Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,253)
- Faculty Publications (514)
- December 2009
- Article
Hiding the Evidence of Valid Theories: How Coupled Search Processes Obscure Performance Differences Among Organizations
By: Nicolaj Siggelkow and Jan Rivkin
Theorists argue that an organization's high-level choices, such as its organizational design or the attributes of its top management team, should influence its performance, yet empirical researchers have struggled to detect such influence. The impact of high-level... View Details
- November 2009
- Supplement
Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (B)
By: Tsedal Neeley
This case updates students on the steps Greg James took to solve the problems that instigated the crisis documented in “Managing a Global Team: Greg James at Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A).” We find out how James solves the process problems involved in his team's breakdown... View Details
- September 2009 (Revised May 2011)
- Case
Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (A)
By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan
Acumen Fund is a global venture capital firm with a dual purpose: it looks for a return on its investments, and it also seeks entrepreneurial solutions to global poverty. This case examines Acumen's new projects in Kenya. The organization's investment committee and its... View Details
- Article
Specialization and Success: Evidence from Venture Capital
By: Paul A. Gompers, Anna Kovner and Josh Lerner
This paper examines how organizational structure affects behavior and outcomes, studying the performance of different types of venture capital organizations. We find a strong positive relationship between the degree of specialization by individual venture capitalists... View Details
- 2009
- Chapter
Do Private Equity-owned Firms Have Better Management Practices?
By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen
We use an innovative survey tool to collect management practice data from over 4,000 medium sized manufacturing firms across Asia, Europe and the US. These measures of managerial practice are strongly associated with firm-level performance (e.g. productivity,... View Details
- July – August 2009
- Article
Organizational Ambidexterity: Balancing Exploitation and Exploration for Sustained Performance
By: Sebastian Raisch, Julian Birkinshaw, Gilbert Probst and Michael Tushman
Organizational ambidexterity has emerged as a new research paradigm in organization theory, yet several issues that are fundamental to this debate remain controversial. We explore four central tensions here: Should organizations achieve ambidexterity through... View Details
- May 2009 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
Going to the Oracle: Goldman Sachs, September 2008
By: Clayton S. Rose and David Lane
On September 23, 2008, in the midst of an historic crisis in the U.S. financial markets, Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs. Goldman CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, said: "We are pleased that given our longstanding relationship, Warren... View Details
- 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
- 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
- April 2009 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
Before the Fall: Lehman Brothers 2008
By: Clayton S. Rose and Anand Ahuja
This case examines Lehman Brothers in the months preceding its collapse. Following the announcement of a huge and unexpected second quarter loss, the CFO was removed from her post after only seven months in the job. This case explores the challenges faced by a firm... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Broadening Focus: Spillovers, Complementarities and Specialization in the Hospital Industry
By: Jonathan R. Clark and Robert S. Huckman
The long-standing argument that focused operations outperform others stands in contrast to claims about the benefits of broader operational scope. The performance benefits of focus are typically attributed to reduced complexity, lower uncertainty, and the development... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
Taking a 'Deep Dive': What Only a Top Leader Can Do
By: Howard H. Yu and Joseph L. Bower
Unlike most historical accounts of strategic change inside large firms, empirical research on strategic management rarely uses the day-to-day behaviors of top executives as the unit of analysis. By examining the resource allocation process closely, we introduce the... View Details
- March 2009 (Revised July 2010)
- Case
State Street Corporation
To maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color. State Street Corp. reports a 13% gain in EPS in 2008 amidst a global financial crisis. The stock price declines 59% on the day of the earnings report. This one day decline was exceeded in the... View Details
- March 2009
- Journal Article
Does Individual Performance Affect Entrepreneurial Mobility? Empirical Evidence from the Financial Analysis Market
By: Boris Groysberg, Ashish Nanda and M. Julia Prats
Our paper contributes to the studies on the relationship between workers' human capital and their decision to become self-employed as well as their probability to survive as entrepreneurs. Analysis from a panel data set of research analysts in investment banks over... View Details
- Article
How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?
By: Aaron K. Chatterji, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel
Ratings of corporations' environmental activities and capabilities influence billions of dollars of "socially responsible" investments as well as some consumers, activists, and potential employees. In one of the first studies to assess these ratings, we examine how... View Details
- March 2009
- Article
Loyalty-Based Portfolio Choice
By: Lauren Cohen
I evaluate the effect of loyalty on individuals' portfolio choice using a unique dataset of retirement contributions. I exploit the statutory difference that in 401(k) plans stand alone employees can invest directly in their division, while conglomerate employees must... View Details
- 2009
- Other Unpublished Work
When Does Industrial Policy Work? Evidence from the Brazilian Ethanol Fuel Industry
By: Santiago Mingo and Tarun Khanna
What is the impact of a state-led industrial policy program on entrepreneurial activity, industry evolution, and firm competitiveness? How and when is industrial policy an effective tool to spur the development of an emerging industry? To address these questions, we... View Details
- February 2009 (Revised February 2012)
- Case
Exeter Group, Inc. (A)
By: Robert G. Eccles, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman
Jonathan Kutchins and Mark Cullen, managing partners of IT consulting firm Exeter Group, Inc., are considering four potential client engagements. Three of them involve prominent universities, an area of market strength for the firm, and one involves a top-tier strategy... View Details
- January 2009
- Case
Sue Whitman at MBB Financial
This case describes some issues confronting the leader of a major investment bank. She is pleased with the financial performance of her firm but concerned about signs of a bubble in the market. View Details
- 2009
- Chapter
Entry, Exit and Labour Productivity in U.K. Retailing: Evidence from Micro Data
By: Jonathan Haskel and Raffaella Sadun
The paper investigates the U.K. retail sector using store and firm-level data between 1998 and 2003. First, we present the first exhaustive description of the U.K. retail sector using micro data sources. Second, in the spirit of Foster, Haltiwanger, and Krizan (2002),... View Details