Publications

Article

Do Private Equity Firms Have Better Management Practices?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

Using an innovative survey measure of management practices on over 15,000 firms, we find private equity firms are better managed than government, family, and privately owned firms, and have similar management to publicly listed firms. This is true both in developed and... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Management Practices and Processes

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Research Summary

Channel Stewardship

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Drawing on a dozen in-depth primary case studies, field research, and consulting applications, Rangan has developed a paradigm for continuously evolving a firm's Go-to-Market strategy in keeping up with the changes in its business environment. This evolutionary... View Details

November 2000
Case

FireDrop

By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts

Describes the evolution of FireDrop, a new venture-backed company that has developed a new platform for e-mail communication. The FireDrop application--called a Zaplet--allows for e-mails to be continually updated so they are current when read (rather than when sent).... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Communication Technology; Venture Capital; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry

July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Pattern Brands

By: Sunil Gupta, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

In March 2020, direct-to-consumer (DTC) company Pattern Brands needed to decide how to allocate resources across its different brands. Pattern Co-Founders Nick Ling and Emmett Shine hoped to avoid the pitfalls faced by some DTC companies—such as inability to scale and... View Details

January 2016
Supplement

Open Innovation at Fujitsu (B)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Jean-François Harvey

This add-on case study reveals the location decision that was made in front of the challenge presented in case study #616-034. The launch of the Open Innovation Gateway (OIG) was a success. Fujitsu's management team now had to figure out the best way to continue to... View Details

Keywords: Open Innovation; Collaboration; Culture Change; Inter-organizational Relationships; Teaming; Maker Movement; Nascent Industries; Change Management; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Emerging Markets; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Japan; United States; Sunnyvale

Research Summary

Product Policy and Pricing

By: Robert J. Dolan

Robert J. Dolan's continuing research on marketing issues focuses on pricing policy and new products. His research program encompasses the development of both cases and conceptual models. Dolan's focus is the proper utilization of customer input in the new-product... View Details

May 2010
Article

Managing the New Primary Care: The New Skills That Will Be Needed

By: Richard Bohmer

Developing new models of primary care will demand a level of managerial expertise that few of today's primary care physicians possess. Yet medical schools continue to focus on the basic sciences, to the exclusion of such managerial topics as running effective teams.... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Health Care and Treatment; Management Skills; Managerial Roles; Service Delivery; Practice; Health Industry

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September 2014 (Revised December 2014)
Case

The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art

By: Mukti Khaire and Nancy Hua Dai

Since its opening in Beijing in November 2007 as the first non-profit art center in China, UCCA had been operating with the mission to "promote the continued development of the Chinese art scene, foster international exchange, and showcase the latest in art and culture... View Details

Keywords: Art World; Art Gallery; Art Market; Arts; Nonprofit Organizations; Entrepreneurship; China

October 1997
Case

L'Oreal of Paris: Bringing 'Class to Mass' with Plenitude

By: Robert J. Dolan

L'Oreal's strategy is to "trickle down" technology over time from high-end outlets like department stores to mass-markets, such as drugstores. The mass market brand Plenitude has become the market leader in France, but even eight years after introduction in the United... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Globalization; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; France; United States

September 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Digital Microscopy at Carl Zeiss: Managing Disruption

By: Willy Shih

Ulrich Simon, the head of the Microscopy business group at Carl Zeiss AG knew that his unit was facing a disruptive threat, so he chartered a special team to tackle the industrial segment. Given a high degree of autonomy, the project team developed an understanding of... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; High Technology Products; Emergent Strategy; Product Lines; Corporate Strategy; Digital Platforms; Disruptive Innovation; Technology Industry; Germany

17 May 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Delivering a Personalized Shopping Experience with AI

Keywords: Re: Jill J. Avery

May 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

SaleSoft, Inc. (A)

By: Das Narayandas

SaleSoft, a start-up firm, markets Comprehensive Sales Automation Solutions (CSAS) that automate a firm's sales, marketing, and service functions. Even though the product has received very favorable responses from prospects, product complexity and a long buying cycle... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Revenue; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Sales; Opportunities; Information Technology; Technology Industry

Research Summary

Flexibility, Information Technology and Operations

Upton is now examining the role of Information Systems in determining long-term operational effectiveness. As Corporate Information Systems have become increasingly monolithic, the dangers of long-term inflexibility loom large. In manufacturing/operations, the... View Details

January 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Background Note

Strategy and Positioning in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case provides a definition of strategy, distinguishes between corporate and practice strategy, and discusses how and why developing and implementing strategy for professional service firms is different from developing and implementing strategy for commercial... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Service Industry

September 2013
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: General Gale Pollock and Services for the Vision Impaired

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Juliane Calingo Schwetz and Patricia Bissett Higgins

In July 2012, retired United States Army Major General Gale Pollock created Elevivo, a venture that worked on developing a comprehensive disease management software system to support the growing number of visually impaired individuals by providing them with tailored... View Details

Keywords: United States; Health Care; Health Care Education; Insurance Companies; Disease Management; Technology; Military; Leadership Skills; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Education; Insurance; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry; United States

August 2005 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Coach K: A Matter of the Heart

By: Scott A. Snook, Leslie A. Perlow and Brian DeLacey

Successful college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski faces the decision whether to accept a lucrative offer to coach a professional basketball team or continue to coach at Duke University. Provides a context for discussing various styles of power, influence, and... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Strategic Planning; Decisions; Personal Development and Career; Interpersonal Communication; Management Teams; Goals and Objectives; Decision Choices and Conditions; Sports Industry; North Carolina

Research Summary

The "New" Corporate Communications

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Stephen A. Greyser continues to explore the issues and problems organizations face as they attempt to communicate effectively with a variety of constituencies. Greyser's work and the course to which it contributes are structured around the business-media-publics... View Details

February 2003
Case

Whitbread Hotel Company (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Alan Parker has developed an effective organization using organizational fitness profiling and other change methodologies. Parker knows that as Whitbread continues to grow, both internally and through acquisitions, the company will have to change its organization... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Growth Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Integration