Publications

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September 2021
Case

Worldreader: Helping Readers Build a Better World

By: Marco Bertini, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2010, Worldreader was an international nonprofit organization that promoted reading to children around the world. For many years, Worldreader distributed e-readers to under-resourced communities and funded its operations primarily through philanthropic... View Details

November 2019
Case

DeepMap: Charting the Road Ahead for Autonomous Vehicles

By: Shane Greenstein and Nicole Tempest Keller

Founded in 2016, DeepMap developed high definition (HD) mapping software and localization services for Level 4+ autonomous vehicles. Traditional navigational maps were accurate to a few meters, which was sufficient for drivers but not for machine-driven vehicles that... View Details

Keywords: Mapping Software; Autonomous Vehicles; Business Startups; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Technology Adoption; Service Delivery; Global Range; Resource Allocation; Strategic Planning; Technology Industry; Auto Industry

08 Dec 2015
First Look

December 8, 2015

increased service quality competition lead to customer defection, and which customers are most likely to defect? Our empirical analysis of 82,235 customers exploits the varying competitive dynamics in 644 geographically isolated markets... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Don't Turn Your Marketing Function Over to AI Just Yet

perspective, using basic economic principles—assuming customers prefer lower-priced products, for example—to build models that can begin to explain how consumers approach online search. (See Large-Scale Demand Estimation with Search Data.) Other researchers are View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Web

Industry Information - Alumni

critical to many education organizations and entities. Premium articles require a fee-based subscription. + – Emerging Markets The World Bank News Provides news on work being done towards creating sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in... View Details

01 Aug 1998
News

High Honors

Baker Scholar. After spending a year at HBS as assistant to the legendary Professor Georges F. Doriot, Barford moved on to work as a financial analyst at Doriot's American Research & Development Corporation, one of the first U.S. venture... View Details

2024
Working Paper

Why Has Construction Productivity Stagnated? The Role of Land-Use Regulation

By: Leonardo D’Amico, Edward Glaeser, Joseph Gyourko, William Kerr and Giacomo A. M. Ponzetto

We document a Kuznets curve for construction productivity in 20th-century America. Homes built per construction worker remained stagnant between 1900 and 1940, boomed after World War II, and then plummeted after 1970. The productivity boom from 1940 to 1970 shows... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Performance Productivity; Local Range; Construction Industry

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January 2020
Case

Sunset Limited or Full Speed Ahead? Amtrak Talks to Congress

By: John D. Macomber

Richard Anderson took the helm of Amtrak in 2017 after leading a successful turnaround at Delta Airlines. Amtrak is a US state owned enterprise with about $3.5 bn in annual revenue (and a large operating loss) that is responsible for substantial segments of passenger... View Details

Keywords: Railroad; Passenger Transportation; Urbanization; Cities; U.S. Congress; Infrastructure; Transition; Transportation; Rail Transportation; Climate Change; Urban Scope; Strategic Planning; Business and Government Relations; Rail Industry; United States

Article

Capturing Value from Intellectual Property (IP) in a Global Environment

By: Juan Alcácer, Karin Beukel and Bruno Cassiman

Globalization should provide firms with an opportunity to leverage their know-how and reputation across countries to create value. However, it remains challenging for them to actually capture that value using traditional Intellectual Property (IP) tools. In this paper,... View Details

Keywords: Appropriation Strategy; Counterfeit; Intellectual Property Rights; Litigation; Value Capturing; Intellectual Property; Rights; Value; Lawsuits and Litigation; Global Range; Situation or Environment

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May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

Working PapersThe Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and Exceptions Authors:Lyra Colfer and Carliss Y. Baldwin Abstract The mirroring hypothesis asserts that the organizational patterns of a development project (e.g., communication... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 27

partially reversed when the congressman resigns, and are most pronounced among geographically concentrated firms. The effects are economically meaningful and the mechanism—entirely distinct from the more traditional interest rate and tax... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

systems of adherence. Case 1: Learn and deploy new information Geographic diversification is often seen by managers as a useful way to tap into new sources of growth. In case of a pandemic, a specific form of View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

31 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 31

developed economies historically, and even today. In analyzing this historical evidence, the chapter first shows how organizational forms of business groups were employed over long time periods to control large and diversified... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2017
Case

Tencent

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Tencent had undergone many transformations since it was founded in 1998 as a simple messaging service. In 2017, it was the largest online games provider in China with a wide range of game types, China’s largest social networking service provider with several of the... View Details

Keywords: Tencent; Tencent Holdings; WeChat; Social Networking; Social Networks; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Video Games; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Portals; Payments; Mobile Payments; O2O; Online-to-offline; E-commerce; Messaging; Subscription Model; Freemium; Mobile App Industry; Smartphone; PC; Monetization Strategy; Antitrust; Streaming; Cloud Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Big Data; Alibaba; Facebook; JD.com; Tesla; Bundling; Synergies; Digital Strategy; Imitation; Licensing; Agility; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Communication; Communication Technology; Blogs; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Industry Growth; Monopoly; Media; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Opportunities; Social and Collaborative Networks; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Value Creation; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; China; Canton (province, China)