Publications

Find at Harvard

August 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Engineering Inspection & Insurance Company

By: Robert H. Hayes

Engineering Inspection & Insurance Co. (EIIC) is a small but highly successful company that offers machinery and boiler inspection and insurance services. After years of above-average growth and profits, both are retreating toward the industry average, policy delivery... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Business Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Insurance; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Insurance Industry; United States

16 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.

has dropped sharply—they must find new markets to grow. Hence, American, Delta, and United Airlines are now employing airplanes previously targeted for passengers to fulfill cargo deliveries. For some firms, their products or services are... View Details

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

June 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

FANUC Corporation: Reassessing the Firm's Governance and Financial Policies

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In February 2015, Daniel Loeb (a U.S.–based activist investor) announced his firm had a large investment in FANUC Corporation, a leading producer of industrial robots and software for machine tools. Loeb was demanding that the Japanese firm change its financial and... View Details

Keywords: Hedge Funds; Economic Policy; Investments; Government Policy; Deregulation; Financial Management; Valuation; Investment Funds; Policy; Corporate Governance; Macroeconomics; Investment Activism; Change Management; Financial Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Japan; United States

10 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Why Are Prices So High Right Now—and Will They Ever Return to Normal?

Edgerley Family Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Prices in the United States rose at the fastest pace in four decades in January, adding pressure to the Federal Reserve to cool the economy before... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

February 2006 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Negotiating on Thin Ice: The 2004-2005 NHL Dispute (A)

By: Deepak Malhotra and Maly Hout

On September 15, 2004, the existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) expired. Because the two sides had failed to negotiate a new CBA by that date, NHL... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Participants; Trust; Sports; Compensation and Benefits; Sports Industry; United States

22 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Strategy-Proofness versus Efficiency in Matching with Indifferences: Redesigning the NYC High School Match

Keywords: by Atila Abdulkadiroglu, Parag A. Pathak & Alvin E. Roth

February 2010 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Living PlanIT

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, Susan Thyne and Tiona Zuzul

Living PlanIT is a start-up company that has developed a new, innovative business model for sustainable urbanization. This model reflects the software and technology backgrounds of its founders, Steve Lewis and Malcolm Hutchinson, and is in vivid contrast to other... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Development Economics; Entrepreneurship; City; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Urban Development; Construction Industry; Green Technology Industry; Real Estate Industry; Portugal

14 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 14

fiscal and risk premium data for Brazil states between 1891 and 1930 to show that Brazilian states with natural endowments that were allowed to export commodities high in demand (e.g., rubber and coffee) ended up having higher revenues... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

little weird," says Donald K. Ngwe, an assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School. "Why don't companies just sell this merchandise closer to their customers? Why do some companies have a lot of outlet... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Retail

02 Sep 2015
What Do You Think?

What's Wrong With Amazon’s Low-Retention HR Strategy?

the opportunity to earn high compensation--but jobs that often become too demanding for some employees, particularly those with health problems or family obligations. Former employees complained about bosses who lacked empathy for... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Web Services; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Consumer Products; Fashion

23 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

The Vinyl Renaissance: Take Those Old Records Off the Shelf

United Record Pressing plant in Nashville and Erika Records in Los Angeles that might have 20 machines, which do a lot of work for the major record labels. The major labels don’t own their own means of manufacturing anymore, and they’re... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Music

14 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

centers. This sometimes resulted in reports of workers stressed out and exhausted by the demanding environment. “It’s one of those cultures that works for some people, but not others,” says Campbell, “there is a lot more performance... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

December 2015 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Woolf Farming and the California Water Crisis

By: Forest Reinhardt, David Bell, Natalie Kindred, Mary Shelman and Laura Winig

This case highlights the tough choices, competing interests, and decision-making mechanisms involved in California's management of its severe drought, entering its fifth year in 2015. Stuart Woolf, CEO of Woolf Farming, a grower and processor of almonds, tomatoes, and... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Natural Disasters; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Economics; Weather; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

"cat note" that offered a high yield, but with a chance of losing the full investment if severe hurricanes struck the coastline of the United States. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

22 Dec 2015
First Look

December 22, 2015

International Management Entrepreneurial Imagination and a Demand and Supply-side Perspective on the MNE and Cross-border Organization By: Jones, Geoffrey, and Christos Pitelis Abstract—This article explores the role of entrepreneurial... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

May 2024
Case

Naked Wines: The Profit vs. Growth Decision

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

Nick Devlin faced a difficult strategic decision in October 2022. As the CEO of a UK-based subscription business connecting wine drinkers in the US, UK, and Australia with winemakers from around the world (which one journalist called the “Netflix of Wine”), he had to... View Details