Publications

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February 2017
Case

Dick's Sporting Goods

By: Rajiv Lal, Jose B. Alvarez and Matthew G. Preble

Edward Stack, chairman and CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), faced a rapidly changing sporting goods landscape in October 2016. Two large competitors—The Sports Authority and Sport Chalet—had folded earlier that year, and DKS had to contend with increasingly robust... View Details

March 2021 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-086. In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online... View Details

03 Jun 2015
What Do You Think?

Is the Time Right for Self-Management?

with some coaching, were given responsibility for hiring, training, and disciplining each other as well as such things as scheduling and cash management. The results were remarkable. Teams of associates... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

July 2024
Case

Jacqueline Cook at Vendasta: Debating an IPO

By: Reza Satchu, Tom Quinn and Andrew Kosc

In May 2021, after a surge in demand for digital services that prompted high valuations for startups across the Canadian tech sector, Saskatchewan-based Vendasta entered the final stages of the initial public offering (IPO) process. COO Jacqueline Cook had invested her... View Details

25 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 25, 2007

Examines the type of security that is appropriate for an Internet company to have on its site. Focuses on a 20-person electronic e-commerce company trying to decide what parts View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Mar 2007
Research & Ideas

Handicapping the Best Countries for Business

If you are an executive of a multinational looking for geographies in which to expand your markets, operations, and investments, is China more attractive than India? South Africa better than Mexico? Does Russia have more promise than the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

December 1996 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Studio Realty

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Bret J. Baird

Studio Realty created an "electronic open house" technology, by which home buyers sitting in a comfortable setting, could tour a home, viewing its rooms, its exterior, and surroundings, by clicking on digital images. Studio Realty attempted to sell or license its... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Sales; Demand and Consumers; Failure; Innovation and Management; Market Entry and Exit; Real Estate Industry

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Psychology, Pathology, and the CEO

the right discussions. "The only thing I really do is lead conversations," he says. "Any group is a network of conversations. I continuously thrust people into situations that force them to... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

15 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

These VC Partners May Make Your Firm Less Innovative

“which is a fancy way of referring to all of the things you don’t have as a new company—products, knowledge, connections, resources.” The most common and effective way to make... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services; Banking

08 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Negotiate “Yes” Across Cultural Boundaries

Cultural differences can influence business negotiations in significant and unexpected ways, as many a hapless dealmaker has learned. In some cases, it's a matter of ignorance or blatant disrespect, as with the American salesman who... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

19 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 19

decided to make adjustments to the initial pricing scheme that were set to go into effect August 1. Were these changes enough to turn things around? Should Johnson stay the course on the other elements of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 May 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 9

May 2017 Journal of Financial Economics The Value of Trading Relations in Turbulent Times By: Di Maggio, Marco, Amir Kermani, and Zhaogang Song Abstract—This paper investigates how dealers’ trading... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Ocado

By: José Alvarez, David E. Bell and Damien McLoughlin

In 2015, U.K.-based Ocado was the world's largest pure player in the online home-delivery grocery business and was gaining a growing share of the highly competitive U.K. grocery market. Ocado had made heavy investments in technology, including a highly automated... View Details