Publications

07 Oct 2010
Working Paper Summaries

The Profits of Power: Commercial Realpolitik in Eurasia

Keywords: by Rawi E. Abdelal; Energy; Utilities

December 2003 (Revised February 2008)
Background Note

Law and Legal Reasoning: An Introduction

By: Henry B. Reiling

Gives prominence to Mr. Justice Holmes' Prediction Theory of the law as a practical--and by analogy to forecasting in finance and other functional areas of business--comfortable, and familiar way for businesspeople to think about the law. Law is defined as a forecast... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Law; Theory

April 2000
Background Note

Market Failures

By: Bharat N. Anand, Tarun Khanna and Jan W. Rivkin

Examines the role of transaction costs in impeding the functioning of markets and shows how the concept of transaction costs sheds light on a broad range of issues in strategy. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Cost; Market Transactions; Industry Clusters; Failure; Internet

05 Feb 2021
News

Because Small Is Big

August 1995 (Revised January 1997)
Exercise

Consumer Behavior Exercise (A)

By: John A. Deighton and Susan M. Fournier

Students are instructed to interview a recent purchaser of a low-involvement product or service in depth about his/her buying decision. The exercise provides students with first-hand understanding of important concepts in consumer choice domain (e.g., stages in the... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior

July 1973 (Revised August 1987)
Case

Central Express Corp.

Deals with the choice between debt and equity as a vehicle for financing expansion. Introduces the concept of EBIT charts and raises a number of other issues (e.g. dilution, leverage, etc.). View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Financing and Loans

December 2003 (Revised November 2015)
Background Note

The Fiduciary Relationship: A Legal Perspective

By: Lynn Sharp Paine

Discusses the concept of a fiduciary, as developed in the Anglo-American common law tradition, and outlines the principal differences between the legal standard applied to fiduciaries compared to ordinary arms'-length contractors. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Assets; Financial Management; Common Law; Standards

Summer 2013
Article

IP Modularity: Profiting from Innovation by Aligning Product Architecture with Intellectual Property

By: Joachim Henkel, Carliss Y. Baldwin and Willy C. Shih

Firms seeking to take advantage of distributed innovation and outsourcing can bridge the tension between value creation and value capture by modifying the modular structure of their technical systems. Specifically, this article introduces the concept of "IP... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; Value Appropriation; Distributed Innovation; Open Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Intellectual Property; Value

October 1991 (Revised April 1992)
Case

Honda Today

By: Marco Iansiti

Describes a situation in which the manager in charge of a major development project at Honda needs to make a decision about the technical specification of the product. The decision has profound implications for the product concept and strategy, as well as for the... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Product Design; Organizational Design; Performance Consistency; Projects; Auto Industry

06 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Behavioral Finance—Benefiting from Irrational Investors

How "sleepy" or "awake" are you when it comes to your stock portfolio? If you're like most people, you probably don't spend a great deal of time monitoring your investments. So when another company uses stock to acquire a firm in which you hold a... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

23 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

How to Brand a Next-Generation Product

When Apple launched its latest iPad, experts and nonexperts alike expected it to be dubbed "iPad 3," a natural follow-on to the second-generation iPad 2. Instead, the company called the new iPad just that: "the new iPad." Observers debated whether... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

08 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: A Sense of Urgency

The problem with using crises to reduce complacency and create urgency is that the tactic is a potential diamond sitting on a rock surrounded by quicksand and very nasty beasts. Any naiveté about the downside risks can cause disaster. Big Mistake Number 1: Assuming... View Details

Keywords: by John P. Kotter

September 2012
Article

Learning Agility: In Search of Conceptual Clarity and Theoretical Grounding

By: D. Scott DeRue, Susan J. Ashford and Christopher G. Myers

As organizations become more complex and dynamic, individuals' ability to learn from experience becomes more important. Recently, the concept of learning agility has attracted considerable attention from human resource professionals and consultants interested in... View Details

Keywords: Learning And Development; Learning

June 2023 (Revised August 2023)
Background Note

Subscription Models: Recurring Revenues for Lasting Growth

By: Elie Ofek and Amy Konary

This note offers a comprehensive exposition to subscription revenue models and aims to explain their recent rise. It covers the advantages to firms of employing a subscription-based approach to monetization (as opposed to “one-off” upfront payment), as well as the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Revenue; Product Design

Teaching Interest

Technology and Operations Management

By: Himabindu Lakkaraju

This course enables students to develop the skills and concepts needed to ensure the ongoing contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. Topics include digital marketplaces, technology, and data science.

View Details

December 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Module Note

What Is the Game? Understanding the Environment

By: Maria P. Roche

As a strategist, one of your main tasks is to size up the external environment of your organization in its entirety. In this module, you will learn basic concepts and tools that will allow you to better understand the environment in which your organization operates. View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure

December 2004 (Revised June 2005)
Case

Chez Cora

By: David E. Bell, Hal Hogan and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Chez Cora is a chain of breakfast restaurants that successfully expanded from Quebec to Ontario. Is it organized appropriately for more growth? Could the concept work in the United States? If so, how should a migration to the United States be structured? Includes color... View Details

Keywords: Food; Global Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Growth Management; Service Operations; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; Canada; United States

16 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Understanding the ‘Want’ vs. ’Should’ Decision

Like having both an angel and a devil whispering advice in our ears, consumers often wrestle with the "want" versus "should" decision. Yes, I want to purchase that chocolate bar, but I should snack on granola instead. Yes, I want the gleaming red... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Retail; Entertainment & Recreation

October 1988 (Revised February 1990)
Case

HCC Industries

Describes a corporation that switches its philosophy of budgeting from "stretch" targets to "minimum performance standard" targets. The change has implications for management incentives, compensation, and corporate planning. Early results suggest the concept was not... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Budgets and Budgeting