Publications

Article

Why A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations Remains a Triumph at Fifty but the Labels 'Distributive' and 'Integrative' Should Be Retired

By: James K. Sebenius

Richard Walton and Robert McKersie's closeness to practice, disciplinary rigor, and successful search for powerful generalizations help explain the lasting impact of the Behavioral Theory of Labor Relations. Ironically, the names they chose for the fundamental... View Details

Keywords: Bargaining; Integrative Bargaining; Distributive Bargaining; Negotiation; Labor Unions

January 1994
Case

Evolving Finance Function: Judy C. Lewent at Merck & Co., Inc.

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

This case examines the career path of Merck's CFO, Judy C. Lewent, as a way of tracing changes over time in Merck's finance function. It describes the adoption of innovative quantitative analytical models, changes in job definitions and in the organization of the... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Mathematical Methods; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Design; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 2009 (Revised September 2014)
Case

TD Canada Trust

By: Dennis Campbell and Brent Kazan

The case illustrates the role of performance measurement and analytics in translating TD-Canada Trust's service model of "comfortable banking" into operational terms. In 2000, in a banking market where consumers and regulators were typically hostile to mergers and... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Commercial Banking; Profit; Balanced Scorecard; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Banking Industry; Canada

March 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Transition at DataCo?

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Carin-Isabel Knoop

The founder of a data analytics company, Stefan Brecht, has several issues with his key business developer and head of marketing and sales, Tamara Smithson. Smithson, an early hire who had been instrumental in building the firm; operates as an individual contributor;... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Performance Management; Professional Services; Salesforce Management; Sales; Marketing; Performance; Consulting Industry; United States; France

February 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Olympia Machine Company, Inc.

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Benson P. Shapiro

The management team of an industrial equipment supplier is debating the company's method of compensating salespeople. Different executives have offered different alternatives to the current method of straight salary plus expenses. Each option has different implications... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Mission and Purpose; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Industrial Products Industry

May 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Background Note

Basic Techniques for the Analysis of Customer Information Using Excel 2003: A Step-by-Step Approach

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

Provides a set of easy, step-by-step guides for some analytical techniques that are useful in the analysis of cases discussed in the course "Competing and Winning Through Customer Information (CWCI)". The instructions that follow use datasets from three of the cases in... View Details

Keywords: Data and Data Sets; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Mathematical Methods

02 Dec 2017
News

Do Employers Overestimate the Value of a College Degree?

27 Sep 2018
HBS Seminar

Cesar Hidalgo, MIT

November 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

Capital Projects as Real Options: An Introduction

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Introduces a framework for evaluating corporate investment projects as call options. Presumes readers are familiar with basic option pricing and basic capital budgeting rules. Explains the motivation for viewing projects as options; presents a mapping between a capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Instruments; Capital Budgeting; Corporate Finance

January 1985 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Lotus Development Corp.

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of the history and venture capital financing of Lotus Development. Focuses on issues related to the possible terms of investment in Lotus by a major venture capital firm. The pedagogic objectives in the case are: to explore the elements of the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Venture Capital; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Outcome or Result; Corporate Finance; Planning; Computer Industry

January 1985
Case

Business Research Corp. (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of a decision confronting an entrepreneur: which of two investment proposals should he accept to fund the creation and marketing of a database that comprises the full text of research reports produced by Wall Street investment banking firms? The... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Cost vs Benefits; Valuation; Investment Banking; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Deal; Financing and Loans; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

May 1983 (Revised November 1987)
Case

Technical Data Corp.: Business Plan

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains materials extracted from a business plan developed by the company in 1980. The purpose of the business plan was to raise $100,000 to finance the commencement of operations. The firm intended to provide analytical services to bond market traders. The product... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan

September 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Student Success at Georgia State University (A)

By: Michael W. Toffel, Robin Mendelson and Julia Kelley

Georgia State University had developed a reputation for driving student success by nearly doubling its graduation rate for students of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It did so while growing its student body and the proportion of Black/African... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

By: Lynda M. Applegate

My current research builds on past research on the role of information, analytics and technology in transforming business and society. Over the past two years, this research focuses on how organizations partner to build innovation ecosystems that accelerate the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Ecosystems; Leadership And Change Management; Organizational Adaptation; Innovation and Invention; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Organizations; Technology; Strategy; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Industry; Africa; North and Central America; Middle East

19 Jun 2018
News

The Other Diversity Dividend

17 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 17

paper discusses five trends in technology-enabled transportation innovation: connected vehicles; connected roads; big data analytics in air transportation; Intelligent Transportation Systems; and innovation in information infrastructure.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2006
Article

Dynamic Mixed Duopoly: A Model Motivated by Linux vs. Windows

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat

This paper analyzes a dynamic mixed duopoly in which a profit-maximizing competitor interacts with a competitor that prices at zero (or marginal cost), with the cumulation of output affecting their relative positions over time. The modeling effort is motivated by... View Details