Publications

31 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Powerful Workplace Motivator

workplace motivator is our natural tendency to measure our own performance against the performance of others. "Traditionally, [the field of] economics has held a very rational view of people, and there's a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

March 2024
Module Note

Accounting Standards for the 21st Century

By: Jonas Heese

Over the past two decades, accounting standards have evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business environment. This module note focuses on understanding the impact of these standards on measuring firm performance and financial position in the context of a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Standards; Performance Evaluation; Change Management

09 Mar 2021
Working Paper Summaries

Stock Price Reactions to ESG News: The Role of ESG Ratings and Disagreement

Keywords: by George Serafeim and Aaron Yoon; Financial Services

25 Jan 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Who Lives in the C-Suite? Organizational Structure and the Division of Labor in Top Management

Keywords: by Maria Guadalupe, Hongyi Li & Julie Wulf

2011
Working Paper

What Do Development Banks Do? Evidence from Brazil, 2002-2009

By: Sergio G. Lazzarini, Aldo Musacchio, Rodrigo Bandeira-de-Mello and Rosilene Marcon

While some authors view development banks as an important tool to alleviate capital constraints in scarce credit markets and unlock productive investments, others see those banks as conduits of cheap loans to politically connected firms that could obtain capital... View Details

Keywords: Cost of Capital; Credit; Equity; Banks and Banking; Financing and Loans; Investment; Government and Politics; Data and Data Sets; Resource Allocation; Markets; Performance; Banking Industry; Brazil

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2024
Working Paper

The Consequences of Export Controls in Target Countries

By: Xueyue Liu, Yu Liu and Jaya Y. Wen

Export controls are a common instrument of national security, but their economic consequences are not well understood. This paper evaluates how these controls affect firm performance and adaptation in targeted countries. We use variation in a 2007 US policy,... View Details

Keywords: National Security; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Policy; Performance Productivity; Adaptation

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September 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Background Note

Pricing, Profits, and Customer Value

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Benson P. Shapiro and Elliot B. Ross

This note discusses how some firms (start-ups and established companies) maximize customer value and profits via their pricing processes. It is aimed at companies that compete on the basis of performance initiatives rather than absolute cost advantages and low price.... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Cost; Price; Profit; Performance Effectiveness; Sales; Competitive Strategy

December 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Montague Corporation: Unfolding the Future in Cycling

Montague has developed a major innovation that creates a new sub-category in the bicycle industry: a full-sized, high-quality bicycle that folds. In contrast to existing small-wheeled folding bicycles that are portable, but with inferior performance characteristics,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Product Positioning; Demand and Consumers; Adoption; Bicycle Industry

Research Summary

Evolution of Competitive Advantage

Anita M. McGahan is studying the evolution of competitive advantage among firms in a cross section of industries. She is particularly interested in the structural conditions that enable firms to develop an enduring competitive advantage in new markets. McGahan has... View Details

April 2009
Supplement

Supply Chain Optimization at Hugo Boss (B) - The M-Ratio

By: Ananth Raman, Nicole DeHoratius and Zahra Kanji

We evaluate the impact of a supply chain pilot implemented at Hugo Boss. This pilot entailed altering the way in which Hugo Boss orders from its suppliers. We explore the challenge of assessing the impact of supply chain change, the link between operational performance... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Performance Evaluation; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Change; Valuation; Consumer Products Industry

September–October 2017
Article

Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management?: Neither Great Leadership Nor Brilliant Strategy Matters Without Operational Excellence

By: Raffaella Sadun, Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen

A recurring message in business education is that you can’t compete on the basis of management processes because they’re easily copied. Operational effectiveness is table stakes in the competitive universe, it is often assumed, and thus cannot serve as a sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Effectiveness

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2018
Working Paper

When to Take the Leap: The Antecedents and Consequences of Leapfrog CEOs

By: J. Yo-Jud Cheng

Much of the prior research on CEO successions focuses on differences between CEOs appointed from within the firm and those appointed from outside; however, this dichotomy neglects significant heterogeneity in CEOs’ career trajectories. In this study, I examine the... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Innovation and Management

April 2009
Case

Supply Chain Optimization at Hugo Boss (A)

By: Ananth Raman, Nicole DeHoratius and Zahra Kanji

We evaluate the impact of a supply chain pilot implemented at Hugo Boss. This pilot entailed altering the way in which Hugo Boss orders from its suppliers. We explore the challenge of assessing the impact of supply chain change, the link between operational performance... View Details

Keywords: Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Performance Evaluation; Sales; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Europe

March 2021
Case

Humana (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ashley Ifeadike

To implement a bold new strategy, Humana needed to decide how to prioritize the pillars; where to own and where to partner; how much risk is acceptable; and how to continue to deliver strong operational performance while implementing a new strategy. Had the firm made... View Details

Keywords: Health ＆ Wellness; Health Care Industry; Health Care Costs; Health Insurance; Health Insurance Marketplaces; Health Care and Treatment; Cost; Insurance; Strategy; Health Industry; United States

September 2016
Case

Partners Group: Ain't No Mountain High Enough

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Ricardo Andrade

Partners Group (PG), a Swiss-based PE manager, initiated a series of strategic shifts and evolved from a predominately fund-of-funds manager into a large, multi-asset class PE firm focused on direct investments. PG was the first PE firm to go public in 2006. A number... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Management Practices and Processes; Entrepreneurship

2016
Working Paper

Workplace Design: The Good, the Bad, and the Productive

By: Michael Housman and Dylan Minor

We study the effects of performance spillover in the workplace-both positive and negative-on several dimensions, and find that it is pervasive and decreasing in the physical distance between workers. We also find that workers have different strengths, and that while... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Human Resource Management; Peer Effects; Productivity; Spillovers; Toxic Worker; Strategy; Working Conditions; Performance Productivity; Human Resources