Publications

02 Jul 2022
News

Zeroing Out on Zero-COVID

January 2001
Case

First Community Bank (B): Community Banking Group

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

After nine years of leading First Community Bank (FCB), BankBoston's unique venture targeting low- to moderate-income communities, and finally gaining recognition and respect for her efforts, Gail Snowden must once again faces the challenge of justifying FCB's value,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Banking Industry

March 1999 (Revised February 2001)
Background Note

New Product Development Imperative, The

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Edward T Smith

Introduces students to the best practices for managing new product development projects. Includes concepts and tools related to structuring teams consistent with the project objectives as well as concepts and processes for improving project execution. View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams

Kris Ferreira is the Edgerley Family Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) Unit. She teaches the Supply Chain Management course in the MBA elective curriculum and analytics in numerous Executive Education... View Details

Keywords: retailing

10 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Top Scholars Say About Leadership

But it wasn't always so. Vexing problems we experience in business and society may be due in part to the neglect of leadership studies in the academy for many years. "If we had to characterize the path of work on leadership, it has... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

2008
Working Paper

Learning Processes in Environmental Policy Making and Implementation

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

This paper explores how "learning" occurs in the context of environmental policy formulation and implementation. Rather than viewing policy learning as a rational and technocratic process, the emphasis here is on the political and institutional contexts within which... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Business and Government Relations; Natural Environment; Power and Influence; South Africa; Brazil

2008
Chapter

Learning in Environmental Policymaking and Implementation

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

This paper explores how "learning" occurs in the context of environmental policy formulation and implementation. Rather than viewing policy learning as a rational and technocratic process, the emphasis here is on the political and institutional contexts within which... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Corporate Accountability; Policy; Government and Politics; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Natural Environment; Power and Influence; South Africa; Brazil

2015
Working Paper

Service Quality, Inventory and Competition: An Empirical Analysis of Mobile Money Agents in Africa

By: Karthik Balasubramanian and David F. Drake

The use of electronic money transfer through cellular networks ("mobile money") is rapidly increasing in the developing world. The resulting electronic currency ecosystem could improve the lives of the estimated 2 billion people who live on less than $2 a day by... View Details

Keywords: Operations Strategy; Base Of The Pyramid; Mobile Money; Inventory Management; Competition; Currency; Service Operations; Mobile and Wireless Technology

SSRN

14 Mar 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Can AI and Machine Learning Help Park Rangers Prevent Poaching?

Keywords: Re: Brian L. Trelstad; Computer; Information Technology; Technology

March 2018 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Whole Foods Under Amazon

By: Dennis Campbell, Tatiana Sandino, James Barnett and Christine Snively

In August 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. Whole Foods was struggling with high costs and faced growing competition from traditional supermarkets offering more organic products. Prior to the acquisition, Whole Foods began rolling out a new... View Details

Keywords: Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Employee Relationship Management; Acquisition; Change Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

2016
Working Paper

Options-Pricing Formula with Disaster Risk

By: Robert J. Barro and Gordon Y. Liao

A new options-pricing formula applies to far-out-of-the money put options on the overall stock market when disaster risk is the dominant force, the size distribution of disasters follows a power law, and the economy has a representative agent with Epstein-Zin utility.... View Details

Keywords: Option Pricing; Rare Disaster; Price; Stock Options; Financial Crisis

Find at Harvard

July 2018
Teaching Note

Ron Johnson: A Career in Retail

By: Ryan Raffaelli

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his innovation and success in shaping the retail image at Target and Apple, introduced dramatic departures... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leadership Development; Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Competition; Organizational Behavior; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

John J-H Kim is a Senior Lecturer and part of the Social Enterprise Initiative at the Harvard Business School. He created and teaches the course Transforming Education Through Social Entrepreneurship—leaders and entrepreneurs who are improving the... View Details

2015
Working Paper

Match Your Own Price? Self-Matching as a Retailer's Multichannel Pricing Strategy

By: Pavel Kireyev, Vineet Kumar and Elie Ofek

Multichannel retailing has created several new strategic choices for firms. With respect to pricing, an important decision is whether to offer a "self-matching policy." Self-matching allows a multichannel retailer to offer the lowest of its online and in-store prices... View Details

Keywords: Price Self-matching; Multichannel Retailing; Pricing Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Price; Distribution Channels; Supply and Industry; Retail Industry

Drawing on my book, The Art of Negotiation, the Negotiation 1-2-3 web project provides business practitioners, MBA students, and other learners, an interactive, online resource for improving their negotiation skills. The site’s numeric name reflects three... View Details

August 2012
Case

Polar Sports, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester and Wei Wang

Polar Sports, Inc. is a fashion skiwear manufacturing company in Littleton, Colorado. The company has a unique design for skiwear using a special synthetic material that improves insulation and durability. The ski apparel industry is highly competitive and the best way... View Details

Keywords: Production; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Colorado

03 Jun 2021
News

Trusting ‘Collective Genius’ in a Crisis

July 2023
Article

Impacts of Electricity Quality Improvements: Experimental Evidence on Infrastructure Investments

By: Robyn C. Meeks, Arstan Omuraliev, Ruslan Isaev and Zhenxuan Wang

Hundreds of millions of households depend on electricity grid connections providing low quality and unreliable services. Understanding the impacts of and consumer response to electricity quality improvements is important for development and the environment. We... View Details

Keywords: Infrastructure; Energy; Quality; Kyrgyzstan

2011
Teaching Note

Juner New Materials: On the Road to IPO (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donglin Xia, Ning Jia and Ziqian Zhao

Juner New Materials (Juner) is a private China-based company that develops, produces, and distributes modified plastic compounds. Founded in 1995 by female serial entrepreneur Xiaomin Chen, Juner has exhibited strong performance and growth potential in the past fifteen... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Financial Statements; IPO; Valuation; Women Executives; China; Plastics; China