Publications

28 May 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Labor Market Shocks and the Demand for Trade Protection: Evidence from Online Surveys

Keywords: by Rafael Di Tella and Dani Rodrik

September 1976 (Revised March 1981)
Case

Minolta Camera Co. Ltd.

Management of one of the leading Japanese camera manufacturers is faced with the problem of unauthorized shipments from the low-price markets of Hong Kong and Japan to high-price markets of Europe and North America. Control of distribution, change of prices, model... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Distribution; Price; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Japan

2011
Report

Nordic Globalization Barometer 2011

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The Nordic Globalization Barometer 2011, the fourth in its series, builds on the methodology established in previous editions: The first part provides a short overview of the macroeconomic climate in the Nordic countries. The second part tracks the changes in economic... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Macroeconomics; Trade; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Competitive Strategy; Scandinavia

2009
Other Unpublished Work

Clusters, Cluster Policy, and Swedish Competitiveness in the Global Economy

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

Proximity enables firms to take advantage of knowledge spill-overs and exploit supplier demand linkages with other entities engaged in related activities. Cluster strength thus seems to be one of the important determinants of prosperity differences across geographies.... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Growth and Development; Sweden

December 2020
Supplement

Tokio Marine Group (B)

By: David J. Collis, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

Updates the Tokio Marine (A) case by providing information on the organisation structure adopted by the Japanese insurance firm as it moved to integrate its global operations, along with changes in HR policies that sought to balance traditional Japanese practices with... View Details

Keywords: Organisational Design; Organization Structure; Culture; Global Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs; Human Resources; Insurance Industry; Japan

December 2024
Article

Are Bankruptcy Professional Fees Excessively High?

By: Samuel Antill

Chapter 7 is the most popular bankruptcy system for U.S. firms and individuals. Chapter 7 professional fees are substantial. Theoretically, high fees might be an unavoidable cost of incentivizing professionals. I test this empirically. I study trustees, the most... View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Motivation and Incentives; Policy

October 2012
Case

Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Elena Corsi

Royal Dutch Shell has been among the early players to implement diversity and inclusion policies in the 1990s, first in the U.S. and then globally. In May 2009, Peter Voser, CFO and soon-to-be CEO, wants to adjust the company's business, headcount, and cost levels to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Managerial Roles; Restructuring; Resignation and Termination; Diversity; Financial Crisis; Energy Industry; Netherlands

Spring 2014
Article

Charting Dynamic Trajectories: Multinational Firms in India

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury and Tarun Khanna

In this article, we provide a synthesizing framework that we call the "dynamic trajectories" framework to study the evolution of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in host countries over time. We argue that a change in the policy environment in a host country presents an... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Change; India

2009
Book

Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Why Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed and What to Do About It

By: Josh Lerner

In response to the financial crisis, governments are being far more aggressive in intervening to promote economic activity, a trend that shows little tendency of alleviating. This book looks at the experiences of governments in encouraging entrepreneurs and venture... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Policy; Business and Government Relations

Find at Harvard

01 Feb 2021
What Do You Think?

Has the New Economy Finally Arrived?

Twenty-year-old entrepreneurs became mega-millionaires, but not for long. It turned out that the “new economy” of that time was a house of cards. It’s a good time to ask the question again. Policies of the Federal Reserve in concert with... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2007 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Indonesia: Attracting Foreign Investment

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

Describes the economic development of Indonesia from independence after World War II to 2006 and the post-Suharto period. The coverage of the post-Suharto period provides evidence of how political and economic conditions are intertwined after a change in the political... View Details

Keywords: History; Situation or Environment; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Policy; Foreign Direct Investment; Business and Government Relations; Public Administration Industry; Indonesia

October 1991 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, Inc.: Keeping the Mission(s) Alive

Ben & Jerry's is an anti-establishment, values-driven company that has become a successful venture. The dominant founder, Ben Cohen, is not an effective manager, but he brings creative marketing and product skills that have been important to the company's success. He... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Entrepreneurship; Compensation and Benefits; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2011
Article

Cheaper Patents

By: Tom Nicholas

The 1883 Patents Act in Britain provides perspective for modern patent policy reforms because it radically changed incentives for inventors by reducing filing fees by 84 percent. Patents increased 2.5 fold after the reform, which was evenly distributed across the... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Global Range; Distribution; Demand and Consumers; Organizational Structure; Business Processes; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Fluctuation; Motivation and Incentives; Distribution Industry; United States; Great Britain

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October 2020 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Union Square Hospitality Group: Hospitality Included

By: Peter Boumgarden, Ryan W. Buell, Lamar Pierce and Richard Ryffel

In 2015, Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG), helmed by famous restauranteur Danny Meyer, sent shockwaves through the restaurant industry by announcing the end of tipping in its restaurants. Under its new policy, Hospitality Included (HI), USHG would charge higher... View Details

Keywords: Restaurants; Tipping; Revenue Sharing; Service Operations; Policy; Change; Human Resources; Management; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2024
Article

When Are Social Protests Effective?

By: Eric Shuman, Amit Goldenberg, Tamar Saguy, Eran Halperin and Martijn van Zomeren

Around the world, people engage in social protests aimed at addressing major societal problems. Certain protests have led to significant progress, yet other protests have resulted in little demonstrable change. We introduce a framework for evaluating the effectiveness... View Details

Keywords: Protests; Social Issues; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Power and Influence; Motivation and Incentives

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August 2008
Article

From Clusters to Cluster-Based Economic Development

By: Christian H.M. Ketels and Olga Memedovic

Over the last decades, changes in the global economy and the emergence of Global Value Chains (GVCs) have raised the interest in understanding the specific conditions and cross-company interactions within and across locations. For companies, the need to choose the... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Economy; Value; Business Strategy; Competition; Performance Productivity; Cost; Natural Environment; Policy; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Framework; Industry Clusters

October 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Aspen Technology, Inc.: Currency Hedging Review

By: Peter Tufano

The chief financial officer of a rapidly growing U.S.-based software firm that sells its process-control software to industrial users around the globe must review the goals, strategies, and policies of the firm's currency hedging program. This review is prompted by... View Details

Keywords: Currency Exchange Rate; Applications and Software; Investment; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United Kingdom; United States