Publications

October 2012
Case

Winfield Refuse Management, Inc.: Raising Debt vs. Equity

By: W. Carl Kester and Sunru Yong

A small, publicly traded company specializing in non-hazardous waste management considers a major acquisition in the Midwestern U.S. The acquisition can provide entry into the region, help the firm compete in a competitive industry, and improve its cost position. The... View Details

Keywords: United States; Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Equity Capital; Debt Management; Expansion; Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Analysis; Administrative/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services; Equity; Borrowing and Debt; Service Industry

01 Oct 2021
News

As SpaceX's Starlink Ramps Up, So Could Light Pollution

03 Jun 2015
News

Can the Swiss Watchmaker Survive the Digital Age?

27 Feb 2015
News

Why U.S. Firms Are Dying: Failure To Innovate

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (D): Further Changes

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in February 2016, when the official date of IKEA’s store opening (March 16, 2016) is announced after a five-month delay. It reviews the changes that Amine and Othman Benkirane had made to KITEA’s workforce in the extra five months afforded by the delay... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

2015
Working Paper

Markets with Price Coherence

By: Benjamin Edelman and Julian Wright

In markets with price coherence, the purchase of a given good via an intermediary is constrained to occur at the same price as a purchase of that same good directly from the seller (or through another competing intermediary). We examine ten markets with price... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Two-Sided Markets; Vertical Restraints; Price; Distribution Channels; Business History; Financial Services Industry; Travel Industry; Insurance Industry; Real Estate Industry; Advertising Industry

Read Now

September 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Background Note

Pricing, Profits, and Customer Value

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Benson P. Shapiro and Elliot B. Ross

This note discusses how some firms (start-ups and established companies) maximize customer value and profits via their pricing processes. It is aimed at companies that compete on the basis of performance initiatives rather than absolute cost advantages and low price.... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Cost; Price; Profit; Performance Effectiveness; Sales; Competitive Strategy

01 May 2012
News

Can Advanced Manufacturing Help Spark an American Industrial Renaissance?

01 Aug 2012
News

Ten Reasons Winners Keep Winning, Aside from Skill

24 Oct 2011
News

HTC Gets a Taste for Deals

16 Jul 2024
Video

Transferable Skills and the MBA Job Search: What You Need to Know

June 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Target Corporation: Ackman versus the Board

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan and James Weber

After 15 years of great performance, Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight. Target Corporation, the second largest discount store retailer in the U.S., had competed successfully against industry... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Value; Retail Industry

June 2005
Article

This Old Stereotype: The Stubbornness and Pervasiveness of the Elderly Stereotype

By: A.J.C. Cuddy, M. I. Norton and S. T. Fiske

Americans stereotype elderly people as warm and incompetent, following from perceptions of them as noncompetitive and low status, respectively. This article extends existing research regarding stereotyping of older people in two ways. First, we discuss whether the... View Details

Keywords: Stereotyping; Prejudice and Bias; Age; Attitudes

Find at Harvard

Read Now

07 Apr 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Explaining the Vertical-to-Horizontal Transition in the Computer Industry

Keywords: by Carliss Baldwin; Computer

August 2008 (Revised April 2012)
Supplement

Real Property Negotiation Game (B): Buyer

By: Arthur I Segel and John H. Vogel, Jr.

The Real Property Negotiation Game simulates the experience negotiating the sale, purchase, or financing of a property. The class competes as either a lender, buyer, or one of two groups of sellers, Raleigh, North Carolina and Las Vegas, Nevada. The buyer case for the... View Details

Keywords: Property; Negotiation; Decision Making; Real Estate Industry

October 1994
Case

Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation (Abridged)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes a decision facing Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp. in June 1985: whether to continue to compete in the silicon steel business in the face of stiff competition from imports. Includes a complete description of the company's productivity improvement systems and... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Strategy; Performance Improvement; Management Systems; Technology; Steel Industry