Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,241)
- Faculty Publications (472)
- Summer 2014
- Article
When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda
We present a theory for why it might be rational for a platform to limit the number of applications available on it. Our model is based on the observation that even if users prefer application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there... View Details
Keywords: Platform Governance; Direct Network Effects; Indirect Network Effects; Complements; Tragedy Of The Commons; Equilibrium Selection; Coordination; Foresight; Strategy; Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Balance and Stability; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Network Effects
- May 2014 (Revised March 2016)
- Case
Health City Cayman Islands
By: Tarun Khanna and Budhaditya Gupta
Narayana Health (NH) had been successfully delivering affordable high quality tertiary care to the masses in India through its chain of hospitals for over a decade. To encourage the adoption of the NH affordable care delivery model worldwide, Dr. Shetty, Chairman of... View Details
Keywords: Healthcare; Emerging Economies; Innovation; India; Institutions; Pricing; Replication; Strategy; Narayana Health; Ascension; Health City Cayman Islands; Dr. Devi Shetty; International Business; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Disruptive Innovation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Management Practices and Processes; Growth Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Adaptation; Adoption; India; Cayman Islands
- 2014
- Working Paper
The Role of the Corporation in Society: An Alternative View and Opportunities for Future Research
By: George Serafeim
A long-standing ideology in business education has been that a corporation is run for the sole interest of its shareholders. I present an alternative view where increasing concentration of economic activity and power in the world's largest corporations, the Global... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Research; Sustainability Targets; Corporate Performance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
- March 2014
- Article
Choosing the Right Customer
By: Robert Simons
Companies that win in competitive markets identify a primary customer and dedicate maximum resources to meeting that customer's needs. This article will show you how to identify the best primary customer for your business by analyzing perspective, capabilities, and... View Details
- February 2014 (Revised May 2014)
- Background Note
Flying High, Landing Low: Strengths and Challenges for U.S. Air Transportation
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Aditi Jain and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone
The U.S. air transportation system flies high on some indicators, mostly involving capacity to take to the air, but lands low on others, mostly involving ground facilities and processes. This note provides an overview of the history and current state of air... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised May 2014)
- Case
Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)
By: Srikant M. Datar, Anjali Raina and Namrata Arora
Set in 2008, the case details Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) company within the Mahindra Group, an Indian multi-industry company with a diverse stable of businesses including automotives, farm equipment, and financial services, and its decision to... View Details
- December 2013 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Atlanta Schools: Measures to Improve Performance
By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred
The widespread cheating scandal that rocked the Atlanta public school system in 2010 and 2011 illustrates how high-stakes performance pressure, without sufficient risk controls, can drive dangerous behavior. After becoming superintendent of the low-income and... View Details
Keywords: Atlanta; Test; Testing; Standardized Test; Standardized Testing; No Child Left Behind; NCLB; Cheating; Performance Pressure; Measurement; Incentives; Atlanta Public Schools; Management; Leadership; Ethics; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Performance Expectations; Risk Management; Education; Education Industry; United States; Georgia (state, US); Atlanta
- October 2013
- Article
The Strategy That Will Fix Health Care
By: Michael E. Porter and Thomas H. Lee
In health care, the days of business as usual are over. Around the world, every health care system is struggling with rising costs and uneven quality, despite the hard work of well-intentioned, well-trained clinicians. Health care leaders and policy makers have tried... View Details
- 2014
- Working Paper
Firm Competitiveness and Detection of Bribery
By: George Serafeim
Using survey data from firms around the world I analyze how detection of bribery has impacted a firm's competitiveness over the past year. Managers report that the most significant impact was on employee morale, followed by business relations, and then reputation and... View Details
- July 2013
- Case
Novozymes: Establishing the Cellulosic Ethanol Value Chain
By: Willy Shih and Sen Chai
As the world's largest producer of industrial enzymes, Novozymes had invested heavily for many years to bio-engineer enzymes that could break down cellulose into fermentable sugar. In 2010, the company had launched what it thought would become a breakthrough product... View Details
Keywords: System Complexity; Industrial Enzymes; Ethanol; Collulosic Ethanol; Fermentation; Genomics; Genetic Engineering; Value Chain; Assembling Value Chain; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Growth; Production; Research; Research and Development; Science; Genetics; Natural Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Vertical Integration; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Energy Industry; Denmark; United States
- 2013
- Working Paper
Visualizing and Measuring Enterprise Architecture: An Exploratory BioPharma Case
By: Robert Lagerstrom, Carliss Baldwin, Alan MacCormack and David Dreyfus
We test a method that was designed and used previously to reveal the hidden internal architectural structure of software systems. The focus of this paper is to test if it can also uncover new facts about the components and their relationships in an enterprise... View Details
- June 20, 2013
- Article
The Tyranny of Minority Shareholders
By: Josh Baron and Henry Foley
The article discusses challenges arising from minority ownership in the context of the proposed Empire State Building IPO. It emphasizes the complexities that minority shareholders can introduce in business decisions when families take their assets public. The article... View Details
- May 2013
- Article
Hybrid Innovation in Meiji Japan
By: Tom Nicholas
Japan's hybrid innovation system during the Meiji era of technological modernization provides a useful laboratory for examining the effectiveness of complementary mechanisms to patents. Patents were introduced in 1885, and by 1911, 1.2 million mostly non-pecuniary... View Details
- April 2013
- Teaching Plan
Barclays and the LIBOR Scandal
By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia
In the summer of 2012, Barclays plc, one of the largest banks in the world, agreed to settle with authorities and acknowledged that the firm had manipulated LIBOR (London Inter-Bank Offered Rate)—a benchmark reference rate that was fundamental to the operation of... View Details
- April 2013 (Revised October 2013)
- Case
National Instruments
By: Lynda M. Applegate, Keri Pearlson and Natalie Kindred
This case explores the use of social media to support product design, customer support, marketing and HR activities at National Instruments (NI). Based in Austin, Texas, with over $1 billion in 2011 sales, NI designs, produces, and sells software and hardware platforms... View Details
- February 2013 (Revised February 2014)
- Case
Phu My Hung
By: John Macomber and Dawn H. Lau
Privately held city development promoters decide whether to partner on next phase or go it alone in a 20-year, 4000-acre project. Set outside of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, this decades-long project led by two Taiwanese families reshaped and built the economic... View Details
- 2013
- Comment
Fairness and Redistribution: Comment
By: Rafael Di Tella and Juan Dubra
In an influential paper, Alesina and Angeletos (2005)—henceforth, AA—argued that a preference for fairness could lead two identical societies to choose different economic systems. In particular, two equilibria might arise: one with low taxes and a belief that the... View Details
- January 2013 (Revised February 2013)
- Case
EverTrue: Mobile Technology Development (A)
By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell
Brent Grinna is evaluating different options for the technology development of his start-up's iPhone app, including hiring local programmers, finding a CTO, or outsourcing. He only has a little over two months before he presents his alumni networking app to Brown... View Details
- January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
- Teaching Note
Luotang Power: Variances Explained (Brief Case)
By: Robert Simons and Craig Chapman
The primary objective is to explore the concepts of variance analysis in performance from one year to the next and the predictability of contracting counterparts to extract value from contract positions where they can. The general manager of a coal-fired power plant... View Details
- Article
Employee Selection as a Control System
By: Dennis Campbell
Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details