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08 Sep 2014
News

The slow decay of American economic competitiveness

November 2008 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Transformation of COFCO in a Changing Environment

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Kefei Yang

China's COFCO, the country's leading edible oil and food importer and exporter and its largest food manufacturer, had in its 50-plus years of operation undergone four stages of transformation and was about to embark on a fifth. The global agriculture system was... View Details

Keywords: Food; Leadership; Change Management; Transformation; Globalization; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; China

December 2007
Article

Adoption of Information Technology under Network Effects

By: Deishin Lee and Haim Mendelson

Because information technologies are often characterized by network effects, compatibility is an important issue. Although total network value is maximized when everyone operates in one compatible network, we find that the technology benefits of the users depend on... View Details

Keywords: Network Effects; Standards; Competitive Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Information Technology; Technology Adoption

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Why don’t organizations test more? After examining this question for several years, I can tell you that a central reason is culture. As companies try to scale up their experimentation capacity, they often find that the obstacles are not tools and technology but... View Details

05 Jan 2013
News

On Google, F.T.C. Set Rules of War Over Patents

October 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

H.J. Heinz Co.: The Administration of Policy (B)

Summarizes the investigation conducted by outside legal and accounting firms under the Heinz audit committee. Improper practices were found at three of the five Heinz domestic divisions and at a number of foreign operations. Presents restated financial data for the... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Accounting Audits; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

25 Feb 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Fear of Rejection? Tiered Certification and Transparency

Keywords: by Emmanuel Farhi, Josh Lerner & Jean Tirole

08 Nov 2012
HBS Seminar

Avi Goldfarb, University of Toronto

January 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Ford Motor Company: Quality of Earnings Growth Analysis (A)

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

Even though Ford Motor Co. reports improved profitability, an equity analyst issues a sell recommendation and Standard & Poor's downgrades long-term debt. View Details

Keywords: Quality; Business Earnings; Valuation; Investment Return; Profit; Financial Statements; Revenue; Auto Industry; Consulting Industry

2014
Report

An Economy Doing Half Its Job: Findings of Harvard Business School's 2013–14 Survey on U.S. Competitiveness

By: Michael E. Porter and Jan Rivkin

In 2013–14, Harvard Business School (HBS) conducted its third alumni survey on U.S. competitiveness. Our report on the findings focuses on a troubling divergence in the American economy: large and midsize firms have rallied strongly from the Great Recession, and highly... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Economy; Financial Crisis; United States

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Research Summary

Management Control Issues of International Ventures

William J. Bruns, Jr. is conducting (with Sharon M. McKinnon of Northeastern University) a field study of control issues that arise in international ventures between U.S. and European companies. Bruns' research is aimed at answering questions raised by earlier... View Details

Enhancing the Practical Relevance of Research

I think that most business school research should examine and help solve real-world problems that managers are facing--or that they might face in the future. This means that these scholars need to choose relevant research questions, and propose and test hypotheses... View Details

10 May 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Forward-Looking Metrics on Employee Decision Making

Keywords: by Pablo Casas-Arce, F. Asís Martínez-Jerez & V.G. Narayanan; Banking

Article

Assessing the Value of Pediatric Aerodigestive Care

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Chris Hartnick, Mahek Shah, Steven M. Coppess, Alisa Yamasaki, Kaalan E. Johnson, Jeremy Prager, Christopher T. Wootten, Thomas Gallagher and Evan Propst

Leaders at six hospitals conducted a research study to assess and compare the health outcomes and costs of pediatric aerodigestive care. Four of the hospitals delivered care with an integrated practice unit (IPU) while two delivered care traditionally, with isolated... View Details

Keywords: Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Value-based Health Care; Integrated Practice Unit; Health Care and Treatment; Cost Management; Performance Improvement

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2020
Working Paper

Design and Analysis of Switchback Experiments

By: Iavor I Bojinov, David Simchi-Levi and Jinglong Zhao

In switchback experiments, a firm sequentially exposes an experimental unit to a random treatment, measures its response, and repeats the procedure for several periods to determine which treatment leads to the best outcome. Although practitioners have widely adopted... View Details

Keywords: Switchback Experiments; Design; Analysis; Mathematical Methods

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07 Jun 2007
News

The bad dream of options expensing lingers

February 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Huazhu: A Chinese Hotel Giant's Journey of Digital Transformation

By: Feng Zhu, Yulin Fang, Bonnie Yining Cao and Duan Yang

Based in Shanghai, China, Huazhu Group, the world’s third-largest hotel operator, was known for its standardized IT system. It helped the company boost efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Digital Officer Xinxin Liu also faced some longer-term challenges:... View Details

Keywords: Hotel Industry; COVID-19 Pandemic; Labor; Business or Company Management; Emerging Markets; Information Technology; Operations; Strategy; Digital Transformation; Accommodations Industry; China; United States; Singapore; Germany; Hong Kong