Publications

2015
Working Paper

Client Service, Compensation, and the Sell-Side Analyst Objective Function: An Empirical Analysis of Relational Incentives in the Investment-Research Industry

By: David A. Maber, Boris Groysberg and Paul M. Healy

This paper investigates how sell-side analysts build and sustain their client networks; the economic gains to successfully managing this challenge; and the metrics through which these incentives are delivered. In a typical semiannual period, the average analyst... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Measurement and Metrics; Operations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Jobs and Positions

September 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Engineering an Inclusive Bioeconomy

By: Tarun Khanna, Raffaella Sadun and Susie L. Ma

In 2019, entrepreneur Juan Carlos Castilla-Rubio was developing a project he hoped could generate and share wealth from the natural resources of the Amazon without destroying those resources. His idea, called Earth Bank of Codes (EBC), would create a library of the... View Details

2015
Article

The Nobel Prize: The Identity of a Corporate Heritage Brand

By: Mats Urde and Stephen A. Greyser

Purpose—The purpose of this study is to understand the identity of the Nobel Prize as a corporate heritage brand and its management challenges.
Design/methodology/approach—An in-depth case study analysed within a heritage brand model and a corporate... View Details

Keywords: Nobel Prize; Brand Stewardship; Corporate Brand Identity; Corporate Heritage Brand; Heritage Brand Identity Process; Networked Brand; Organizations; Brands and Branding

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2018
Working Paper

Ratcheting, Competition, and the Diffusion of Technological Change: The Case of Televisions Under an Energy Efficiency Program

By: Tomomichi Amano and Hiroshi Ohashi

In differentiated goods markets with societal implications, quality standards are commonly implemented to avoid the under-provision of innovation. Firms have clear incentives to engage in strategic behavior because policymakers use market outcomes as a benchmark in... View Details

Keywords: Product Differentiation; Energy Efficiency Standards; Ratcheting; Diffusion Of Innovation; Technological Innovation; Competition; Quality; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy

SSRN

08 Jul 2025
Blog Post

In-Office, Remote, or Hybrid: Strategies for Success

during meetings and hold one another accountable when distractions arise. Focus is a team practice. Tip: Set “focus hours” with notifications off and use shared calendars to signal availability. This helps reinforce boundaries and protect... View Details

TeachingInterests

Strategy Execution

By: Dennis Campbell

This course takes strategy as given and teaches what students need to know to execute and win in highly competitive markets. Using fundamental building blocks based on accountability systems and structures, this course is divided into seven modules:

1.... View Details

2014
Other Article

Communicating Change: When Identity Becomes a Source of Vulnerability for Institutional Challengers

By: Ryann Elizabeth Manning, Julie Battilana and Lakshmi Ramarajan

Social movements challenge institutions through two related communication processes: articulating collective action frames and constructing collective movement identity. We argue that frames not only express movement identity, but also provide openings through which... View Details

Keywords: Identity Threat; Institutional Change; Social Movements; Framing; Social Issues; Identity; Organizational Culture; Change

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August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

January 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Ford Motor Company's Value Enhancement Plan

By: Andre F. Perold

In April 2000, Ford Motor Co. announced a shareholder Value Enhancement Plan (VEP) to significantly recapitalize the firm's ownership structure. Ford had accumulated $23 billion in cash reserves and under the VEP would return as much as $10 billion of this cash to... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Forecasting and Prediction; Capital Structure; Cash; Financial Liquidity; Policy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Value; Auto Industry

Web

Publications - Faculty & Research

Transformation ; AI ; Digital ; Organizational Change ; Accounting ; Financial Statements ; Strategy ; Organizational Structure ; Organizational Change and Adaptation ; Technology Industry ; Information Technology Industry ; United States... View Details

20 Jan 2022
Blog Post

Lessons Learned from My HBS Career Journey in Environmental Sustainability

directly for the Chief Business Officer, and remote. However, after a few weeks, I realized that the ambiguity that often comes with startups did not fit my learning style; I needed more structure and guidance. In addition, I realized... View Details

2024
Working Paper

Trade Policy in the Shadow of Conflict: The Case of Dual-use Goods

By: Maxim Alekseev and Xinyue Lin

Policymakers increasingly use trade instruments to address national security concerns. This paper studies optimal policy for dual-use goods, items with both military and civilian applications. We begin by documenting that regulation and trade flows of dual-use goods... View Details

Keywords: Policy; National Security; Trade; Taxation; Financial Instruments; Macroeconomics

October–December 2023
Article

A Practical Guide to Conversation Research: How to Study What People Say to Each Other

By: Michael Yeomans, Katelynn Boland, Hanne K. Collins, Nicole Abi-Esber and Alison Wood Brooks

Conversation—a verbal interaction between two or more people—is a complex, pervasive, and consequential human behavior. Conversations have been studied across many academic disciplines. However, advances in recording and analysis techniques over the last decade have... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Analytics and Data Science; Research

1:45 PM – 2:45 PM EST, 11 Jan 2017
Webinars: Trending@HBS

Problems Unsolved and a Nation Divided

Five years of research from Harvard Business School's US Competitiveness Project, as well as the findings from the 2016 surveys on US competitiveness, present a sobering picture of the deep structural challenges facing the United States. The US needs a national... View Details

28 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

A Dedication to Creation: India's Ad Man Ranjan Kapur

they can experiment. But there is also the business side of the operation, which is making sure clients are getting what they want. It’s not great if the creative people are winning awards but the clients aren’t getting the business results they want. So Kapur managed... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Advertising

January 2005 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Kohler Co. (A)

Kohler Co., best known for its plumbing fixtures, is a large, private family firm. As part of a recapitalization aimed at preserving family ownership of Kohler Co., nonfamily shareholders, who held 4% of common stock, were required to sell their shares to the company.... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Stocks; Price; Family Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Valuation