Publications

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Operations and the Competitive Edge

decisions, to ensure that these decisions are based on a complete understanding of what the company hopes to achieve, what it has the resources to support, and how they fit with the other View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Business and the Global Poor

Could you describe some of these entrepreneurial efforts? A: There is a lot of talk—both in this book and elsewhere—about the massive potential consumer market at the base of the economic pyramid. However,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

research company. These businesses were the product of past rational calculations, and some remained profitable and successful operations, but by the 1970s times had changed. Unilever found itself burdened,... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

23 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018

in self-confidence, assessments of others, and behavior in a cooperative game. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55101 forthcoming Management Science Effects of a Tournament... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

28 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 28, 2018

through social learning) and costs (lower maximum solution quality due to a reduction in individual exploration for novel answers) relative to independent problem solving. In contrast to prior work, which... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Partnering and the Balanced Scorecard

Often overlooked in essays on leadership is the role of the organization's measurement and management system. Effective leaders, however, know that measurement and View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

2023
Working Paper

The Subjective Expected Utility Approach and a Framework for Defining Project Risk in Terms of Novelty and Feasibility—A Response to Franzoni and Stephan (2023), ‘Uncertainty and Risk-Taking in Science’

By: Jacqueline N. Lane

In their Discussion Paper, Franzoni and Stephan (F&S, 2023) discuss the shortcomings of existing peer review models in shaping the funding of risky science. Their discussion offers a conceptual framework for incorporating risk into peer review models of research... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Research; Resource Allocation; Perception

SSRN

Read Now

24 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 24, 2018

contest. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54708 June 2018 Management Science Personal and Social Usage: The Origins of Active Customers View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Strategy and the Internet

competitive advantage—by operating at a lower cost, by commanding a premium price, or by doing both. Cost and price advantages can be achieved in two ways. One is operational effectiveness—doing the same... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter

September 2020 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Algramo

By: Michael Chu, Monica Silva and Mariana Cal

Founded in 2013 by José Manuel Moller in Chile, Algramo first became known for addressing the “poverty tax” (the surcharge paid by lower income families for staples sold in smaller sizes) through specially-designed dispensers in low-income neighborhood grocery stores... View Details

Keywords: Packaging-as-a-wallet; Plastic Waste; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Reusable Packaging; Alliances With FMCGs To Meet ESG Goals; Social Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Value Creation; Goals and Objectives; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Latin America; South America; Chile

April 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Case

General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Katherine Seger

Designed to generate discussion on the issues of outsourcing from the perspective of a firm thinking about turning over its IS activities to a third-party vendor. View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Management Style; Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Business Strategy; Economic Systems; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Processes; Employment; Emerging Markets; Activity Based Costing and Management; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

05 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 5, 2017

subsequently. Our results are consistent with theory on the active role firms can play in managing their reputational capital through anticipatory actions to avoid negative media coverage. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2022 (Revised February 2025)
Case

A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

The North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association (the Mutual) was founded in 1898 as a for-profit entity selling life insurance catering to the Black community. The Mutual was entering a field crowded with established White-owned competitors that largely refused to... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Insurance; History; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Insurance Industry; United States

26 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 26, 2019

materiality remains unclear. Using a series of vignettes based on actual private investor meetings, I investigate how managers and regulators understand Reg FD. I find... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September–October 2013
Article

The Role of Organizational Scope and Governance in Strengthening Private Monitoring

By: Lamar Pierce and Michael W. Toffel

Governments and other organizations often outsource activities to achieve cost savings from market competition. Yet such benefits are often accompanied by poor quality resulting from moral hazard, which can be particularly onerous when outsourcing the monitoring and... View Details