Publications

We critically examine Herbert Simon's 1967 essay, "The Business School: A Problem in Organizational Design." We consider this essay within the context of Simon's key ideas about organizations, particularly those closely associated with the 'Carnegie perspective' on... View Details

February 2018 (Revised June 2021)
Case

New Constructs: Disrupting Fundamental Analysis with Robo-Analysts

By: Charles C.Y. Wang and Kyle Thomas

This case highlights the business challenges associated with a financial technology firm, New Constructs, that created a technology that can quickly parse complicated public firm financials to paint a clearer economic picture of firms, remove accounting distortions,... View Details

Keywords: Fundamental Analysis; Machine Learning; Robo-analysts; Financial Statements; Financial Reporting; Analysis; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; North America; Tennessee

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922

John H. Patterson created an intricate system of management to monitor and train company salesman. He gave them scripts to memorize and assigned them territory to cover. He held conventions and thematic... View Details

Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman

July 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Background Note

District Heating: An Overview

By: Willy Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This note provides an overview of district heating: systems in which central plants generate heat that is conveyed by steam or water through a set of insulated pipes to send heat to residential and/or commercial buildings. It describes key elements of the system (heat... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Energy Storage; Energy Transmission; Construction; Energy; Buildings and Facilities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Climate Change; Operations; Energy Industry; Denmark; Europe; United States

December 2011
Article

EXEMPLARY CONTRIBUTION: Transforming Mental Models on Emerging Markets

By: Charles Dhanaraj and Tarun Khanna

Economic growth in the Western world increasingly depends on meaningful engagement with emerging markets such as Brazil, China, India, South Africa, and Turkey. Business schools are responding with increased attention to these markets in their research and curricula.... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Business Model; Economic Growth; Developing Countries and Economies; Research; Business Education; Learning; Financial Institutions; Framework; Transformation; Perspective; India; China; Brazil; South Africa; Turkey

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Intentional cooperation between two organizations — BlackRock, a major asset management firm, and national non-profit, Commonwealth — created the conditions for the nation’s largest payroll processor, multiple U.S. employers, retirement record keepers, and others... View Details

October 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Twiga Foods: Revolutionizing African Retail (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Pippa Tubman Amerding and Wale Lawal

Twiga is a leading agricultural produce supplier in Kenya offering services to mostly informal retailers. Under Peter Njonjo, a co-founder and Twiga’s new CEO, the company is considering multiple options for expanding its business, including offering packaged foods and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Retail Industry; Nairobi

08 Jul 2020
News

We Have an Unemployment Crisis. Now What?

November 2021 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Scott Tucker (A): Race to the Top

By: Aiyesha Dey and Amram Migdal

The case tells the story of the rise and fall of Scott Tucker, an entrepreneur, businessman, passionate race car driver, competitor, and owner of a professional racing team. From 1997 to 2012, Tucker built a nationwide network of payday lending businesses, becoming a... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Fairness; Financing and Loans; Personal Finance; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governance Controls; Financial Services Industry; United States

31 May 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Conflict Policy and Advertising Agency-Client Relations: The Problem of Competing Clients Sharing a Common Agency

Keywords: by Alvin J. Silk; Advertising

09 Oct 2018
News

We Deserve Better Than “Attagirl”

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

counselor at law, not a hired gun. Third, the organization must encourage the free flow of legal and business information to and from managers and lawyers so the lawyers understand the context in which a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

December 1995 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Nestle and the Twenty-First Century

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Elizabeth Ashcroft

A leading food company rethinks its future in the global food system by major geographical areas. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Geographic Location; Globalization; Strategy; System; Food and Beverage Industry

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Article

How to Really Motivate Salespeople

By: Doug J. Chung

Much of what we believe about the best ways to compensate and motivate the sales force is based on theory and lab experiments. But in the past decade, researchers have been moving out of the lab and into the field, analyzing companies' sales and pay data, and... View Details

Keywords: Compensation; Motivating People; Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Sales

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16 Feb 2022
News

How Job Applicants Try to Hack Résumé-Reading Software

December 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Wolfgang Puck: Setting the Table for the Future

By: Boris Groysberg and Matthew G. Preble

Chef Wolfgang Puck oversees a disparate business empire that includes fine dining restaurants, a catering business, and various licensed products that run from cookware, to soup, to fast-casual restaurants. His businesses activities are divided among three separate... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Growth and Development; Management Systems; Business Processes; Leadership; Transition; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry

2023
Working Paper

Procedural Burden and Patterns in the Monetization of Regulatory Benefits Across the Federal Regulatory State

By: Elliot Stoller

When do federal agencies provide monetized estimates of regulatory benefits during the regulatory development and review process? Using an original dataset with information on nearly all major rules and their respective regulatory impact assessments between... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Government and Politics; Equality and Inequality

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November 1994 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Security Plus, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins and Norman Bartczak

A company acquires an alarm system company and converts its customers from operating to sale-type leases. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Leasing; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry

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November 2004 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Martha Stewart (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Christopher Bruner

Explores Martha Stewart's December 2001 sale of ImClone Systems common stock, the ensuing federal investigations into possible insider trading, and Stewart's criminal prosecution and sentencing. Discusses the impact of publicity on Stewart's company, Martha Stewart... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Corporate Governance; Financial Markets; Management Teams; Law; Government and Politics