Publications

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

business. In Europe, Unilever's organizational legacy, as well as social legislation in most of Europe, imposed constraints on what could be achieved in the rationalization of production facilities and brands. In some respects the most... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

02 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

A Rare Find in Health Care: A Simple Solution to Racial Inequity

physicians could also provide patients with outcome data for local hospitals, nudging them toward facilities with better track records. Such changes could help not only heart attack patients, but also patients suffering from a wide... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

September – October 2010
Article

The Effect of Product Variety and Inventory Levels on Retail Sales: A Longitudinal Study

By: Zeynep Ton and Ananth Raman

We examine the effects of product variety and inventory levels on store sales. Using four years of data from stores of a large retailer, we show that increases in product variety and inventory levels are both associated with higher sales. We also show that increasing... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Design; Logistics; Product; Quality; Sales; Retail Industry

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02 Aug 2007
What Do You Think?

How Will Millennials Manage?

Summing Up Are we approaching a "millennial watershed" in management? The next generation of managers, comprising many "millennials," will be more adept at managing in a changing, global, and networked environment. They will do it with a greater... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

25 Jul 2016
Research & Ideas

Who is to Blame for 'The Great Training Robbery'?

of it doesn’t,” Beer says, citing the example of an oil company that built a $20 million safety training facility but still suffered several fatal accidents nonetheless. “Part of it is a fad. Everybody’s doing training. Everybody’s got... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Education

July 2005 (Revised September 2016)
Case

24 Hour Fitness (A): The Rise, 1983–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2004, Mark S. Mastrov, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, reflected on how far his company had come in just over 20 years. From humble beginnings in 1983 in San Leandro, California, 24 Hour Fitness had grown to become the largest privately-owned health-club chain in... View Details

Keywords: 24 Hour Fitness; Mark Mastrov; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Sales Force Compensation; Incentive Systems; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Private Equity; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Operations; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Capital Structure; Performance; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Health Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

movement built a reputation for Costa Rica as a natural paradise and conservation hub,” Giacomin observes. “At the same time, local actors took advantage of this brand identity to build mainstream tourist facilities that weren’t in line... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

24 Feb 2022
Op-Ed

Want to Prevent the Next Hospital Bed Crisis? Enlist the SEC

investors. If these results were replicated in health care, in the short term, patients could select hospitals with more adequate surge capacity arrangements and investors in hospital debt and equity would reward them. In the longer run, lower-performing View Details

Keywords: by Regina Herzlinger and Richard Boxer; Health

01 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The ‘Luxury Prime’: How Luxury Changes People

bequeath themselves expensive office facilities and luxurious corporate jets make different business decisions than those who do not? In this age of Wall Street excesses, these are pertinent questions that could further our understanding... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

13 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

How 'Small C' Change Can Beat Large-Scale Rebuilding

data-id=_/ej8BGQKx29V5JBMZ7gF3][/div] Like Mourinho, Flick did not shuffle players or staff, nor did he reform the playing style or tactical formation. He did not rebuild the club’s facilities as some of his precursors did. For example,... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, and Sebastian Flegr; Sports

May 2006
Exercise

Boat Building Exercise: Four Modes of Propulsion

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Kerry Herman

Describes alternative methods of propulsion (including steering) for small crafts (canoes, row boats, etc.) and the pros and cons of each. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities

May–June 2000
Article

Get the Right Mix of Bricks and Clicks

By: Ranjay Gulati and Jason Garino

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Web

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March 1985 (Revised July 1986)
Case

Springs Industries: Textile Manufacturing--1983 (B)

By: Kim B. Clark

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Planning; Human Resources; Management

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March 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Buckingham Park

By: Arthur I Segel and Joshua A. Katzin

In September, 2004, Stephen Lebowitz, President of CBL, a $6 billion publicly traded shopping mall real estate investment trust (REIT) with over 70 million square feet, is considering acquiring 170 acres for a new retail development at a racetrack site in Southern New... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Debt Securities; Investment; Real Estate Industry; New Hampshire

November 1999 (Revised November 2000)
Case

Cortlandt Town Center

By: William J. Poorvu and Arthur I Segel

CBL & Associates is trying to decide whether to go ahead with the development of a 790,000 square-foot power center with retailers such as Home Depot and Barnes & Noble. The costs are such that the developer needs to renegotiate its land acquisition price. Then the... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Cost; Negotiation; Projects; Strategy; Construction Industry; Retail Industry

November 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

San Francisco Giants

By: William A. Sahlman and Elizabeth Kind

Larry Baer, executive vice-president and COO, was eager to improve profitability for the San Francisco Giants baseball team. Over the last few years, the Giants have had a number of successes. They successfully built the first privately financed ball park in over 30... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business or Company Management; Success; Sports; Sports Industry; San Francisco

July 2004 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Hines Goes to Rio

By: Arthur I Segel and Ricardo Reisen De Pinho

The Torre Almirante office tower, Hines' newest project in Rio de Janeiro, was a 36-story, Class AA office tower with an adjoining 420-stall parking structure and a preserved 14-story historic facade. It was completely different from anything that had previously been... View Details

Keywords: Property; Design; Construction; Buildings and Facilities; Risk Management; Problems and Challenges; Real Estate Industry; Brazil; New York (city, NY)

November 1975 (Revised October 1976)
Case

Cross River Products

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes production task of meeting peak seasonal demands in a light manufacturing plant. Information is provided for evaluating the options of overtime, second shift, second production line, and inventory buildup. View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Information; Labor; Demand and Consumers; Production; Supply Chain