Publications

2017
Working Paper

Inventory Management for Mobile Money Agents in the Developing World

By: Karthik Balasubramanian, David F. Drake and Douglas Fearing

Mobile money systems, platforms built and managed by mobile network operators to allow money to be stored as digital currency, have burgeoned in the developing world as a mechanism to transfer money electronically. Mobile money agents exchange cash for electronic value... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Mobile Technology; Market Platforms; Developing Countries and Economies

SSRN

November 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Basecamp: Pricing

By: Frank Cespedes and Robb Fitzsimmons

A data analyst at Basecamp is evaluating the results of pricing research and its potential implications for the venture’s latest version of its project management software product. View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Entrepreneurial Management; Data Analysis; Marketing; Customer Acquisition; Customer Retention; Value Proposition; Sales Management; Product Management; Market Research; Life Time Value; Testing; Entrepreneurship; Analytics and Data Science; Customers; Value; Sales; Product Marketing; United States

29 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement

saw potential in sports endorsements in the television age. McCormack informed Palmer that he was planning to start up a business revolving around personal business managers or "agents" handling professional golfers' affairs.... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Sports

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Supplement

GlaxoSmithKline in China (C)

By: John Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

Keywords: China; Healthcare; Pharmaceutical Sales; Ethics; Multinational Firms and Management; Pharmaceutical Industry; China

June 2013
Case

Comprosa

By: Jim Sharpe and Jose Luis Barbero

A Spanish manufacturer of packaging films has successfully returned to break even and is considering options to attain sustainable profitability. View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Turnarounds; Distressed Debt; Private Equity; Cash Flow Analysis; Supplier Relationship; Supply Chain Management; Unions; Global Competitiveness; Leadership And Managing People; Sales Force Management; Sales Compensation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Global Strategy; Salesforce Management; Cash Flow; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Spain

Winter 2014
Article

Retail Inventory: Managing the Canary in the Coal Mine!

By: Vishal Gaur, Saravanan Kesavan and Ananth Raman

Retail inventory is a statistic that is closely watched by retailers as well as their investors, lenders, and suppliers. Retailers not only benefit from inventory, but also bear the cost of excess inventory. Investors, lenders, and suppliers interpret this statistic... View Details

Keywords: Financial Condition; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

September–October 1987
Article

Manage Customers for Profits (Not Just Sales)

By: Benson P. Shapiro, V. K. Rangan, Rowland T. Moriarty and Elliot Ross

Keywords: Customers; Profit; Management; Sales

Find at Harvard

30 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: Preparing to Sell

the family business. The portrait of the business would also typically represent more than 90 percent of the owners' wealth. “If this transition is not managed well, the family has a higher risk of losing its wealth through bad investment... View Details

Keywords: by Jonathan Pellegrin; Food & Beverage; Retail

2015
Working Paper

Incentives versus Reciprocity: Insights from a Field Experiment

By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

We conduct a field experiment in which we vary the sales force compensation scheme at an Asian enterprise that sells consumer durable goods. With variation generated by the experimental treatments, we model sales force performance to identify the effectiveness of... View Details

Keywords: Sales Force Compensation; Field Experiment; Heterogeneity; Loss Aversion; Reciprocity; Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits

August 2012 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Paul Thomson: Walker Insurance

By: Michael Roberts, Jim Sharpe and Sonia Nagala Change

Having just acquired Walker Insurance, Paul Thomson finds himself short of funds to support his original turnaround plan. He can request additional cash from his investor group, hunker down and grow at a slower rate or consider a proposal to buy his business. He has... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Acquisitions; Search Funds; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Insurance; Turnarounds; Boards Of Directors; Sales Force Management; Entrepreneurship; Insurance Industry; Florida

June 2013
Teaching Note

Elasto Therm: The Next Step

By: Jim Sharpe

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Organizations; Entrepreneurs; Careers; Empowerment; Job Design; Sales Channels; Sales Force Management; Pricing Strategy; Pricing; Pricing Policies; Employee Empowerment; Customer Focus; Entrepreneurship; Salesforce Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Rubber Industry; United States

June 2013
Supplement

Union Corrugating Co. (A) (Spreadsheet Supplement)

This is the spreadsheet supplement for HBS Case 803065, containing Exhibit 3 as an Excel document. View Details

May 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Teaching Note

Reliance Baking Soda: Optimizing Promotional Spending (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

Teaching Note to Briefcase 4128 View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Consumer Marketing; Marketing Planning; Product Management; Sales Promotions; Program Budgeting; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Mathematical Methods; Advertising; Budgets and Budgeting; Product Marketing; Communication Strategy

August 2017
Article

Incentives versus Reciprocity: Insights from a Field Experiment

By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

We conduct a field experiment in which we vary the sales force compensation scheme at an Asian enterprise that sells consumer durable goods. With variation generated by the experimental treatments, we model sales force performance to identify the effectiveness of... View Details

Keywords: Sales Force Compensation; Field Experiment; Heterogeneity; Loss Aversion; Reciprocity; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits

Find at Harvard

September 2005
Supplement

Eureka Forbes Ltd.: Managing the Selling Effort (DVD)

By: Das Narayandas

Keywords: Salesforce Management

February 2015 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Winnan Metal: Fulfilling the Dream

By: William R. Kerr, Jim Sharpe and James Weber

Neil Kashyap and Neil Lombardo (HBS '08) acquired Winnan Metal, Inc., a metal fabrication shop, after raising a search fund and an 11 month search to fulfill their dreams of becoming business owners. Two weeks after they took control of the company, Winnan's largest... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurial Management; Turnarounds; Bank Loan; Crisis Management; Financial Analysis; Search Funds; Acquisitions; Financial Capital Needed; Management; Operations Management; Sales; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Change Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Indiana

2012
Working Paper

Earnings Management from the Bottom Up: An Analysis of Managerial Incentives Below the CEO

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Julie Wulf

Performance-based pay is an important instrument to align the interests of managers with the interests of shareholders. However, recent evidence suggests that high-powered incentives also provide managers with incentives to manipulate the firm's reported earnings. The... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Interests; Business and Shareholder Relations; Motivation and Incentives; Earnings Management; Performance Evaluation; Stock Options