Publications

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10 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 10, 2009

displays) at the fiscal year-end. Firms also engage in similar behavior following periods of poor financial performance. Furthermore, our results confirm managers' stated willingness to sacrifice long-term value in order to smooth... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2017
Article

Frictions or Mental Gaps: What's Behind the Information We (Don't) Use and When Do We Care?

By: Benjamin Handel and Joshua Schwartzstein

Consumers suffer significant losses from not acting on available information. These losses stem from frictions such as search costs, switching costs, and rational inattention, as well as what we call mental gaps resulting from wrong priors/worldviews, or relevant... View Details

Keywords: Information; Consumer Behavior

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February 2019 (Revised August 2019)
Case

KangaTech

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Patrick J. Ferguson, Sarah Fleischer, Jin Hyun Paik and Steven Randazzo

On a warm January afternoon in 2019, Steve Saunders, Dave Scerri, Carl Dilena, and Nick Haslam (see Exhibit 1 for biographies), co-founders of KangaTech, wrapped up the latest round of discussions about the future direction of their sports-technology start-up. Focused... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Technology Commercialization; Prototype; Business Startups; Technological Innovation; Sports; Health; Commercialization; Research and Development; Decision Making; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; Sports Industry; Health Industry; Australia

26 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Behind India’s Economic and Political Woes

rupees from his tenants, but that money just became 20 percent more expensive in the global currency market. So what is she to do? The options aren't appealing: Default on the loan or change the business model by possible refinancing. As... View Details

Keywords: by Zeenat Potia

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

Keywords: Tyco; Dennis Kozlowski; Edward Breen; Fire Safety; Fire Protection; Security; Packaging; Securities And Exchange Commission; Fraud; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Earnings Management; Financial Statements; Goodwill Accounting; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Restructuring; Crime and Corruption; Engineering; Applied Optics; Chemicals; Construction; Metals and Minerals; Ethics; Finance; Cash Flow; Public Equity; Stock Options; Financing and Loans; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Executive Compensation; Selection and Staffing; Courts and Trials; Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Value; Chemical Industry; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Energy Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Mining Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Utilities Industry; Republic of Ireland; Switzerland; Bermuda; United States; New Hampshire

February 2013 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Investindustrial Exits Ducati

By: Francois Brochet and Karol Misztal

In early 2012, Investindustrial, a European private equity group, publicly announced their intention to sell their 76.7% stake in Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., an iconic Italian producer of sport performance motorcycles. The decision followed a six-year turnaround... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Private Equity; Valuation; Investment Return; Brands and Branding; Financial Services Industry; Motorcycle Industry; Hong Kong; Italy

Article

Earnings and Ratings at Google Answers

By: Benjamin Edelman

I analyze all questions and answers from the inception of the Google Answers service through November 2003, and I find notable trends in answerer behavior: more experienced answerers provide answers with the characteristics askers most value, receiving higher ratings... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Opportunities; Behavior; Value; Jobs and Positions; Wages; Business Earnings

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April 2001 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Zaplet, Inc.

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

Start-up Zaplet, Inc., has radical software, prestigious venture capital funding, and a multitude of business opportunities. New CEO Alan Baratz must select a strategy and redesign the organization to deliver. This case describes the roles and philosophies of the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Venture Capital; Valuation; Business Strategy; Restructuring; Expansion; Product Development; Innovation Strategy; Human Resources; Information Technology Industry; California

January 2020 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Salary Finance US

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In October 2019, Dan Macklin, the newly-appointed chief executive of Salary Finance Inc., was weighing his options for the future of the business. The company’s value proposition was quite simple: partner with employers to offer employees affordable loans that were... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Credit; Financing and Loans; Wages; Innovation and Invention; Expansion; Growth Management; Decision Making; Financial Services Industry; United States

09 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Chance Encounters: What's at Stake in Return-to-Office Decisions

Review article, “What’s the Optimal Workplace for Your Organization?” The article itself, with its two-by-two matrix of strategic space configurations, is an illustration of the value of face time. “This project would very much not exist... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint, HBS Alumni Bulletin

14 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need

environments where candor is expected and where employees can speak up without fear of retribution. When employees feel psychologically safe, they’re empowered to iterate and take risks—leading to better team performance. “You no longer have the View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

02 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 2, 2007

and rewarding more participatory, more sincere, and less directive marketing styles. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-017.pdf The Impact of Shareholder Activism on Financial Reporting and Compensation: The Case of Employee Stock View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2017
Case

BlaBlaCar: The Road Ahead...

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Arun Sundararajan, Emilie Billaud and Caroline Caltagirone

In 2017, the co-founders of BlaBlaCar—the world’s largest long-distance carpooling company—reflected on the evolution of their venture and the way forward. BlaBlaCar had reached critical mass and size; yet staying still was not going to be enough to be relevant and... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Transformation; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Transportation Networks; Transportation Industry; Web Services Industry; France; Europe

08 Nov 2021
Blog Post

Building an Internship Program at Your Startup: An Interview with Facily’s Diego Dzodan (MBA 1999)

gear up to raise a Series A. “When I spoke with Diego, he shared five problems they were thinking about and gave me the option of what I wanted to work on,” Westphal explained. “The project I chose allowed me to spend 90% of my time... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Consumer Products / Retail

18 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 18

address this threat: trust, licensing, and paying agents to stay loyal. We show how the principal can influence the value of these options by modularizing the system and by hiring clans of agents, thus... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, February 28

2017 Advancing Organizational Theory in a Complex World Getting Started with Ambidexterity By: Binns, Andrew, and Michael Tushman Abstract—This paper demonstrates the value of thinking about ambidexterity as having three distinct... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Solving the Marketing Resources Allocation Puzzle

papers about "The Value of a Free Customer" and "The Value of a Customer in a Social Networked World." Thomas Steenburgh: I am spending time thinking of a few different things. I have a working paper with a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

December 2001 (Revised July 2005)
Case

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company: The Conoco Split-off (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Perry Fagan

After taking 30% of its Conoco oil and gas subsidiary public in the largest domestic initial public offering (IPO) in U.S. history, management of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont) is considering divesting its remaining interest in Conoco. This goal is to be... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business Subsidiaries; Restructuring; Non-Renewable Energy; Chemicals; Assets; Initial Public Offering; Business and Shareholder Relations; Diversification; Value; Chemical Industry; United States