Inflation and Deflation - Publications - Faculty & Research

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

The pattern has become painfully predictable in recent years: As the economy shows signs of a slowdown, companies hand out layoff notices to stabilize profitability and calm investor fears. That cycle seems to be in place in the... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

12 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

COVID Tested Global Supply Chains. Here’s How They’ve Adapted

than anticipated at a time when concern over inflation remains high. Government trade policy may in fact have pushed companies to move faster than they would have liked, raising the cost of relocating manufacturing operations View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

June 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Dollar Tree: Breaking the Buck

By: Jill Avery and Marco Bertini

For thirty-five years, Dollar Tree, a discount retail chain selling general merchandise, had held its fixed price point steady, pricing all of its household items, food, stationery, books, seasonal items, gifts, toys, and clothing that made up its diverse and... View Details

Keywords: Retailing; Pricing; Pricing Strategy; Discount Retailing; Discount Store; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Price; Inflation and Deflation; Consumer Behavior; Retail Industry; United States

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07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

complexities and legal ambiguities of the Enron case, and to indict Skilling, Lay, and former chief accounting officer Rick Causey. Federal prosecutors claimed that Enron used... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

09 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Could Clean Hydrogen Become Affordable at Scale by 2030?

Hydrogen is poised to move from the sidelines of global clean energy as the industry learns to produce it more efficiently and at lower cost, according to newly published research led by Gunther Glenk, a climate fellow with Harvard Business School's Institute for the... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Green Technology

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

15 Podcast Episodes That Grabbed Listeners in 2023

Inflation Reduction Act This bonus episode features the Harvard Law School Environmental and Energy Law Program’s CleanLaw podcast, where professors Jody Freeman (Harvard) and... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

inflation that’s plaguing other nations, resulting partly from the COVID recovery and Russia’s Ukraine invasion. “In a tightly knit society, education plays a crucial role in creating a sense of national,... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

21 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

Buy Now, Pay Later: How Retail's Hot Feature Hurts Low-Income Shoppers

Online shopping features that let consumers pay for goods in interest-free installments exploded during the pandemic, but new research questions the riskiness of such services: Are people getting in over their heads? Buy now, pay later (BNPL) financing has snowballed... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Financial Services; Technology

18 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Will Global Demand for Oil Peak This Decade?

Is the globe’s thirst for oil finally topping out? A major international energy watcher says yes, predicting last month that demand for global oil for transport will peak around 2026, plateau for all uses by 2028, and possibly hit a zenith by the end of the decade.... View Details

Keywords: by Alvin Powell, Harvard Gazette; Energy; Industrial Products; Auto; Green Technology

17 Jan 2023
In Practice

8 Trends to Watch in 2023

As 2023 begins, businesses and employees face an uncertain economy and labor market, as the twin dilemmas of inflation and interest rates weigh on forecasts. Harvard Business School faculty share the top trends that they believe will shape the workplace and markets... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

17 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 17

PublicationsUncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business Authors:Frances Frei and Anne Morriss Publication:Harvard Business Review Press, forthcoming An abstract is not available at this time.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Raise Their Prices: Because They Can

Grocery bills may be ridiculously high these days, but supply chain problems, energy costs, and inflation aren’t the only factors to blame. New research suggests that companies are raising prices simply... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

12 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

Swiping Right: How Data Helped This Online Dating Site Make More Matches

The modern world is fueled by matchmaking. Going out on the town? Uber pairs you with a driver you can choose based on ratings, proximity, and even car model. Craving a vacation? Simply filter getaways based on locale View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

14 Dec 2007
Op-Ed

When Your Product Becomes a Commodity

profitable customers) to extract maximum scale economies in procurement, manufacturing, and distribution. 4. If you aren't the low cost producer, complicate your pricing structures so customers can't easily make side-by-side comparisons,... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

the operations expertise that PE firms bring to bear. CEO selection may soon become even more critical for PE funds, which have been grappling with inflation and rising interest rates that dampened... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

result in banks charging consumers multiple overdraft fees rather than just one, draining significant cash from people living at the edge of their means at a time when inflation is further reducing their buying power. "The misconception... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

23 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

help leaders more successfully innovate and change in their industries as they parse mixed messages about the global economy, with rampant inflation wearing on consumers and... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

25 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

A Macroeconomic View of the Current Economy

set short-term interest rates. And that short-term interest rate is what central bankers use to try to control inflation and moderate the business cycle. Q: View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is Government Just Stupid? How Bad Decisions Are Made

regulation of their industry. Their rash behavior will deprive future generations of entire species of nutritious fish. Long-term thinking about intergenerational issues is lacking in this and many other public decision-making arenas.... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, Jonathan Baron & Katherine Shonk

October 1990
Case

Beauregard Textile Co.

By: Francis Aguilar

The sales manager and controller have to decide on a price for a textile that lost significant market share as a result of a recent price increase. Information on manufacturing costs and on the pricing behavior of Beauregard and its only competitor are available for... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Inflation and Deflation; Consumer Behavior; Apparel and Accessories Industry

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