Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,877)
- Faculty Publications (378)
- 2012
- Chapter
Firing Your Best Customers: How Smart Firms Destroy Relationships Using CRM
By: Jill Avery and Susan Fournier
With incidences in the 20%–25% range, the practice of firing customers has become increasingly attractive as firms try to maximize the lifetime value of their customer portfolios. This chapter traces the relationship trajectory of a 30-year customer of Filene's... View Details
- December 2012
- Background Note
Are Daily Deals Good for Merchants?
By: Sunil Gupta, Timothy Keiningham, Ray Weaver and Luke Williams
In the relatively short time since Groupon was founded, the response to "daily deals"—services that promote businesses by marketing deeply discounted, pre-paid vouchers to an online subscriber base—has by all accounts been spectacular. Our evaluation of daily deals is... View Details
- 2012
- Article
Organization Design for Business Ecosystems
The modern corporation has long been the central focus of the field of organization design. Such firms can be likened to nation-states: they have boundaries that circumscribe citizen-employees, and they engage in production and trade. But individual corporations are... View Details
- 2012
- Article
The Architecture of Transaction Networks: A Comparative Analysis of Hierarchy in Two Sectors
By: Jianxi Luo, Carliss Y. Baldwin, Daniel E. Whitney and Christopher L. Magee
Many products are manufactured in networks of firms linked by transactions, but comparatively little is known about how or why such transaction networks differ. This article investigates the transaction networks of two large sectors in Japan at a single point in time.... View Details
- November 2012
- Teaching Note
Groupon (TN)
By: Sunil Gupta, Ray Weaver and Yien Hao Lock
On November 4, 2011, Groupon, a marketing services company that promoted local businesses by selling deeply discounted vouchers for their products and services, completed its initial public offering that valued the company at $17 billion. Within a year Groupon's share... View Details
- November 2012
- Case
CSIRO: The Light Metals Flagship Decision
By: Willy Shih, Margaret P. Pierson and Dawn Lau
This case explores the challenge of investing in basic research as a public good. CSIRO was Australia's leading science and research agency, and it was chartered to enhance national prosperity through R&D. Its Flagships program was designed to align research interests... View Details
Keywords: R＆D; Basic Research; Government-funded Research; Public Goods; Extractive Industries; Metals; Metals Processing; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Technology Adoption; Technology Platform; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Oceania; Australia
- November 2012
- Article
Does Management Really Work?
By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen
HBR's 90th anniversary is a sensible time to revisit a basic question: Are organizations more likely to succeed if they adopt good management practices? The answer may seem obvious to most HBR readers, but these three economists cast their net much wider than that. In... View Details
- September 2012 (Revised December 2012)
- Case
Addleshaw Goddard LLP (Abridged)
By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and James Weber
Addleshaw-Goddard (AG), the 15th largest law firm in the UK, is seeking ways to serve larger clients on more important legal matters. Part of this strategy involves its "Client Development Centre (CDC)," an innovative idea and set of services launched by Dr. Jim Hever... View Details
- 2012
- Working Paper
Entrepreneurship in the Natural Food and Beauty Categories Before 2000: Global Visions and Local Expressions
By: Geoffrey Jones
This working paper examines the creation of the global natural food and beauty categories before 2000. This is shown to have been a lengthy process of new category creation involving the exercise of entrepreneurial imagination. Pioneering entrepreneurs faced little... View Details
Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Goods; Entrepreneurs; Environment; Food; Globalization; Business History; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America
- August 2012 (Revised August 2012)
- Case
HealthAllies (A)
By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Michael Sherman
This case describes a "do good and do well" firm that enables individuals to buy health care services at discounted prices. It delineates the characteristics of the uninsured and others who are the primary targets for the firm. "HealthAllies (B)" provides information... View Details
- July 2012
- Case
Johannes Linden: Managing the Global Executive Committee
By: Linda A. Hill and Mark Rennella
Johannes Linden is the Director of the Washer and Dryer division of Fluss, a large Swiss appliance manufacturer. Soon after the company completes its revenue projections and bonus targets for the upcoming year, Linden shares some good news with his leadership team, the... View Details
- July 2012 (Revised August 2012)
- Case
Global Knowledge Management at Danone (A) (Abridged)
By: Amy C. Edmondson and David Lane
This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through... View Details
- June 2012 (Revised July 2012)
- Case
Business-driven Research at IBM Research India
By: Willy Shih, Margaret Pierson, Pankaj Agarwal, Diego Medicina and Juan Prajogo
What is the right mix between business-driven and pure research? This case considers the question in the setting of IBM Research India, where a management push for balance between exploratory research and the fulfillment of business needs meets some resistance from... View Details
- June 2012
- Class Lecture
Why You're Not Buying Venezuelan Chocolate: The Provenance Paradox
By: Rohit Deshpandé
A product's country of origin establishes its authenticity. This is the provenance paradox. Consumers associate certain geographies with the best products: French wine, Italian sports cars, Swiss watches. Competing products from other countries - especially developing... View Details
Keywords: Global Business; Branding; Strategic Planning; Strategic Positioning; Emergent Countries; Consumer Perception; Developing Markets; Brands and Branding; Geographic Location; Globalized Markets and Industries; Perception; Emerging Markets; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Venezuela
- 2012
- Book
Sleeping with Your Smartphone: How to Break the 24-7 Habit and Change the Way you Work
By: Leslie A. Perlow
Does it have to be this way? Can't resist checking your smartphone or mobile device? Sure, all this connectivity keeps you in touch with your team and the office—but at what cost? In "Sleeping with Your Smartphone," Leslie Perlow reveals how you can disconnect and... View Details
- January 2012
- Teaching Note
Best Practice in Consumer Packaged Goods Management (TN)
By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson
Keywords: Consumer Products Industry
- October 2011
- Case
Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service
By: Robert Simons and Michael Mahoney
In January 2010, U.S. luxury goods retailer Raleigh & Rosse is being sued by its employees for encouraging "off the clock" hours. At the center of the class action lawsuit is the famous Raleigh & Rosse performance measurement system previously thought to be the core of... View Details
Keywords: Control Systems; Performance Measurement; Goal Setting; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Sales Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Growth Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Retail Industry; United States
- September 2011 (Revised May 2012)
- Case
GoodGuide
By: George Serafeim, Robert G. Eccles and Tiffany A. Clay
GoodGuide, a high-technology start-up company, founded by University of California Professor at Berkley Dara O'Rourke is at a critical junction. The venture capital funded company has yet to find the business model to monetize a very promising product that provides... View Details
- June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
- Case
Reckitt Benckiser: Fast and Focused Innovation
By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson
Since its 1999 merger Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a global consumer goods company, led by its CEO Bart Becht, RB developed a reputation for rapid product innovation and industry leading profit margins. RB's stated strategy was to focus on its Powerbrands and high growth... View Details
- January 2011 (Revised September 2024)
- Case
The Globalization of the NFL
By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Noah Roberson
By 2010, the National Football League (NFL) was still having trouble attracting both a global roster and fan base despite systemized attempts at internationalizing since 1989. Why? Was it simply a bad idea to try to export football, a sport that many considered... View Details