Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,182)
- Faculty Publications (266)
- January 2006
- Tutorial
Alternative Choice Decisions Analysis
By: David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens
Shows how managers use information on costs and revenues to decide between possible alternative courses of action. Presents two case examples of differential cost analysis. The first, a make or buy decision, examines two alternatives in which only costs vary. The... View Details
- March 2005 (Revised March 2006)
- Background Note
Activity-Based Costing and Capacity
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Discusses the use of budgeted rather than historical data in an activity-based costing (ABC) model and argues for calculating rates using practical capacity, not actual utilization. An ABC model need not be limited to analysis of historical data. When cost driver rates... View Details
- September 2004
- Article
Trust in Agency
Existing models of the principal-agent relationship assume the agent works only under extrinsic incentives. However, many observed agency contracts take the form of a fixed payment. For such contracts to succeed, the principal must trust the agent to work in the... View Details
- June 2004
- Article
A Catering Theory of Dividends
By: Malcolm Baker and Jeffrey Wurgler
We propose that the decision to pay dividends is driven by prevailing investor demand for dividend payers. Managers cater to investors by paying dividends when investors put a stock price premium on payers, and by not paying when investors prefer nonpayers. To test... View Details
- October 2002 (Revised May 2021)
- Case
Group Process in the Challenger Launch Decision (A)
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman
The night before the launch of the Challenger shuttle, officials from Morton Thiokol (Solid Rocket Booster manufacturer) and NASA participated in a teleconference to discuss whether to postpone the shuttle launch due to predicted low temperatures at Kennedy Space... View Details
- January 2002
- Case
Metromove.com Business Plan
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Sheila Marcelo
Enables analysis of a business plan in a volatile market. Also enables analysis of the decisions entrepreneurs must make as they start a new business, develop the concept, choose partners, and find funding. View Details
- January 2002 (Revised December 2002)
- Background Note
A Note on the Value of Information in an Entrepreneurial Venture
By: Paul W. Marshall
Uses a decision analysis framework to analyze the value of gaming information before making a full investment in an entrepreneurial venture. View Details
- October 2001 (Revised October 2017)
- Case
Pilgrim Bank (A): Customer Profitability
By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell
Provides a context in which students can explore managerial decision making that is critically informed by data analysis. The setting is a retail bank and the decision making relates to the bank's policy toward online banking. The management team is evaluating whether... View Details
- February 2001
- Case
PlanetFeedback: The Voice of One ... The Power of Many (A)
By: James L. Heskett
The management of PlanetFeedback in proposes a merger with Intelliseek. Their goal is to create a comprehensive C2B and B2B business focused on the generation and analysis for business clients of consumer feedback data via the Internet, Planet Feedback's board of... View Details
- November 2000 (Revised December 2000)
- Background Note
Online Content Providers
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown
Describes the business model for online content providers, companies that distribute copyright content via the Internet. Focuses on their revenue and cost drivers and on the ways that online content providers create value for consumers. Also investigates the benefits... View Details
- October 2000 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Merck & Company: Evaluating a Drug Licensing Opportunity
By: Richard S. Ruback and David B Krieger
This explores the valuation of an opportunity to license a compound before it enters clinical trials. Describes Merck's decision tree evaluation process is presented. Information required to evaluate a specific licensing opportunity is provided, including the costs of... View Details
- May 2000 (Revised January 2003)
- Case
Health Development Corporation
Health Development Corp. (HDC) owns and operates health clubs in the Greater Boston area. HDC engaged a local investment banker to explore a sale of the company. The most likely buyer views HDC's prior purchase of real estate as a negative. HDC's management is... View Details
Keywords: Cash Flow; Property; Business Exit or Shutdown; Valuation; Value; Decisions; Health Industry; Boston
- April 2000
- Case
Financing of Project Achieve, The (A)
By: Mihir A. Desai
An entrepreneur is forced to analyze the tradeoffs between different equity providers through a detailed analysis of venture financing terms and cash flow forecasts. The founder of a Web-based IMS for schools must negotiate a term sheet, determine funding needs, value... View Details
- February 2000 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
CNET 2000
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Pauline M Fischer
CNET's managers explain the strategic analysis that led to their decision to increase their annual marketing budget from $1 million to $100 million. CNET is an online information intermediary that helps consumers make purchase decisions about PC hardware and software,... View Details
- November 1999 (Revised July 2003)
- Case
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
By: Paul M. Healy and Jacob Cohen
Pre-Paid Legal Services' business model reveals two key issues--managing the sales force and sales growth and managing claims. Students analyze the economics of the business and consider how to measure firm performance, how to evaluate and reward the sales force, and... View Details
- October 1999 (Revised July 2002)
- Case
WingspanBank.com (A)
By: Sandra J. Sucher and Daniel Galvin
The case describes the new product development process for WingspanBank.com, an Internet-only financial services "infomediary" created by a team from Bank One's First USA division. The creation of the bank is described from concept development to prelaunch decision... View Details
- October 1997 (Revised November 2000)
- Background Note
Note on Marketing Strategy
By: Robert J. Dolan
Describes the major elements of marketing strategy: the decisions to be made and the underlying analysis to support that decision making. View Details
Keywords: Marketing Strategy
- September 1997 (Revised February 2000)
- Exercise
Exercises in Option Pricing and Real Option Analysis
By: Benjamin C. Esty
Contains five problems, one each on basic option pricing, abandonment value, the value of waiting to invest, contingent claims analysis (equity as a call option), and strategic decision making in an option framework. The goal is for students to recognize option value... View Details
- February 1996 (Revised February 1997)
- Case
America Online, Inc.
By: Amy P. Hutton and Krishna G. Palepu
America Online's (AOL) stock price has soared nearly 2,000% since its IPO. However, there is considerable disagreement among analysts regarding the future prospects of AOL. Although many analysts are bullish on the stock, short sellers have sold around 7 million... View Details