Publications

Rajiv Lal, is the Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing at Harvard Business School. He is currently teaching an elective MBA course on the Business of Smart Connected Products/IOT. He has been responsible for the retailing curriculum and has served as the course... View Details

September 1983 (Revised October 1984)
Case

Boston Whaler, Inc.: Managing the Dealer Network

Mr. Joseph Lawler, newly-appointed president of Boston Whaler, Inc. (BWI), believes that better dealer management is the key to his company's continued growth. BWI manufactured a high-price, high performance line of power and other boats for the recreational,... View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry

01 Sep 2003
What Do You Think?

To Whom Should Boards be Accountable?

shareholders to get the best price." In the experience I related, the board decided that the 20 percent discount involved in the sale to the desired bidder was just too much. Influenced in part by large shareholders, the board... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

03 Apr 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 3, 2018

Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52552 Harvard Business School Case 918-036 GiveDirectly How should nonprofits design compensation systems to attract and retain talent? GiveDirectly is a respected... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2019 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Parrot: Navigating the Nascent Drone Industry

By: Rory M. McDonald, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In 2018, Henri Seydoux, CEO and Founder of Parrot, believed that his company was at an inflection point in its history. Parrot had been a European leader in consumer electronics since the 1990s, first developing Bluetooth kits for cars before moving on to electronic... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Europe; France; Paris

January–February 2018
Article

More than a Paycheck: How to Create Good Blue-Collar Jobs in the Knowledge Economy

By: Dennis Campbell, John Case and Bill Fotsch

Fifty years ago a good blue-collar job was with a large manufacturer such as General Motors or Goodyear. Often unionized, it paid well, offered benefits, and was secure. But manufacturing employment has steadily declined, from about 25% of the U.S. labor force in 1970... View Details

Keywords: Jobs and Positions; Employee Ownership; Profit Sharing; Organizational Culture

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

March 2010 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Community Health Workers in Zambia: Incentive Design and Management

By: Nava Ashraf and Natalie Kindred

This case examines the various considerations relevant to selecting and compensating workers in a context where their work involves a pro-social component. This is relevant to not only health care in Zambia, but to NGO and public sector workers who are both motivated... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Training; Health Care and Treatment; Compensation and Benefits; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Mission and Purpose; Non-Governmental Organizations; Motivation and Incentives; Health Industry; Zambia

Das Narayandas is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Technology degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), a Post-Graduate... View Details

Keywords: advertising; beauty products; biotechnology; computer; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; federal government; high technology; industrial goods; information technology industry; internet; management consulting; manufacturing; marketing industry; professional services; retailing; telecommunications; transportation

17 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Beyond Pajamas: Sizing Up the Pandemic Shopper

came true. Sales of pajamas more than doubled in 2020 compared with 2019, the fastest growth among clothing categories, while sales of suits and dresses fell. In contrast to popular opinion, View Details

Keywords: by Ayelet Israeli, Eva Ascarza, and Laura Castrillo; Retail

November 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Ottawa Devices, Inc. (B)

By: Henry B. Reiling and Harry Clegg Midgley IV

The Rollins family assembly was meeting to discuss and decide which one or combination from among an estate freeze, installment sale of stock, ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), leveraged capitalization, annual gifts of stock, one-time outright gift of stock, or... View Details

Keywords: Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Property; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Stocks; Business Exit or Shutdown; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Family Business; Human Needs; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

16 Jul 2024
Blog Post

Advancing Health Equity: Social Enterprise Summer Fellow Simona Stancov (MBA 2025)

The HBS Summer Fellows Program enables students to apply their classroom training as they explore career opportunities in roles or regions where compensation is generally lower than the traditional MBA level. This summer, we are... View Details

December 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Synthes

By: John T. Gourville

Synthes is the recognized leader in the U.S. orthopedic implant market, with a 50% market share in the metallic plates, rods, and screws used to fix severe bone fractures. Synthes' marketplace strength lies in the strength of its sales force and in the quality and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Risk Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Product Development; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Manufacturing Industry; United States

10 Dec 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Information and Incentives in Online Affiliate Marketing

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman & Wesley Brandi; Publishing; Technology

March 2008
Article

Market Reactions to Export Subsidies

By: M. A. Desai and James R. Hines Jr.

This paper analyzes the economic impact of export subsidies by investigating stock price reactions to a critical event in 1997. On November 18, 1997, the European Union announced its intention to file a complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Trade; Development Economics; Financial Markets; Profit; Taxation; Volume; Value Creation; Market Design; Business Subsidiaries; Utilities Industry; Financial Services Industry; Europe; North and Central America

SSRN

Find at Harvard

February 2008
Supplement

EFI, Inc. (C)

By: David B. Godes and Lauren Barley

This is a follow-on case to EFI, Inc. (A) and (B). It reports on the sales force's response to the new plan and provides some data as to their performance in the quarters immediately following the implementation of the new plan. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Information Technology Industry