Publications

January 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Teaching Note

Jumia Nigeria: from Retail to Marketplace (A) and (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

Founded in 2012, Jumia Nigeria, a startup effort by Germany-based Rocket Internet, aimed to become an African Amazon. The company entered the nascent market and immediately enjoyed an uptick in consumer spending fueled by the strength of Nigeria’s oil-based economy. By... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Marketplace; Inventory; Ecommerce; Funding; Business Ecosystems; Competition; Business Model; Globalization; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Logistics; E-commerce; Retail Industry; India; Nigeria; Africa

November 2009
Article

Telegraphs—Shrinking Economic Distances? A Preliminary Enquiry, 1870s-1912

By: Felipe Tamega Fernandes

This is a very preliminary report on sources and data for my research on telegraphs. Telegraphs are usually analysed in the context of railway expansion and the literature has somewhat neglected the role of telegraphic communication for the development of steamship... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Communication Technology; Rail Transportation; Ship Transportation; Telecommunications Industry

Read Now

Web

The New Role for Government & NGOs - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

participants. This approach recognizes that helping small farmers increase their yields will not create any lasting benefits unless there are ready buyers for their crops, other enterprises that can process the crops once they are harvested, View Details

September – October 2010
Article

The Effect of Product Variety and Inventory Levels on Retail Sales: A Longitudinal Study

By: Zeynep Ton and Ananth Raman

We examine the effects of product variety and inventory levels on store sales. Using four years of data from stores of a large retailer, we show that increases in product variety and inventory levels are both associated with higher sales. We also show that increasing... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Design; Logistics; Product; Quality; Sales; Retail Industry

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April 2015
Case

Who Owns the Whale? (Abridged)

By: Thales S. Teixeira and David E. Bell

Judge William Wright considers the case of the dispute of a whale carcass wherein several whaling ships claim ownership based on each one's contribution to its killing. The judge must weigh in the differing efforts and costs of three ships who each played a role at... View Details

Keywords: Whaling; Attribution; Norms-of-ownership; Transaction Costs; Deadweight Losses; Free-rider Problem; Advertising; History; United States; United Kingdom

February 2003
Case

Dubai Ports Authority (A)

The Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) wishes to digitize many of the documents it shares with its external partners, including shipping lines and agents, merchants, and the country's customs authority. DPA also wishes to automate the many document transmissions related to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Information Technology; Cooperation; Globalized Markets and Industries; Shipping Industry; Dubai

August 1992 (Revised July 2013)
Case

ChemBright, Inc.

By: Janice H. Hammond

ChemBright is a small start-up company that manufactures private-label household chemicals. The company sells its products to grocery chains in the New England area. Its strategy is based on a significant logistics-based cost advantage. The primary case decisions are... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Chemical Industry; New England

03 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, October 3, 2017

achieved much in this time: launching one of the first online retailers in the country, building a logistics network from scratch, acquiring customers at an astonishing pace, and signing up major brands to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

10 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty Views on Debt Crisis

blame game engulfed politicians and S&P itself. In the midst of all this angst, four Harvard Business School faculty members offer their views on what went wrong and what needs to be done to right the US... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

26 Mar 2015
News

Improving the environment through green spaces and commercial buildings

environment have on where and how you live.” Gilbane is on the board of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, which has helped transform 160 acres of land around the Houston Ship Channel into a stunning green space... View Details

19 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 19

September 2017 Management Science Channel Integration, Sales Dispersion, and Inventory Management By: Gallino, Santiago, Antonio Moreno, and Ioannis Stamatopoulos Abstract—We study the effects of the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Exel PLC--Supply Chain Management at Haus Mart

By: Zeynep Ton and Steven C. Wheelwright

Exel plc is a global third-party logistics provider, serving clients such as Home Depot, Dell, Unilever, and Marks & Spencer. Describes the range of activities Exel performs for its clients and the capabilities the company has developed. Exel traditionally focused on... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Supply Chain Management; Logistics

2010
Book

The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance

By: Marshall Fisher and Ananth Raman

Retailers today are drowning in data but lacking in insight: They have huge volumes of information at their disposal. But they're unsure of how to sort through it and use it to make smart decisions. The result? They're struggling with profit-sapping supply chain... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Mathematical Methods; Retail Industry

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01 Jun 2015
News

The Military and the MBA: Lance Batchelor (MBA 1993)

talked for 10 minutes with the benefit of real, personal experience about what it feels like to be on a ship at sea, operating a complex weapons system. The ex-military guys and girls brought something... View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; National Security and International Affairs

13 Sep 2021
News

Manufacturers, Retailers Face Price Increases on Rising Transportation Costs, Says Economist

December 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

COSCO

By: F. Warren McFarlan and David Lane

Focuses on the IT challenges facing COSCO, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, as it deals with the Internet and modern information technology. The challenge is to understand what they are trying to do and understand the complexity of the task. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Complexity; Problems and Challenges; Shipping Industry; China