Cost Control - Publications - Faculty & Research

June 2011
Article

Watch What I Do, Not What I Say: The Unintended Consequences of the Homeland Investment Act

By: Dhammika Dharmapala, C. Fritz Foley and Kristin J. Forbes

This paper analyzes the impact of the Homeland Investment Act of 2004, which provided a one-time tax holiday for the repatriation of foreign earnings and thereby reduced the cost to U.S. multinationals of accessing a source of internal capital. Lawmakers and lobbyists... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Performance Effectiveness; Code Law; Taxation; Cost; Capital; Financial Strategy; Research and Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

30 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Donors Are Turned Off by Overhead Costs. Here’s What Charities Can Do

“overhead-free” group, recipients were told that a donor had given a grant to cover all the overhead costs associated with raising money for the project. The results were significant. In the control group,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

July 2019
Article

The Impact of Price Regulation on the Availability of New Drugs in Germany

By: Ariel Dora Stern, Felicitas Pietrulla, Annika Herr, Aaron S. Kesselheim and Ameet Sarpatwari

The 2011 German Pharmaceutical Market Restructuring Act (“AMNOG”) subjected branded, non-rare disease drugs to price regulation based on an assessment of their clinical benefit. Assessment outcomes range from “major added benefit” to “less benefit than the appropriate... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Pharmaceuticals; Healthcare; Health Care and Treatment; Price; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Pharmaceutical Industry; Germany

Citation

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February 2021
Case

Digital Manufacturing at Amgen

By: Shane Greenstein, Kyle R. Myers and Sarah Mehta

This case discusses efforts made by biotechnology (biotech) company Amgen to introduce digital technologies into its manufacturing processes. Doing so is complicated by the fact that the process for manufacturing biologics—or therapeutics made from living cells—is... View Details

Citation

Educators

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12 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 12, 2006

the footprint are outsourced—module boundaries are redrawn and interfaces designed for this purpose. The result is an invested capital advantage, which can be used to drive the returns of competitors below their cost of capital. We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

The Evolution of Corporate Structure, Internal Governance, and Leadership

My research documents the evolution of the internal governance of senior management in large US firms over a 20-year period and explores, via multiple methods, the causes and consequences of these changes. My findings suggest that... View Details

2007
Report

The Role of Clusters in the Chemical Industry

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The European Chemical Industry, still in the leading position globally, is under intense competitive pressure from emerging locations in Asia and the Middle East. After first reacting by efficiency upgrading within companies and then pursuing outsourcing and aggressive... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Industry Clusters; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Chemical Industry; Asia; Europe; Middle East

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19 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 19, 2006

low (-0.16 and 0.006) and decrease over time as network effects become increasingly important. Download working paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-035.pdf The Demise of Cost and Profit Centers Author:Robert S. Kaplan Abstract The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Apr 2024
In Practice

Getting to Net Zero: The Climate Standards and Ecosystem the World Needs Now

With each month clocking record-breaking temperatures across the planet, this Earth Day reflected the renewed urgency of regulators and businesses to find climate-change solutions. The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted new rules that will mandate... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

12 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

Customers at the Back of the Line Are Anxious—Can You Keep Them from Leaving?

created a graphic representation of the queue so all participants could see where they were at all times. When they got to the front, he asked them how satisfied they were with their wait. Controlling for their actual wait time and the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail; Service

11 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 11, 2009

Consistent with predictions, results reveal that portfolios of level 3 financial assets have higher implied betas and lead to larger bid-ask spreads relative to those designated as level 1 or level 2 assets. Both results are consistent with a higher View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

31 Oct 2018
What Do You Think?

What is the Function of Fear in Leadership?

of others, the manager has control and the leader does not. The manager can motivate with rewards and punishments, while the leader must win hearts and minds. Therefore, fear is a part of management but not of leadership. A smart and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 25, 2018

stores with higher information-gathering costs for headquarters). Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50576 Measuring Gentrification: Using Yelp Data to Quantify Neighborhood Change By: Glaeser, Edward... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 Mar 2013
HBS Case

HBS Cases: LEGO

components. While the number of LEGO-branded items grew, sales did not, and in 1998 the company suffered its first financial loss. "Their top-line growth was slowing down but their cost was accelerating, so they were starting to lose... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Entertainment & Recreation

25 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

When Negotiating a Price, Never Bid with a Round Number

percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. Bids made at a greater precision generated returns 2 to 3 percentage points higher. Controlling for a variety of factors, it seemed that success depended simply on adding a few cents to (or... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

02 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 3, 2018

environmental regulation. Previously, it was believed that corporate managers resisted the extra costs imposed by environmental regulation from the 1960s. This argument was primarily based on empirical evidence from the United States. It... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

New Research Explores Multi-Sided Markets

much more than the platform vendor could do by itself if it remained vertically integrated into hardware. The interesting exception here is, of course, Apple. Apple's logic is that vertical integration allows the company to better control... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

24 Apr 2023
HBS Case

What Does It Take to Build as Much Buzz as Booze? Inside the Epic Challenge of Cannabis-Infused Drinks

industries. They all add up to extra costs and burdens for young businesses trying to establish themselves, says Israeli, the Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration. The challenges include operating at scale when... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

13 Mar 2023
Op-Ed

How Leaders Should Leave

and in the industry about your reasons for leaving. You want to control the narrative around your departure and avoid any hint of acrimony. You will also need to agree on a date of departure. Keep in mind that you may be explaining your... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

June 2009 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Colbún—Powering Chile

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Gustavo A. Herrero and Sanjay Patnaik

This case is about Colbún, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices,... View Details