Publications

23 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

It’s Called ‘Price Coherence,’ and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers

airlines increase their retail prices. So all buyers essentially end up sharing the fees, even if they choose to forego the intermediary. Thus begins a vicious cycle of increasing costs. With price coherence... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Air Transportation; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

results contribute to the literature on how alternative organizational forms can be designed to solve complex innovation tasks. Download working paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2384068 Sharing Design Rights: A Commons Approach for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

Web

The Five Forces - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

assess industry attractiveness, how trends will affect industry competition, which industries a company should compete in—and how companies can position themselves for success. Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants into an industry can force current players... View Details

22 Oct 2014
HBS Seminar

Koleman Strumpf, University of Kansas School of Business

February 2008
Supplement

Shinhan Financial Group (B)

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew J. Morgan

By 2007, there were many signs that the merger of Chohung and Shinhan banks to form the Shinhan Financial Group in 2003 had met its goals. Shinhan Financial Group's stock price had increased from $31 a share at its opening on the New York Stock Exchange in September... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Global Strategy; Expansion; Markets; Strategic Planning; South Korea

2020
Working Paper

Dog Eat Dog: Balancing Network Effects and Differentiation in a Digital Platform Merger

By: Chiara Farronato, Jessica Fong and Andrey Fradkin

Digital platforms are increasingly the subject of regulatory scrutiny. In comparison to multiple competitors, a single platform may increase consumer welfare if network effects are large or may decrease welfare due to higher prices or reduction in platform variety. We... View Details

Keywords: Platform Differentiation; Digital Platforms; Network Effects; Measurement and Metrics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Outcome or Result

Read Now

February 2011 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Sarvajal: Water for All

By: John D. Macomber and Mona Sinha

Entrepreneur wrestles with business model using SMS and RFID technology, franchising, and leasing to rapidly grow off-the-grid water purification business without subsidies. The company seeks to provide potable water services to rural and urban India where the public... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Model; Communication Technology; Private Sector; Social Entrepreneurship; Cost Management; Rural Scope; Emerging Markets; Infrastructure; Problems and Challenges; Information Infrastructure; India

April 2008
Supplement

Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (B)

By: Paul W. Marshall, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

In late November 2000, Chung Telecom Co., Ltd., the once-monopolized telecom operator owned by the Taiwanese government, was on its way to privatization. Mr. C.K. Mao, Chairman of the company, was headed the job only three months earlier, after its prior chairman... View Details

Keywords: State Ownership; Jobs and Positions; Monopoly; Privatization; Competition; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Labor and Management Relations; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Price; Status and Position; Telecommunications Industry; Public Administration Industry; Taiwan

Find at Harvard

20 Dec 2019
Blog Post

Top 10 MBA Voices Blogs of 2019

It's been quite a year for HBS students, and as 2019 comes to a close we wanted to share some of the highlights from the MBA Voices Blog. In no particular order (since we love them all) here are the top 10 posts from 2019: How Being an... View Details

10 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

COVID's Surprising Toll on Careers of Women Scientists

Foundation. About the Author Rachel Layne is a writer based in the Boston area. [Image: valentinrussanov] Related Reading Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive Who Guarantees Your Workplace Is Safe for Return? Are Digital Organizations... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Pharmaceutical; Biotechnology; Health

January 2023
Case

Rentokil: The Terminix Acquisition

By: Ted Berk, Emily R. McComb and Julia Kelley

When announcing their agreement to merge in December 2021, creating a clear leader in global pest control, UK-based Rentokil and Tennessee-based Terminix described extensive benefits of the cross-border combination. The companies touted the advantages of their combined... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business and Shareholder Relations

March 2016 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Tableau

By: Boris Vallee

Matrix Capital Management, a long-short equity hedge fund based in Waltham, Massachusetts, is assessing its investment in Tableau, a data visualization company. Tableau, which conducted an IPO a few years ago, has been experiencing substantial growth as it aims at... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Fund; Long-short Equity; Growth Investing; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment; Valuation; Technology; Technology Industry; Waltham

03 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 3

uniquely collaborative organizational culture, which featured a transparent, data-driven compensation system, practice-group integration across multiple offices, and rewards for attorneys who shared responsibility, had contributed to the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

John Chambers, Cisco, and China: Upgrading a Golden Shield

By: Geoffrey Jones and Emily Grandjean

This case examines the role of Cisco led by John Chambers in facilitating web filtering in China. It begins by tracing the origins of Cisco as a pioneer of networking equipment. John Chambers, who had worked as a sales manager at IBM and Wang Laboratories, joined Cisco... View Details

Keywords: Cisco; Internet and the Web; Governance Controls; Ethics; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Technology Industry; China

20 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Maybe Uber isn't God's Gift to Mankind

like Grubhub. For more, see It’s Called Price Coherence, and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers.) THE TEMPTATION TO CUT CORNERS COMPETITIVELY Edelman contends that the current competitive landscape encourages all TNCs to cut corners, or... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Transportation; Insurance

April 1999 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Al Dunlap at Sunbeam

By: Brian J. Hall, Rakesh Khurana and Carleen Madigan

Al Dunlap was one of the best-known corporate turnaround artists of the 1990s. In 1996, he was hired at Sunbeam to effect a restructuring, but was fired almost two years later when the company's financial performance and stock price began to decline. Many of the... View Details

Keywords: Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Restructuring; Stock Shares; Performance Evaluation; Leadership Style; Resignation and Termination; Motivation and Incentives; Executive Compensation; Outcome or Result; Consumer Products Industry; United States