Publications

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03 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 3, 2018

assumptions that countries can accumulate reserves and borrow internationally using their own currency. As opposed to traditional sovereign-debt models, asset-valuation effects occasioned by currency fluctuations act to absorb global... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

May–June 2021
Article

Getting Up to Speed in Your Sales Efforts

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Zoran Latinovic

In a study before the pandemic, Pricewaterhouse Coopers found that companies had made little progress in the previous decade in speeding up their cash-conversion cycle, as the cash crunch generated by the pandemic painfully demonstrated. In most firms, sales velocity... View Details

Keywords: Sales Velocity; Opportunity Selection; Deal Size; Win Rate; Sales; Management; Cash Flow

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January 2019
Teaching Note

Pricing PatientPing

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-017. PatientPing sells a software platform that allows health care providers to receive real-time notifications (“pings”) when one of their patients is admitted to or discharged from a health-care facility. The platform facilitates... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Health Tech; Health Technology; Sales Process; Sales Strategy; Price; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts

Article

Selling After the Crisis

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Like perishable goods in grocery stores, sales models have a sell-by date. As product standards evolve and new entrants emerge, buyers have more choices and demand more in terms of quality and performance across vendors. Firms that fail to adjust to changing customer... View Details

Keywords: Sales Model; Sales; Management; Customer Relationship Management; Health Pandemics

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Blog

What Black Executives Really Want

and supported. Create a welcoming environment for people who are not just like you. Related Harvard Business Review Article: What Do Black Executives Really Want? By Frank Cooper III and Ranjay Gulati. View Details

December 2016
Article

Selective Regulator Decoupling and Organizations' Strategic Responses

By: Jonas Heese, Ranjani Krishnan and Frank Moers

Organizations often respond to institutional pressures by symbolically adopting policies and procedures but decoupling them from actual practice. Literature has examined why organizations decouple from regulatory pressures. In this study, we argue that decoupling... View Details

Keywords: Regulator Leniency; Beneficence; Mispricing; Upcoding; Nonprofit Organizations; Health Care and Treatment; Revenue; Health Industry

SSRN

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August 22, 2017
Article

Find the Right Metrics for Your Sales Team

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Robert Marsh

This article reports the results of a survey of key performance indicators (KPIs) used by more than 800 sales groups across industries. The most common KPIs are closed deals and salesperson performance against quota, which, on average, firms measure monthly. But a... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Salesforce Management

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January 1985 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Turner Construction Co.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In June, 1984, a vice president at Turner Construction Co. must decide whether to approve a construction project being considered by one of Turner's territorial offices and how to manage that territory general manager's apparent reluctance to pursue another account... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Projects; Market Entry and Exit; Integration; Contracts; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Business or Company Management; Business Offices; Geographic Location; Construction Industry

22 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 22, 2018

exit, output, and R&D. Taxing the continued operation of incumbents can lead to sizable gains (of the order of 1.4% improvement in welfare) by encouraging exit of less productive firms and freeing up skilled labor to be used for... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2018
Case

Meridian Systems

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Michael J. Roberts

The Meridian Systems case focuses on a start-up in the restaurant point of sale (POS) systems market. In early 2018, Meridian is getting ready to roll out a POS system based on a new technology—a tablet-based, Wi-Fi-enabled POS system (the "tablet" system, or... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Sales; Strategy; Salesforce Management; Organizational Structure; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy

12 Feb 2021
News

How Dunkin’ Donuts Took Over the World

cafeteria. My father’s request was breathtaking and anxiety-producing.” Over the next 35 years, Rosenberg would turn Dunkin’ Donuts into a global icon—which last year sold to Inspire Brands for a stunning $11.3 billion. And in this episode of Skydeck, Rosenberg offers... View Details

Keywords: brands; leadership; management; strategy; operations; career; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

Web

Entrepreneurial Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

one of 100 Black Board Members Making a Difference by Board Prospects in 2024. Archie L. Jones : Received the 2024 Dr. James I. Cash Advancing Pathways Award. Olivia S. Kim : Winner of the 2024 Best Paper Award at the Red Rock Finance... View Details

January 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Live Nation Faces the Music

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Frank Cespedes and Kerry Herman

In 2008, concert producer and promoter Live Nation faces a decision about its strategy in light of the tumultuous changes in the music industry and the increasing power of the major artists. As the music business once again recreates itself in response to new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Music Entertainment; Five Forces Framework; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Music Industry; Service Industry

02 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 3, 2018

December 4, 2017 Harvard Business Review How a Fast-Growing Startup Built Its Sales Team for Long-Term Success By: Cespedes, Frank V., and David Mattson Abstract—It’s common for leaders of sales teams to focus almost exclusively on... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Provident Life and Accident Insurance: The Acquisition of Paul Revere

By: Mihir A. Desai, Frank Williamson, Mark Veblen and Yuming Zou

Provident Life & Accident Insurance Co. has made an initial bid to acquire a primary competitor, Paul Revere, from conglomerate, Textron. The due diligence process uncovers a significant block of problematic disability insurance policies. Provident is forced to assess... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Financial Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Investment; Business Strategy; Cash Flow; Price; Bids and Bidding; Financial Reporting; Business Conglomerates; Insurance Industry; Service Industry

October 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

DataXu: Selling Ad Tech

By: Frank V. Cespedes, John Deighton, Lisa Cox and Olivia Hull

DataXu served marketers by buying digital advertising for brands using its demand-side platform. It sought a way to build a more predictable revenue stream in the very transactional media marketplace, and hoped that two new marketing analytics products would give it a... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Pricing; Programmatic Ad Buying; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Advertising Technology; Sales; Digital Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Media; Technology Industry; Advertising Industry; Boston; Massachusetts

November 2024
Case

FedEx Cyberattack (A): Navigating the NotPetya Storm

By: Hise Gibson, Frank Nagle, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

In 2017, FedEx’s European division — acquired the year before for $5 billion — was hit by a devastating cyberattack that destroyed thousands of computers and business systems across several countries. Corporate Chief Information Officer Rob Carter put the company’s... View Details

Keywords: Cybersecurity; Crisis Management; Disruption; Planning; Transportation Industry; United States; Europe