Publications

17 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 17

Structure and the Division of Labor in Top Management Authors:Maria Guadalupe, Hongyi Li, and Julie Wulf Abstract This paper shows that top management structures in large U.S. firms have radically changed since the mid-1980s. While the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2020
Case

Zoom Video Communications: Eric Yuan's Leadership During COVID-19

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Christopher Stanton, Andy Wu and George Gonzalez

In the first half of 2020, worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought explosive growth to the Zoom Video Communications platform, as people replaced in-person work and social events with videoconferencing. Months into the pandemic, CEO Eric Yuan... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Communication Technology; Customer Value and Value Chain; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Health Pandemics; Technology Industry; United States; California

September 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Google: To TVC or Not to TVC?

By: William R. Kerr and Carl Kreitzberg

In late 2018, evidence emerged that many of Google’s temporary help agency workers, vendors, and independent contractors (“TVCs”) were unhappy with the company. TVCs, who reportedly made up 49.95% of Google’s 170,000-person global workforce, had raised concerns of... View Details

Research Summary

The Evolution of Corporate Structure, Internal Governance, and Leadership

My research documents the evolution of the internal governance of senior management in large US firms over a 20-year period and explores, via multiple methods, the causes and consequences of these changes. My findings suggest that... View Details

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

control specialists. A lot of people think of this as disruption, like the taxi industry is being disrupted by Uber. It’s not disruption. Rather, it’s a completely different kind of firm. This hasn’t happened in more than 100 years. Firms have been designed with... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 Feb 2021
What Do You Think?

Has the New Economy Finally Arrived?

Shutterstock/Thomas Barrat Twenty years ago in this column we discussed whether the economic activity of that time actually represented the New Economy that Time magazine first touted in a 1983 cover article. Some economists picked up the notion in the 1990s that we... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

08 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team

equivalent of the entire sales force must be replaced at many firms every four years or so. And the time frame shrinks if and when companies increase revenue targets. So while strategy should drive search and selection, the exigencies of time and View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

01 Nov 2022
What Do You Think?

Why Aren’t Business Leaders More Vocal About Immigration Policy?

(iStockphoto/Sundry Photography) Most people agree that US immigration policy is a mess. At times, it is hard to even know what it is. Immigration policy differences divide us as a nation and produce a great deal of misinformation. They have resulted in more than 10... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

July 1990 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)

By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston

In 1989, the performance measurement systems and compensation policies of Nordstrom Department Stores unexpectedly came under attack by employees, unions, and government regulators. The case describes the "sales-per-hour" monitoring and compensation system that many... View Details

Keywords: Performance Consistency; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Labor Unions; Salesforce Management; Retention; Growth and Development; Industrial Products Industry; Utilities Industry

11 Mar 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Return Migration and Geography of Innovation in MNEs: A Natural Experiment of On-the-Job Learning of Knowledge Production by Local Workers Reporting to Return Migrants

Keywords: by Prithwiraj Choudhury; Technology

14 Jul 2010
Working Paper Summaries

From Russia with Love: The Impact of Relocated Firms on Incumbent Survival

Keywords: by Oliver Falck, Christina Guenther, Stephan Heblich & William R. Kerr; Manufacturing

2020
Working Paper

Aggregate Advertising Expenditure in the U.S. Economy: What's Up? Is It Real?

By: Alvin J. Silk and Ernst R. Berndt

The two components of the advertising industry—the creative sector that develops and produces messages, and the communications sector that transmits messages via various media—have each been greatly affected by advances in creative design and communications... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Advertising; Spending; Media

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September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores in 2003

By: Pankaj Ghemawat, Stephen P. Bradley and Ken Mark

Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation... View Details

Keywords: Wages; Fairness; Corporate Strategy; Operations; Labor Unions; Problems and Challenges; Gender; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States