Publications

11 Jan 2017
News

A famous scorecard taught at Harvard Business School can help you improve your life and relationships

July 1984 (Revised September 1986)
Case

CML Group, Inc.: Going Public (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a series of decisions confronting Charles Leighton, co-founder and chairman of the CML Group. CML is a successful participant in the leisure time industry with two lines of business: specialty retailing and recreational consumer products. The key issues in... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Going Public; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Cost vs Benefits; SWOT Analysis; Investment Banking; Financing and Loans; Planning; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry

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March 2016
Case

N12 Technologies: Building an Organization and Building a Business

By: David A. Garvin and Aldo Sesia

N12 Technologies was a startup founded in 2010 that employed nanotechnology to manufacture a patented material to improve the performance of carbon fiber composites, which were used in a wide variety of products, ranging from bicycles to automobiles to aircraft parts.... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Organizational Structure; Nanotechnology; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Systems; Commercialization; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Bicycle Industry; Transportation Industry; United States

September 1987
Background Note

What Do Venture Capitalists Do?

By: William A. Sahlman

Presents the results derived from 49 responses to a questionnaire mailed to 100 venture capitalists in late 1984. The purpose of the survey was to shed light on the relationship between venture capitalists and their portfolio companies. The survey revealed that the... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Recruitment; Surveys; Managerial Roles; Service Operations; Relationships; Service Industry

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23 Sep 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Operational Failures and Problem Solving: An Empirical Study of Incident Reporting

Keywords: by Julia Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer & Michael W. Toffel; Health

Anita Elberse

Anita Elberse is the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

Professor Elberse develops and teaches an MBA course covering the "Businesses of Entertainment, Media, and Sports," which ranks among the most sought-after... View Details

Keywords: advertising; arts; broadcasting; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; electronics; entertainment; fashion; home video games; information; marketing industry; motion pictures; music; publishing industry; sports; telecommunications; video games

December 2021
Article

Employee Responses to Compensation Changes: Evidence from a Sales Firm

By: Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert and Christopher Stanton

What are the long-term consequences of compensation changes? Using data from an inbound sales call center, we study employee responses to a compensation change that ultimately reduced take-home pay by 7% for the average affected worker. The change caused a significant... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Wages; Compensation and Benefits; Change; Performance; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Analysis

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Read Now

18 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Learning in Action

they were interviewed in-depth about how they went about their work and, specifically, what they did to be more productive. Using these insights, the Bell Labs team designed an innovative hands-on training program, which the star View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin

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

December 2001 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Compensation at Level 3 Communications

Level 3's unique compensation plan rewarded managers for the firm's performance only if the firm's stock price movement exceeded that of the market. This design was intended to maximize shareholder value by tying manager's performance more closely to that of the firm,... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Telecommunications Industry

Every major company is grappling with the meaning and application of sustainability in relation to its geographic location, industry and business model. Similarly, more and more institutional investors are incorporating sustainability into their... View Details

December 2012
Teaching Note

The Paris Opera Hotel (TN)

By: Arthur I Segel

This case provides an introduction to hotel investment, development and management from the perspective of a short term oriented investor group. Students learn that hotels are a unique real estate property type, with performance often tied to the broader economy, and... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Hotel; Paris; Business or Company Management; Negotiation; Finance; Accommodations Industry; Real Estate Industry

29 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 29

Working PapersSurviving the Global Financial Crisis: Foreign Direct Investment and Establishment Performance Authors:Laura Alfaro and Maggie Chen Abstract We examine in this paper the differential response of establishments to the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Mapping Polluters, Encouraging Protectors

and interpreting data about industrial environment performance because it brings together information about companies' environmental management, provided voluntarily by managers in real time, with companies'... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Manufacturing; Chemical

26 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn

returns: Why is this important to performance pricers? Frank Cespedes: Warren Buffett said that "when an industry with a reputation for toughness meets a manager with a reputation for brilliance, it is... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Consumer Products

March 2018 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Chewy.com (A)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble

In late 2013, Ryan Cohen, cofounder and CEO of online pet products retailer Chewy.com, faces a “bet the company decision”—whether to stay with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) for all of its e-commerce fulfillment or to take the function in house. Cohen worries... View Details

Keywords: Pet Food; Pet Products; Retail; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Decision Choices and Conditions; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Florida; United States