Publications

27 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 27

households. In contrast, small subsidy payments have a large effect on the likelihood of opening a savings account. These payments are more than two times more cost-effective than the financial literacy training. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2018 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Uruguay: Facing the 21st Century

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Michael Chu and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the fall of 2017, self-made business leader Edgardo Novick pondered his campaign to be elected President of Uruguay, “the Switzerland of Latin America.” Inspired by populist revolts against the status quo observable worldwide, Novick hoped he could ride popular... View Details

Keywords: Uruguay; Edgardo Novick; Business Cycles; Macroeconomics; Geographic Location; Government and Politics; Wealth and Poverty; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Pulp and Paper Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Uruguay

01 Mar 2003
News

Three Appointed to Endowed Professorships

market and nonmarket strategy, particularly in the energy industry and in the food and agribusiness sector. He is interested in the relations between government regulation and corporate strategy, the behavior of private and public organizations that manage natural... View Details

Keywords: fellowships; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Jun 2009
News

Crisis and Creativity

during an economic downturn. My colleague, HBS associate professor Tom Nicholas, has found that while the pace of patent applications slowed during the Great Depression, some contrarians pressed ahead with innovation, including DuPont... View Details

Keywords: Bhaskar Chakravorti

01 Oct 1997
News

Short Takes

Green Stuff: Value, Risk, and Environmental Management Environmental issues increasingly influence companies in their approach to fundamental business concerns. How these matters play out in terms of corporate behavior is the subject of a working paper, "Environmental... View Details

02 Feb 2017
News

Growing and Competing at the Local Level

helps small businesses in his state contribute to America’s competitiveness and economic health. “In running manufacturing facilities, I’ve been an operations turnaround person for my entire career—except for the last five years. I would... View Details

01 Sep 2018
News

After the Fall

have been researching the root causes and consequences of the crisis in the intervening decade, helping to shape our understanding of the economic and financial forces that brought us to the brink. MORE Former Treasury Secretaries Hank... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers; illustration by Dan Bejar; Monetary Authorities-Central Bank; Finance; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Government

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Keeping Credit Flowing to Consumers in Need

strengthen consumer protections. The risk they run is that too stringent regulation could make it harder for borrowers in need to get money. In today's challenging economic climate and with high unemployment, "many Americans borrow... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 5 Complementarity By: Baldwin, Carliss Y. Abstract—The purpose of this chapter is to relate the theory of task networks and technology set forth in previous chapters to theories of firm boundaries... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

September 2010 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Liza Davis and the Bargain Hunting Customer

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and Lisa Brem

Liza Davis, an upscale women's fashion retailer, is reeling from worldwide recession and lower demand. Should the company target the fast-growing bargain hunter segment or hold the line on price discounts to preserve their brand image? Customer profitability... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Price; Product Positioning; Customer Value and Value Chain; Business Cycles; Financial Crisis; Profit; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

15 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 15, 2007

economic models predict that they do not systematically differ. With online grocery data, we show that people are decreasingly impatient the further in the future their choices will take effect. In general, as the delay between order... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2000 (Revised April 2000)
Case

StarMedia: Launching a Latin American Revolution

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

By the fall of 1999, StarMedia had sprinted to a sizable lead in the race to acquire Latin American Internet users. Its pan-regional, horizontal portal was the first to target Spanish- and Portuguese-language speakers on the Internet, registering 1.2 billion page views... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; History; Risk Management; Business Cycles; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Infrastructure; Media; Emerging Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Web; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

25 Feb 2020
News

Beyond the Plastisphere

measure. Unfortunately, not all plastic products can be recycled, or are worth recycling from an economic standpoint: think wrappers, straws, and bottle caps, for example. Solving that problem will require an alternative to conventional... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing; Manufacturing

November 1990 (Revised August 1992)
Case

Corning, Inc.: A Network of Alliances

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

Describes James Houghton's actions in assuming the role of CEO at Corning in the midst of a recession. Not only must he turn around operating performance, he must also revitalize a demoralized organization and set a new, clear strategic direction. In doing so, the case... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Policy; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Expectations; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

cycles The crisis demonstrates, painfully, the importance of cash. In his famous essay "The Yield from Money Held,” the economist William Hutt described cash in your pocket or on the balance sheet as “a fire engine when there are no... View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

01 Jun 2019
News

City on a Hill

eight years below the national average.) But with its manifold offerings and programs, all of which feed one another in ways both obvious and subtle, the school is a model for a radically diverse approach to economic development that... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photographed by Clay Cook

11 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 11

contribution to Asia's economic progress and the characteristics (and limitations) of a leading university, Professor Emeritus Daniel Quinn Mills lays out his recommendations for building a world-class university in Asia, including how to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2005 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Cisco Systems: Managing the Go-to-Market Evolution

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

With the collapse of the dot-com market and related shrinkage in the high-tech industry, Cisco took a dip in its sales and profits in 2001. Coming back from the recession, Cisco had to manage and evolve its go-to-market strategy and design in keeping with its new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Design; Business Cycles; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy