Publications

August 2012
Case

ARISE: A Destination-for-a-Day Spa

By: Michael Beer and Lynda St. Clair

A new Dallas-based health and beauty spa aims to use a highly distinctive human resource system as the foundation of its competitive strategy. By encouraging employees to act as "personal wellness coaches" (PWCs) with high commitment and broad responsibilities, the... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Organizational Culture; Service Delivery; Competitive Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Health Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Service Industry; Texas

June 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

ORIX KK

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Andrew Eggers

Describes the challenges facing a Japanese financial services company as it attempts to maintain its ability to attract and retain talented employees. The CEO's ideas of corporate governance and evidence from the competitive labor environment suggest the need for more... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Geographic Location; Financial Services Industry; Japan

May 14, 2024
Article

One Way to Help Employees Build Emergency Savings

By: Timothy Flacke and Peter Tufano

Intentional cooperation between two organizations — BlackRock, a major asset management firm, and national non-profit, Commonwealth — created the conditions for the nation’s largest payroll processor, multiple U.S. employers, retirement record keepers, and others to... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Personal Finance; Income; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships

Read Now

30 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash

People use crowdsourcing to solve problems, raise money, and share AI breakthroughs, the authors write. Open source software—such as the popular content management system WordPress or the operating system... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

Research Summary

Overview

Research about the design and use of internal performance measurement and control systems to implement strategies, align incentives, manage risks, and shape culture using accounting measurement and priorities. In addition, my research includes understanding how and... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Strategic Change; Accounting Red Flags; Accountability

2014
Book

Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby and F. Warren McFarlan

At the time of the American Revolution, China was the strongest, richest, and most powerful civilization in the world. The Great Qing Empire ruled China and dominated East Asia by a combination of power and cultural prestige. China's economy was the world's largest.... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Leadership; Power and Influence; China

Find at Harvard

January 1991 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Profiling at National Mutual (A)

This case series describes a company grappling with organizational change through information technology. National Mutual Life Association vies for Australian insurance industry leadership with its long-time competitor. It has purchased an expert system called Client... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Insurance Industry; Australia

28 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 28, 2008

MaterialsChina in Africa: The Case of Sudan Harvard Business School Case 308-060 This case examines the relation between China's demand for resources and political risk. Purchase the case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 1997
Case

Romeo Engine Plant (Abridged)

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Amy P. Hutton

A newly reopened automobile engine plant has been organized along total quality and teamwork principles. Employees now solve problems and ensure quality, rather than watch parts being produced. New operating and financial systems have been installed to promote... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Groups and Teams; Employees; Performance Improvement; Auto Industry

November 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Balancing Impact: Modeling the Future at British International Investment

By: Shawn Cole and Jonah Zahnd

In 2022, British International Investment (BII), the £8.1 billion development finance arm of the British government, implemented a new impact measurement system called the Impact Score to align its financial and impact objectives systematically. The tool was designed... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Alignment; United Kingdom

November 1993 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Romeo Engine Plant

By: Amy P. Hutton and Robert S. Kaplan

A newly reopened automobile engine plant has been organized along total quality and teamwork principles. Employees now is to solve problems and ensure quality, rather than watch parts being produced. New operating and financial systems have been installed to promote... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry

February 2018
Case

Root Capital and the Efficient Impact Frontier

By: Shawn Cole and Caitlin Reimers Brumme

In 2015 Root Capital, a pioneer in the impact investing space, began to explore how to more systematically integrate impact and financial management. After much deliberation, Root Capital landed on ex-ante rating system for any potential investment that produced a... View Details

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Investment; Finance; Performance Efficiency; Boston

October 2004 (Revised October 2005)
Case

ORIX KK: Incentives in Japan

In the context of Japan's struggling economy of the 1990s, ORIX, a leading Japanese financial services company, implemented a new performance evaluation and compensation system. At the time, many higher-paying western firms were entering the Japanese market and... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Compensation and Benefits; Financial Services Industry; Japan

June 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

The Expansion of Ping An

By: Robert C. Pozen and Nina Yang

In June 2010, Mingzhe Ma, chairman and chief executive officer of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China ("Ping An" or "the Company"), sat down with Sun Jianyi, vice chief executive officer and executive vice president at Ping An, to discuss the future direction of... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Conferences; Banks and Banking; Financial Strategy; Insurance; Global Strategy; Leadership Style; Strategic Planning; Opportunities; Diversification; Expansion; China

Teaching Interest

Executive Education: Leading Growth through Customer Centricity — India

By: Rajiv Lal

Establishing a strategic advantage in India's highly competitive marketplace requires a systemic shift in focus—away from selling products and toward meeting the needs of customers. But how many companies are prepared to carry out such fundamental change? By... View Details

December 2010 (Revised June 2018)
Case

The Pecora Hearings

By: David Moss, Cole Bolton and Eugene Kintgen

In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, the Senate Banking Committee began a much-publicized investigation of the nation's financial sector. The hearings, which came to be known as the Pecora hearings after the Banking Committee's lead counsel Ferdinand Pecora,... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Fairness; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Institutions; Debt Securities; Stocks; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; History; Financial Services Industry; United States

11 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The IBM PC

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin; Computer

December 1994 (Revised June 1995)
Case

State Street Boston Corporation: Leading with Information Technology

A financial institution, State Street Boston Corp., is transformed from regional bank to global custodian and money manager. The corresponding evolution of the company's information systems is illustrated, focusing on the role attributed to information technology in a... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Information Technology; Business Strategy; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; United States