Publications

Educators

August 2013
Case

Desi Shack: Location Choice in the Big Apple

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Desi Shack is a “fast casual” restaurant, started by two HBS alumni, that serves Indian and Pakistani cuisine in midtown Manhattan. The founders are looking to expand into a second location and also plan to hire a COO, and there is very little room for error in the... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant; New York City; Location Choice; Entrepreneurship; Food; Geographic Location; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (city, NY)

Educators

2017
Working Paper

Innovation, Reallocation and Growth

By: Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit, Harun Alp, Nicholas Bloom and William R. Kerr

We build a model of firm-level innovation, productivity growth, and reallocation featuring endogenous entry and exit. A new and central economic force is the selection between high- and low-type firms, which differ in terms of their innovative capacity. We estimate the... View Details

Keywords: Entry; Growth; Industrial Policy; Innovation; R＆D; Reallocation; Selection; Business Ventures; Resource Allocation; Performance Productivity; Policy; Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development; United States

26 Jan 2016
First Look

January 26, 2016

Cagé, and William R. Kerr Abstract—We build an endogenous growth model to analyze the relationships between taxation, corruption, and economic growth. Entrepreneurs lie at the center of the model and face... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Teaching Interest

Launching New Ventures—Jump-Starting Innovation for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners (Executive Education)

By: William R. Kerr

Starting up a new venture amid rapid change is fraught with challenges. Whether you are starting a new business, launching a new business line, or building an entrepreneurial culture within a small-to-midsize company, this program provides a new perspective and core... View Details

April 21, 2023
Article

When Scenario Planning Fails

By: Kalle Heikkinen, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin, Panu Routila and Eemil Rupponen

How can organizations perform scenario planning when they are hit by shocks outside of leaders’ field of vision? Interviews with Nordic executives, who experienced both the Covid-19 pandemic and were in close proximity to Russia as the country invaded Ukraine, can... View Details

Keywords: Planning; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Forecasting and Prediction; System Shocks; Organizational Change and Adaptation

October 2019
Teaching Note

Managing the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Carl Kreitzberg

This teaching note has been prepared to assist instructors with teaching HBS Case Study 818-128 "Managing the Future of Work.' This case has been designed to introduce leaders from various sectors to the Future of Work, and to give them the analytical tools and... View Details

Keywords: Future Of Work; Employment; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities

14 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 14

Flows in the Global Economy Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows By: Horton, John, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton Abstract—We review the rapid development of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2007
Working Paper

What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns

By: Glenn Ellison, Edward Glaeser and William R. Kerr

Many industries are geographically concentrated. Many mechanisms that could account for such agglomeration have been proposed. We note that these theories make different predictions about which pairs of industries should be coagglomerated. We discuss the measurement of... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Labor; Industry Clusters; Transportation; Manufacturing Industry; United States

July 2021
Case

A Close Shave at Squire

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Zoë B. Cullen, William R. Kerr, Benjamin N. Roth and Michael Norris

In 2020, just after closing a $34 million Series B financing round, Dave Salvant and Songe LaRon consider how to adjust their business, Squire Technologies, to the new realities posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their barbershop technology, including tools to run a shop... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Pandemics; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Technology Industry; New York (city, NY); San Francisco

Educators

23 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

Software Innovation Authors:Ned Gulley and Karim R. Lakhani Abstract We investigate if the actions by individuals in creating effective new innovations are aligned with the reuse of those innovations View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Nov 2015
First Look

November 17, 2015

Societal and Political Dimensions of Innovation Innovation and Business Growth By: Kerr, William R. Abstract—Innovation and the pursuit of new business opportunities are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2019
Teaching Note

AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow

By: William R. Kerr and Carl Kreitzberg

A Teaching Note for the "AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow" case study (HBS#820-017). The case describes how AT&T designed and implemented a program to retrain 100,000 of its workers. The case first reviews the technological forces that compelled AT&T to... View Details

Summer, 2018
Article

Innovation, Reallocation and Growth

By: Daron Acemoglu, Ufuk Akcigit, Harun Alp, Nicholas Bloom and William R. Kerr

We build a model of firm-level innovation, productivity growth, and reallocation featuring endogenous entry and exit. A new and central economic force is the selection between high- and low-type firms, which differ in terms of their innovative capacity. We estimate the... View Details

Keywords: Entry; Growth; Industrial Policy; Innovation; R＆D; Reallocation; Selection; Market Entry and Exit; Growth and Development; Innovation and Invention; Research and Development; Performance Productivity

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1996
Article

Limits on Interest Rate Rules in the IS Model

By: William R. Kerr and Robert G. King

There has been a substantial amount of research on interest rate rules. This literature finds that the feasibility and desirability of interest rate rules depends on the structure of the model used to approximate macroeconomic reality. We employ a series of... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Macroeconomics; Interest Rates; Price; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Performance Expectations

Web

2022 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

two most essential consumer-driven health care innovations that remain absent: transparency and financial empowerment. CASE STUDY Market Sizes and Entrepreneurial Strategies: The Case of Squire Technologies Professor William View Details

17 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 17

expenditures, to manage earnings to meet or beat key benchmarks. This paper examines this hypothesis by testing how different types of marketing expenditures are used to boost earnings for a durable commodity consumer product, which can... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2013
Article

Immigration and Employer Transitions for STEM Workers

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

We analyze the career trajectories of STEM workers and firm-level hiring of immigrants using the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) database of the US Census Bureau. We find STEM career adjustments during periods of abnormally high immigration into the... View Details

Keywords: Nationality; Employment; Immigration

12 Feb 2021
News

How Dunkin’ Donuts Took Over the World

donut chain wars, details near-death takeover moments, and expounds on why a donut and a cup of coffee represent much more than a simple morning pick-me-up. READ MORE Hanna: Your book opens by setting the scene almost like an HBS case.... View Details

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

June 2007
Article

Does Employment Protection Reduce Productivity? Evidence from U.S. States

By: David H Autor, William R. Kerr and Adriana D. Kugler

Theory predicts that mandated employment protections may reduce productivity by distorting production choices. Firms facing (non-Coasean) worker dismissal costs will curtail hiring below efficient levels and retain unproductive workers, both of which should affect... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Production; Selection and Staffing; Cost; Employment; Capital; Performance Productivity; United States

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