Publications

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

06 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, March 6, 2018

versus Posted Prices in Online Markets By: Einav, Liran, Chiara Farronato, Jonathan Levin, and Neel Sundaresan Abstract—Auctions were very popular in the early days of internet commerce, but today online sellers mostly use posted prices.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2019 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Banorte and the Capital Call Facility: Infrastructure Finance in Mexico

By: John D. Macomber, Carla Larangeira and Fernanda Miguel

As a result of Mexico´s pension industry deregulation, pension funds were able to invest in energy and infrastructure projects through a variety of financial instruments, particularly through Capital Development Certificates (CKDs), an asset class that served as a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Products; Fund Management; Capital Call Facility; Pension Funds; Infrastructure; Energy; Finance; Decision Making; Investment Funds; Financial Instruments; North America; Mexico

April 2025
Case

#FutureFresenius: Implementing a New Strategy to Transform the Company and Advance Patient Care

By: David J. Collis, Benjamin C. Esty and Haisley Wert

In February 2024, Fresenius CEO Michael Sen reflected on the company’s transformation journey from his office in Bad Homburg, Germany. With revenues of €22 billion and a mission to advance patient care, Fresenius had built a strong reputation through decades of... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Finance; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Alignment; Health Industry; Germany; United States

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

(Ostrom, 1990). Here we extend this claim to the production of man-made artifacts. The design commons induced teachers to volunteer time and effort to communicate their practical knowledge but created corresponding tensions over interdependent choices for the final... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

2024
Working Paper

Public Sector SME Grading System in Emerging Markets: A Focus on Nigeria

By: Saveshen Pillay, Anywhere Sikochi, Charles Odii, Zaakirah Ismail, Regina Bamaiyi and Denise Mubaiwa

In this paper, we explore the impact of creating a public sector nano, micro, small and medium enterprise (nMSME) grading system in Nigeria. Using insights from work with the Nigerian government, the first country in Africa to attempt to establish a public sector SME... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Economic Growth; Emerging Markets; Economic Sectors; Africa; Nigeria

Read Now

10 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink

were ahead of their time. While sales in stores declined dramatically during the economic downturn, sales on the Internet continued upward, totaling $165 billion by the end of 2010. While still only 5 percent of the overall retail market,... View Details

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Jose B. Alvarez; Retail

September 1999 (Revised April 2000)
Case

Novell: World's Largest Network Software Company

By: Richard L. Nolan

After phenomenal growth and market leadership in networking, founder and CEO Ray Noorda made a frontal assault on Microsoft's core strengths. In 1994, Noorda spend over $1.5 billion acquiring companies such as WordPerfect to combat Microsoft Word, products such as... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Competition; Internet and the Web; Strategic Planning; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

12 Apr 2016
First Look

April 12, 2016

economic times as its traditional business of manufacturing cameras and photographic film had all but disappeared with the rise of digital photography, causing its annual revenues to plummet from $13 billion to $6 billion, and its stock... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 3

each other. On the display-ad side, affected newspapers experience a decrease in display-ad rates. We also find evidence that affected newspapers are less likely to make their content available online. Finally, we estimate that Craigslist's entry leads to $5 View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Nov 2007
Working Paper Summaries

The “Fees → Savings” Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta

Keywords: by Michael I. Norton & Leonard Lee; Retail

Research Summary

Social Innovation

My intellectual agenda addresses this question: How to innovate to solve the world’s toughest challenges? Out of the earth’s population, about 2 billion can afford good products whereas the remaining 5 billion are poor and therefore are nonconsumers.... View Details

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Less Is More: Will Aldi's Expansion Plans Pay Off in a Crowded U.S. Grocery Market?

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In 2024, the discount grocery retailer Aldi announced bold U.S. expansion plans. Within five years, the German company would increase its store count by 30% to reach 3,200+ stores across the United States and approach becoming the fifth largest grocery retailer in the... View Details

Keywords: Scope; Grocery; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

Research Summary

Clinical Trials as a setting for Health Policy and Management Research

The clinical trial marketplace is in flux. A decade ago, pharmaceutical firms almost exclusively conducted the study of their novel drug compounds within major academic medical centers. But today, industry-sponsored clinical trials are increasingly using community... View Details

10 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Is Groupon Good for Retailers?

At first blush, the two-year-old online start-up Groupon seems a bit audacious. For starters, there's the news that the deal-of-the-day website turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google last month. Then there's the company's... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Technology

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

Teixeira Abstract—Online retail accounts for a rapidly growing proportion of revenues in many industries. While selling online broadens firms’ access to consumers, operating margins are often lower in online stores than in physical stores. There are well-recognized... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

20 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

The U.S. Patent Game: How to Change It

variety of interesting issues, the limited circulation of the periodicals in which the works appeared and the necessarily technical nature of the articles meant their impact was limited. Meanwhile, in many settings—from panel discussions to consulting View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

March 2011
Article

Institutional Demand Pressure and the Cost of Corporate Loans

By: Victoria Ivashina and Zheng Sun

Between 2001 and 2007, annual institutional funding in highly leveraged loans went up from $32 billion to $426 billion, accounting for nearly 70% of the jump in total syndicated loan issuance over the same period. Did the inflow of institutional funding in the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Financial Crisis; Credit; Debt Securities; Financing and Loans; Interest Rates; Investment