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Publications
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- 5 Nov 2005 - 8 Nov 2005
- Conference Presentation
New Perspectives on the Business Value of IT
By: David James Brunner, Bradley R. Staats and Marco Iansiti
We sought to unravel the link between IT investment and firm performance by examining deployed IT functionality (ITF). First, ITF appears to be an important link in the IT spend to business value chain. Second, ITF does not seem to be a commodity and has... View Details
- October 2005 (Revised May 2007)
- Case
Friona Industries: Delivering Better Beef
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mary L. Shelman
CEO James Herring of Friona Industries, a leading U.S. cattle feedlot operator, has a history of leadership in the highly fragmented and often contentious U.S. beef industry. Friona has established relationships up and down the beef production chain to provide... View Details
- November 2004
- Tutorial
Principles of Microeconomics for Strategists
By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Pai-Ling Yin and Elizabeth Raabe
Reviews microeconomic principles from a business strategy perspective, using the digital music industry as context. Contains three modules: demand, supply, and equilibrium. The demand module discusses the willingness to pay, market demand, price elasticity, and... View Details
- 2003
- Working Paper
Dynamic Mixed Duopoly: A Model Motivated by Linux vs. Windows
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat
This paper analyzes a dynamic mixed duopoly in which a profit-maximizing competitor interacts with a competitor that prices at zero (or marginal cost), with the cumulation of output affecting their relative positions over time. The modeling effort is motivated by... View Details
- August 2003
- Article
When Does the Market Matter? Stock Prices and the Investment of Equity-Dependent Firms
By: Malcolm Baker, Jeremy Stein and Jeffrey Wurgler
We use a simple model of corporate investment to determine when investment will be sensitive to non-fundamental movements in stock prices. The key cross-sectional prediction of the model is that stock prices will have a stronger impact on the investment of firms that... View Details
- February 2002 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
H-E-B Own Brands
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell
H-E-B is a $9 billion grocery chain located in Southwest Texas. This case focuses on H-E-B's private label strategy, a product category that accounts for 19% of H-E-B's sales and one that earns gross margins 50% higher than national brands. A leader in its markets,... View Details
- December 2001 (Revised January 2002)
- Case
Nestle S.A.
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan
Peter Brabeck wants to focus Nestle as a wellness company in the global food system and do so in a way that provides both growth in sales and margins in both developed and developing countries. View Details
- 2001
- Working Paper
When Does the Market Matter? Stock Prices and the Investment of Equity Dependent Firms
By: Malcolm Baker, Jeremy Stein and Jeffrey Wurgler
We use a simple model of corporate investment to determine when investment will be sensitive to non-fundamental movements in stock prices. The key cross-sectional prediction of the model is that stock prices will have a stronger impact on the investment of firms that... View Details
- November 2001
- Case
Gold Kist Inc.
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Stephanie Oestreich
An oversupply of poultry causes a major decrease in margins for the company and the industry. How does the only cooperative in the industry respond to short-term and long-term economic pressures? View Details
- May 2001 (Revised February 2005)
- Case
KONE: The MonoSpace Launch in Germany
By: Das Narayandas and Gordon Swartz
Focuses on the launch of a new elevator product in Germany. In 1996, global construction slumps and low differentiation among competitive offerings has led to significant price competition and margin erosion in the elevator industry. In these circumstances, KONE, one... View Details
- August 1999 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
RCA Records: The Digital Revolution
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis
In 1995, Bertelsmann-owned RCA Records was considered a "tired and old" record label. By 1999, the company represented a number of the "hottest" acts in the music industry. Nevertheless, the company's position (as well as that of the entire music industry) was under... View Details
- 1998
- Working Paper
CEO Incentives and Firm Size
By: Brian Hall and George P. Baker
What determines CEO incentives? A confusion exists among both academics and practitioners about how to measure the strength of CEO incentives, and how to reconcile the enormous differences in pay sensitivities between executives in large and small firms. We show that... View Details
- November 1998
- Case
Wegmans Food Markets: Diabetes Counseling
By: Ray A. Goldberg, David E. Bell and Ann Leamon
Danny Wegman, president of Wegmans Food Markets, is trying to decide how to evaluate the success of a nutrition-counseling program for diabetics, and whether and how to expand the program beyond the two stores currently involved. Wegmans, with 57 stores and $2.3... View Details
- April 1998 (Revised September 1998)
- Case
Classic Pen Company, The: Developing an ABC Model
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Classic Pen has diversified from its core blue and black pen business by introducing new specialized colors. But costs have risen and margins on blue and black pens are decreasing. The controller turns to activity-based costing (ABC) for an explanation. View Details
- April 1997
- Background Note
Using ABC to Manage Customer Mix and Relationships
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Describes applying activity-based costing to manage customer relationships. Links cost-to-serve to net margins earned with individual customers. View Details
- February 1997 (Revised April 1997)
- Case
Harrington Financial Group
By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel
In early 1997, Harrington Bank, a small Indiana savings and loan (thrift) wondered what its next move should be. Harrington was acquired in 1988 by the principals of Smith Breeden Associates, a money-management and consulting firm specializing in the application of... View Details
- spring 1996
- Article
The Effect of Manufacturer Advertising on Retail and Wholesale Margins
By: R. Lal and C. Narasimhan
Keywords: Advertising
- April 1995 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
Pillsbury: Customer Driven Reengineering
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Pillsbury is transforming itself from an integrated producer of flour and bakery products to a value-added supplier of premium branded products. After initial successes applying activity-based costing to manufacturing operations, two senior executives decide to... View Details
- February 1995 (Revised June 1999)
- Case
Chemical Bank: Implementing the Balanced Scorecard
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Norman Klein
The retail bank division of Chemical Bank faces declining margins and increased competition in its credit and deposit gathering and processing business. It wishes to implement a new strategy to become a preferred financial service provider to target customer groups.... View Details
- October 1993 (Revised March 2023)
- Case
Conflict on a Trading Floor (A)
By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem
A junior salesperson on FirstAmerica Bank's trading floor is assisting a top salesperson, Linda, on a deal to finance the construction of a new cruise ship for Poseidon Cruise Lines. While the terms of the deal are being worked out, he realizes Linda has taken... View Details