, is considering alternative strategies for broadening its subscriber base and increasing its revenues. Potential strategies include tailoring information for the defined contribution pension fund... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Asset Management; Revenue; Financial Strategy; Publishing Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

This book provides a framework for business analysis and has been used by business schools throughout the world. It provides a foundation for analysis using four key steps: 1) Strategy analysis: Identifying a firm's strategy and understanding sources of its competitive... View Details

Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards 2012

The Inaugural Excellence in Integrated Reporting Awards (EIA) took place on 5 September in Johannesburg. The guest speakers were Professors Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim of Harvard Business School. The EIA recognized the top 100 South African companies... View Details

June 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Fairfield Inn (A)

By: James L. Heskett

The Fairfield Inn, an economy hotel venture by the Marriott Corp., has developed a novel method for selecting and measuring the performance of its hotel personnel that fits the company's strategy. Because it faces the need to grow rapidly, questions have arisen as to... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Strategy; Accommodations Industry

January 2, 2020
Article

Changes in Quality of Care After Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions

By: Nancy Dean Beaulieu, Leemore S. Dafny, B. E. Landon, Jesse Dalton, Ifedayo Kuye and J. Michael McWilliams

Background: The hospital industry has consolidated substantially during the past two decades and at an accelerated pace since 2010. Multiple studies have shown that hospital mergers have led to higher prices for commercially insured patients, but research about effects... View Details

Keywords: Hospitals; Mergers and Acquisitions; Health Care and Treatment; Quality

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2017
Working Paper

Crime and Violence: Desensitization in Victims to Watching Criminal Events

By: Rafael Di Tella, Lucia Freira, Ramiro H. Gálvez, Ernesto Schargrodsky, Diego Shalom and Mariano Sigman

We study desensitization to crime in a lab experiment by showing footage of criminal acts to a group of subjects, some of whom have been previously victimized. We measure biological markers of stress and behavioral indices of cognitive control before and after treated... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Attitudes; Perspective; Behavior

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23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

and encouraged them after disappointing financial performance. But what had McCool seen? The poor financial performance was due to unusual external conditions that the employees could not control. The nonfinancial View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

14 Sep 2021
News

The Surprising Power of Daily Rituals

Allen S. Grossman

Allen Grossman was appointed a Harvard Business School Professor of Management Practice in July 2000. He joined the Business School faculty in July 1998, with a concurrent appointment as a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). He... View Details

Keywords: education industry; nonprofit industry

August 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Kansas City Zephyrs Baseball Club, Inc. 2006

By: Krishna G. Palepu

This case centers around a dispute between the owners and the players regarding the profitability of professional baseball teams in connection with the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The case describes the financial statements of the baseball... View Details

Keywords: Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Profit; Labor Unions; Measurement and Metrics; Agreements and Arrangements; Performance; Sports Industry; United States

December 2009 (Revised September 2014)
Case

TD Canada Trust

By: Dennis Campbell and Brent Kazan

The case illustrates the role of performance measurement and analytics in translating TD-Canada Trust's service model of "comfortable banking" into operational terms. In 2000, in a banking market where consumers and regulators were typically hostile to mergers and... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Commercial Banking; Profit; Balanced Scorecard; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Banking Industry; Canada

May – June 2006
Article

Choose the Right Measures, Drive the Right Strategy

By: Dennis Campbell

Metrics overload is a common problem that can have serious consequences: Specifically, it can make it difficult for employees to see what actions they should take to execute strategic objectives. Having too many metrics dilutes the focus and invariably means many are... View Details

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Strategy; Employees; Customer Satisfaction

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01 Feb 2018
News

Ignore environmental, social and governance risks at your peril

Research Summary

Customer-Centric Marketing Strategy

By: Rohit Deshpande

Rohit Deshpandé's research program focuses on Customer-Centricity. A stream of projects examines the interaction between corporate and national culture as they influence the development and implementation of global marketing strategies in high performance firms. This... View Details

June 2009
Case

Executive Remuneration at Royal Dutch Shell (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Kaitlyn Simpson

The remuneration committee at Shell decided to exercise their discretionary power to award five top executives a bonus for 2008, even though they had not met the necessary performance measures under the compensation plan. Proxy advisors RiskMetrics and the British... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Executive Compensation; Performance Evaluation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry