Publications

May 2018
Article

Selection and Market Reallocation: Productivity Gains from Multinational Production

By: Laura Alfaro and Maggie X. Chen

Assessing the productivity gains from multinational production has been a vital topic of economic research and policy debate. Positive aggregate productivity gains are often attributed to within-firm productivity improvement; however, an alternative, less emphasized... View Details

Keywords: Productivity Gains; Multinational Production; Selection; Market Reallocation; And Within-firm Productivity; Multinational Firms and Management; Production; Performance Productivity; Competition; Mathematical Methods

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April 2012 (Revised May 2012)
Case

EILEEN FISHER: Repositioning the Brand

By: Anat Keinan, Jill Avery, Fiona Wilson and Michael Norton

Well-established fashion brand Eileen Fisher has traditionally appealed to older women. However, to drive growth, Eileen Fisher's management team wants to target a younger demographic and has revamped its Fall product line to offer more fashionable styles to appeal to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Market Segmentation And Target Market Selection; Retailing; Fashion; Corporate Social Responsibility; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Segmentation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Growth and Development Strategy; Social Media; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

Over the last five years, MacKenzie Scott has gone from relatively unknown in the US philanthropic community to arguably its single most influential figure. When she signed the Giving Pledge in 2019 following her divorce with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

September 2013 (Revised April 2014)
Case

Trader Joe's

By: David L. Ager and Michael A. Roberto

Based on a variety of metrics, Trader Joe's ranked as one of the most successful grocers in the United States in 2013. Experts estimated that the company had the highest sales per square foot of any major grocery chain, even significantly higher than top performer... View Details

Keywords: Core Competencies; Growth Strategy; Strategic Positioning; Industry Analysis; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

2017
Working Paper

Shopping for Confirmation: How Disconfirming Feedback Shapes Social Networks

By: Paul Green Jr., Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Many organizations employ interpersonal feedback processes as a structured means of informing and motivating employee improvement. Ample evidence suggests that these feedback processes are largely ineffective, and despite a wealth of prescriptive literature, these... View Details

Keywords: Developmental Feedback; Self-concept; Positive Illusions; Social Network; Threat; Identity; Social and Collaborative Networks; Behavior; Performance; Social Media

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March 2014
Case

Inequality and Growth in the 'Chinese Dream'

By: Rafael Di Tella, Meg Rithmire and Kaitlyn Szydlowski

Xi Jinping assumed his position as head of China's fifth generation of leaders in 2012. Xi was head of both the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, which had ruled China since 1949. Xi inherited a country far more unequal than the one that Mao... View Details

Keywords: China; Growth; Inequality; Wealth And Poverty; Social Stability; Perceptions Of Inequality; Chinese Dream; Chinese Political Thought; Corruption; Equality and Inequality; China

24 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows

Keywords: by John Horton, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton

November 2007 (Revised August 2014)
Case

D2Hawkeye: Growing the Medical IT Enterprise

By: Robert F. Higgins, Rosie O'Donnell, Sophie LaMontagne and Brent Kazan

In mid-March 2007, Chris Kryder sat in his office and thought about how to best finance his company's growth. Over the previous five years as founder and CEO of D2Hawkeye, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based healthcare analytics company, Kryder had grown the firm from a... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Development; Strategic Positioning; Strategic Vision; Venture Capital; Small Business; Investment; Growth Management; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Business Startups; Financial Strategy; Business Strategy; Service Industry; Health Industry; Waltham

12 Jul 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Task Selection and Workload: A Focus on Completing Easy Tasks Hurts Long-Term Performance

Keywords: by Diwas S. KC, Bradley R. Staats, Maryam Kouchaki, and Francesca Gino; Health

12 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Private Equity, Jobs, and Productivity: Reply to Ayash and Rastad

Keywords: by Steven J. Davis, John Haltiwanger, Kyle Handley, Ron S. Jarmin, Josh Lerner, and Javier Miranda

March 2023 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Close Concerns: Diabetes Research and Advocacy

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Brian L. Walker

This case describes the Exit considerations of Kelly Close, HBS MBA, and founder of the primary distributor of diabetes newsletters. It is part of the fourth module in the Innovating in Health Care HBS MBA course, which contains cases of other health care firms that... View Details

Keywords: Diabetes; Health; Health Care; Health Care And Treatment; Health Care Outcomes; Health Care Industry; Knowledge Dissemination; Outcome or Result; Equality and Inequality; Business Model; Entrepreneurship

March 2015
Module Note

Power and Influence in Society

By: Julie Battilana

This module aims to help students understand how power and influence are employed, both to reproduce the status quo and to effect change in society. It first helps them to understand why, more often than not, power is used to reproduce the existing way individuals and... View Details

23 Mar 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Experience Markets: An Application to Outsourcing and Hiring

Keywords: by Christopher T. Stanton and Catherine Thomas

October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

FARM Rio: Bringing a Brazilian Fashion Brand to the World

By: Isamar Troncoso and Jill Avery

FARM Rio, a twenty-six year old Brazilian fashion brand, had recently put down roots in the U.S. The brand, known for its bold, colorful, nature-inspired tropical prints, was testing the waters in Europe to assess if and how the brand should further expand globally.... View Details

Keywords: Global Marketing; Go-to-market Strategy; Global Branding; Brand Positioning; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Distribution Channels; Expansion; Fashion Industry; Brazil; United States; Europe

November 2013
Article

Simplification and Saving

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

The daunting complexity of important financial decisions can lead to procrastination. We evaluate a low-cost intervention that substantially simplifies the retirement savings plan participation decision. Individuals received an opportunity to enroll in a retirement... View Details

Keywords: Retirement Savings; Simplification; Procrastination; Behavioral Economics; Saving; Motivation and Incentives; Retirement

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29 Jan 2021
Op-Ed

How Influencers, Celebrities, and FOMO Can Win Over Vaccine Skeptics

reinforce the positive consequences of taking the vaccine, such as the ability to visit family, go to work, and have more entertainment options. With those factors in mind, we offer three customer-centric... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim

24 Aug 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Performance Hacking: The Contagious Business Practice that Corrodes Corporate Culture, Undermines Core Values, and Damages Great Companies

Keywords: by Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan; Air Transportation

September 2022
Case

Blake Sports: Evolution of the CEO and the Executive Team

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Cameron (Cam) Barker, CEO and Founder of Blake Sports Apparel, sat in his office at his company’s headquarters in Birmingham, England, feeling stunned and disappointed. Only a few minutes prior, he had wrapped up a meeting with CFO James Ryan, a highly-respected star... View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Managing People; Leadership Skills; Team Dynamics; Team Effectiveness; Team Leadership; Team Management; Leadership Style; Leadership; Management; Management Skills; Management Style; Talent and Talent Management; Groups and Teams; United Kingdom