Publications
Publications
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- Faculty Publications (3,049)
- Article
Beyond the Reach of the Invisible Hand: Impediments to Economic Activity, Market Failures, and Profitability
By: Dennis Yao
In this paper it is argued that failures of the competitive market are necessary conditions for supranormal profitability. Three fundamental causes of these market failures-production economies and sunk costs, transactions costs, and imperfect information-are developed... View Details
Keywords: Economics; Markets; Failure; Profit; Cost; Information; Market Transactions; Competition; Strategy; Production
- May 1988 (Revised March 1990)
- Case
Matsushita Electric Industrial (MEI) in 1987
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal
Describes the development of Matsushita's international operations and the building of its dominant competitive position in the consumer electronics industry. Picks up the major challenges facing the company in 1987 as both its product focus and geographic posture are... View Details
- April 1988 (Revised September 1992)
- Case
Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Backhaul Decision
Prior to the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, companies with private trucking fleets were generally prohibited from selling transportation services to other companies. The deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980 allowed private carriers to offer for-hire transportation... View Details
- December 1987
- Case
John Hancock Financial Services: Sports Sponsorship
Senior corporate communications executives of a major financial services firm are reviewing the company's sports sponsorship program and are considering expanding it. Hancock already is the corporate sponsor of the Boston Marathon and has the opportunity to sponsor the... View Details
- November 1987
- Background Note
The Magic Matrix: Products and Accounts
Describes an interfunctional approach to product mix management and account selection. The approach uses a matrix of products and accounts. Also describes the concepts and implementation of the approach. View Details
- November 1987 (Revised March 1988)
- Case
Searching for Trade Remedies: The U.S. Machine Tool Industry--1983
By: David B. Yoffie
In 1983 the National Machine Tools Builder Association was predicting a declining market for the United States and rising imports. Machine tool manufacturers had to decide if they should ask the U.S. government for help, and if they did, which administrative channels... View Details
- October 1987 (Revised November 1994)
- Case
Boston Fights Drugs (A): Designing Communications Research
Describes in detail the research mounted by five individuals with a $20,000 budget to combat drug abuse among Boston's school-going population. Using the focus group methodology they discover that most of the current anti-drug advertising is useless. They create their... View Details
- October 1987 (Revised March 1992)
- Supplement
Boston Fights Drugs (B): Converting Research to Action
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Jennifer Lawrence
Describes the results of the advertising pre-test described in the (A) case. The group must now decide how to implement its findings for maximum impact. View Details
- October 1987
- Case
Philips Group--1987, The
By: Francis Aguilar and Michael Y. Yoshino
Discusses how Philips, a major Dutch-based multinational company, attempts to bring about a fundamental change in its strategy, organization, and culture in response to a rapidly changing market and competitive environment. View Details
- December 1986 (Revised January 1998)
- Case
Chaparral Steel (Abridged)
By: Kim B. Clark
Examines a major capacity expansion proposal of Chaparral Steel, a steel minimill. Gives students the opportunity to evaluate the proposed expansion in the context of the competitive environment, market demand, technological choice, and the demands of a global... View Details
- December 1986 (Revised December 1987)
- Case
Hewlett-Packard: Manufacturing Productivity Division (B)
By: Benson P. Shapiro and Lawrence B. Levine
Asks where in the Hewlett-Packard (HP) network of groups and sectors the Manufacturing Productivity Division should be placed. Provides a great deal of background regarding marketing, sales, and engineering at HP. It is thus possible to expand and broaden the... View Details
Keywords: Business Divisions; Marketing; Production; Networks; Sales; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry
- December 1986 (Revised January 1988)
- Case
Hewlett-Packard: Manufacturing Productivity Division (C)
By: Benson P. Shapiro and Lawrence B. Levine
Focuses on the development of a "market driven" culture at Hewlett-Packard (HP); the conflict between autonomous, well integrated divisions making products responsive to their own markets and a greater degree of systems integration at the corporate level; and the... View Details
- December 1986 (Revised March 1991)
- Supplement
Caterpillar-Komatsu in 1986
Provides an update to the global competitive interaction between Caterpillar and Komatsu described in companion cases Caterpillar Tractor and Komatsu Ltd. Caterpillar's response to Komatsu's growing market share is outlined, then the impact of rapidly changing... View Details
- November 1986 (Revised December 1992)
- Case
Kentucky Fried Chicken (Japan) Ltd.
Describes the internationalization of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food chain, focusing on KFC's entry into Japan. An entrepreneurial country general manager, Lou Weston, battles numerous problems to establish the business and is eventually highly successful.... View Details
- November 1986
- Supplement
People Express - March 1984
By: D. Quinn Mills
Describes People Express business strategy and whether it was successful. Describes changing environment in the airline industry and asks students to make decisions concerning a new business strategy for People Express. Follow-up to the (A) case. View Details
- October 1986 (Revised November 1988)
- Case
B-W Footwear
By: David B. Yoffie
As import penetration into the American footwear market reached 81% in 1986, B-W Footwear, along with all of its American competitors, was struggling. Supply lines were deteriorating, retailers and importers were gaining power, and the government had rejected two... View Details
- September 1986 (Revised July 2001)
- Case
Eastern Electric Apparatus Repair Company (A)
By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Harry Gruner
As principals engaged in structuring leveraged buyouts for a well-capitalized risk arbitrage firm, Bob Meehan and George Schwartz are preparing to bid for the business and assets of a Westinghouse subsidiary. The case focuses on the value of the opportunity, methods of... View Details
- August 1986 (Revised June 1987)
- Case
Lotus Development Corporation: Entering International Markets
By: David B. Yoffie and John J. Coleman
Lotus 1-2-3 exploded on the American market in the spring of 1983. Nine months later Jim Manzi, vice president of marketing, hired Chuck Digate to develop an international strategy for Lotus. Case explores Lotus' rapid rise to the top of the software market in the... View Details
- August 1986 (Revised May 1993)
- Case
Rohm and Haas (A): New Product Marketing Strategy
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Lesley Susan
Joan Macey, Rohm and Haas' market manager for Metalworking Fluid Biocides, found that sales of a new biocide, Kathon MWX, was utterly disappointing. This was all the more puzzling since sales of her other product--Kathon 886 MW, a liquid biocide used only in... View Details
- April 1986 (Revised May 1988)
- Case
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (B)
By: Kim B. Clark
Dissects the manufacturing process and procedures of a high-end computer manufacturer. The main issue is how to introduce new products and ramp them up quickly in a competitive environment where time-to-market is crucial. Focuses on engineering change orders--how they... View Details