Publications

March 2003 (Revised April 2006)
Background Note

Scale and Scope in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case discusses why economies (and diseconomies) of scale and scope exist in professional service firms (PSFs) and how they influence the amount and range of services that PSFs offer. It is distributed with a case that focuses on determining the optimal scale/scope... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Operations; Microeconomics; Service Industry

2016
Working Paper

Pros vs Joes: Agent Pricing Behavior in the Sharing Economy

By: Jun Li, Antonio Moreno and Dennis J. Zhang

One of the major differences between markets that follow a “sharing economy” paradigm and traditional two-sided markets is that the supply side in the sharing economy often includes individual nonprofessional decision makers, in addition to firms and professional... View Details

Keywords: Two-sided Market; Sharing Economy; Behavioral Economics; Revenue Management; Hospitality; Two-Sided Platforms; Price; Behavior; Experience and Expertise

SSRN

July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Vineet Nayar and Sampark Foundation: Frugal Innovation at Scale (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2005, Vineet Nayar, the former CEO and Vice Chairman of HCL Technologies, and his wife, Anupama Nayar, committed $100 million of their personal wealth to found Sampark Foundation — a grant-making philanthropy with a mission to transform learning outcomes for 20... View Details

As the cost of storing, sharing, and analyzing data has decreased, economic activity has become increasingly digital. But while the effects of digital technology and improved digital communication have been explored in a variety of contexts, the impact on... View Details

09 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The Matchmaker of the Modern Economy

asset to the country." Indeed, the war was a watershed for entrepreneurialism. While it was true that the war temporarily stunted the development of small business, it ultimately created a more fertile environment for the... View Details

Keywords: by Spencer E. Ante

February 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Case

The Political Economy of Carbon Trading

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, J. Gunnar Trumbull, Mikell Hyman, Patia McGrath and Nazli Zeynep Uludere

Global climate change is an increasingly prominent political and business problem. Design of market-based systems to reduce carbon emissions has proven difficult. More broadly, national attempts to comply with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol present both... View Details

Keywords: Policy; International Relations; Risk Management; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Government Relations; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Public Administration Industry

01 Jul 2015
News

The Future of the Greek Economy

July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Vineet Nayar and Sampark Foundation: Frugal Innovation at Scale (A) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2005, Vineet Nayar, the former CEO and Vice Chairman of HCL Technologies, and his wife, Anupama Nayar, committed $100 million of their personal wealth to found Sampark Foundation—a grant-making philanthropy with a mission to transform learning outcomes for 20... View Details

02 Jul 2015
Op-Ed

The Future of the Greek Economy

Editor's note: The economy of Greece is in the depths of despair—a fitting topic for a Greek tragedy. As investor Wilbur Ross (HBS MBA 1961) has poignantly put it, "The... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Dante Roscini & George Serafeim; Banking

30 Jul 2009
News

Behind Microsoft-Yahoo The Online Economics of Scale

02 Oct 2012
News

The Secrets to TripAdvisor's Impressive Scale

10 Feb 2015
News

Why Metrics Get Worse With Scale

Fast Answer

Scaling Minority Businesses (SMB)

size. Look at the American Community Survey for granular data relating to employment, transportation to work, housing, expenditures, etc. US Census: Business & Economy - A wide range of variables... View Details

2023
Other Unpublished Work

Unprecedented: Remote Work and the Strange Economy of 2023

By: Randolph B. Cohen

The low unemployment rate which suggests a strong economy and the low productivity and GDP growth that seems more consistent with less robust conditions sit uneasily together. It's a mystery! But it may be that societal changes like remote work can reconcile the... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Economic Growth; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Employment; Working Conditions