Publications

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April 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Supplement

Cafes Monte Bianco - Varying Interest Solution

By: Robert L. Simons

This is the varying interest solution to the case Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan (HBS No. 198-088) View Details

March 2008
Article

Market Reactions to Export Subsidies

By: M. A. Desai and James R. Hines Jr.

This paper analyzes the economic impact of export subsidies by investigating stock price reactions to a critical event in 1997. On November 18, 1997, the European Union announced its intention to file a complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Trade; Development Economics; Financial Markets; Profit; Taxation; Volume; Value Creation; Market Design; Business Subsidiaries; Utilities Industry; Financial Services Industry; Europe; North and Central America

SSRN

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August 1982 (Revised January 1988)
Case

Assuming Control at Altex Aviation (A)

Two young and inexperienced MBAs buy a virtually bankrupt company. They design a decentralized control system organized around profit centers. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Entrepreneurship; Management Systems; Air Transportation Industry

2019
Chapter

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Return on invested capital (ROIC) is a financial measure of the profitability of a firm or business unit. If it is greater than the business's cost of capital, then reinvestment of earnings increases shareholder VALUE. The ROIC also determines a maximum self-sustaining... View Details

Keywords: Capital Efficiency; Dupont Analysis; Financial Metrics; Schumpeterian Competition; Sustainable Growth; Competitive Advantage; Financial Strategy; Resource Allocation; Valuation; Value Creation

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May 2000
Case

J & B

Michael Stoner finds himself called upon to reposition a once venerable and highly profitable brand of Scotch whisky. He must find a cultural trend. View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Product Positioning; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

February 1993 (Revised May 1993)
Background Note

Responsibility Centers and Performance Measurement

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Introduces the concepts of responsibility centers and performance measurement. Expense centers, financial responsibilities such as profit centers, and investment centers are introduced, defined, and illustrated with simple examples. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Management Systems

March 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Fabindia Overseas Pvt. Ltd.

By: Mukti Khaire and Prabakar (PK) Kothandaraman

Fabindia is a for-profit Indian retail company with the stated mission of providing employment to weavers and traditional handicraft artisans in rural India. Established in 1960 as an exporter of home furnishings, Fabindia has grown as a consumer-facing retailer of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply Chain; Mission and Purpose; Expansion; Retail Industry; India

December 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Module Note

Rethinking Customer Satisfaction

By: Youngme E. Moon

Outlines the structure and content of a six-session module that explores the negative dynamics that can result when firm profitability becomes disconnected from customer satisfaction. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction

June 2020
Case

What IKEA Do We Want?

By: Juan Alcácer, Cynthia A. Montgomery, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In 2018, Swedish furniture maker IKEA was undergoing a significant transformation. Challenged by the rise of online shopping and changing consumer behavior, and mourning the death of its founder, the Company's top executives knew they had to step out of their comfort... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Transformation; Leading Change; Mission and Purpose; Business Model; Emerging Markets; Customer Focus and Relationships; Organizational Culture; Disruption; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Europe; Netherlands; Sweden; China; India; United States

November 2017
Teaching Note

Amazon.com, 2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-402. On January 28, 2016, Amazon announced record 2015 operating profits of $2.2 billion on $107 billion of sales, and the markets responded with cautious optimism. For years, founder and CEO Jeffrey Bezos had prioritized growth and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Market Platforms; Two-Sided Platforms; Competition; Internet; Corporate Strategy; Online Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Hardware; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Price; Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

July 2012
Supplement

How Much? (C)

By: Clayton Rose

The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client. View Details

Keywords: Culture; Client Responsibility; Leadership; Employees; Ethics; Communication; Knowledge Sharing; Organizational Culture

February 1995 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Brainard, Bennis & Farrell (A)

By: John J. Gabarro and Andrew P. Burtis

A law firm must decide how to split partnership profits among the partners. Issues of seniority versus performance, performance evaluation, and lack of consensus of values dominate the discussions. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Performance Evaluation; Values and Beliefs; Rank and Position; Profit Sharing; Legal Services Industry

October 1993 (Revised July 1994)
Case

A Brush with AIDS (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

A product manager at a health products company is responsible for marketing sharps containers, which hospitals use to store used needles in order to protect medical workers from being pricked with AIDS-contaminated needles. After hospitals report repeated instances of... View Details

Keywords: Health; Cost vs Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Safety; Values and Beliefs; Profit; Goals and Objectives; Compensation and Benefits; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Research Summary

Competitive Strategy

Anita M. McGahan and Michael E. Porter and are completing a series of statistical papers on the sources of company and industry profitability. Based on a large new database on the profitability of U.S. business segments between 1981 and 1994, their research examines... View Details

December 2022 (Revised June 2023)
Case

KKR at CHI Overhead Doors (A)

By: Dennis Campbell and Ethan Rouen

This case examines the decision by private equity firm KKR to grant equity to every employee at portfolio company CHI Overhead Doors upon purchasing the company in 2015. The case explores whether this initiative will create shared value, growing profits through better... View Details

Keywords: Performance Improvement; Profit Sharing; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture

January 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Background Note

Introduction to Global Strategy

By: Jordan I. Siegel

Examines when it is profitable for a company to position part or all of its activity set across national borders and how a cross-border business is successfully designed and managed. View Details

Keywords: Cross-border Business; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 8: Linking Performance to Markets

By: Robert Simons

This module reading shows how to link profit plans and other performance measurement systems to both internal and external markets. Starting with the transfer of goods and services within a firm, the module discusses the different methods of designing transfer pricing... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Transfer Pricing; Activity Based Costing; Return On Investment; Residual Income; EVA; Strategy; Cost Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Markets; Investment Return

April 1985 (Revised March 1986)
Case

Seven-Up Division of Philip Morris

By: Michael E. Porter and Edward J. Hoff

In 1979, Philip Morris acquired the Seven-Up Co., the number three concentrate producer in the U.S. After four years of losses, Seven-Up had registered an operating profit in 1984. Industry analysts were debating the role that Seven-Up would play in Philip Morris's... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Divisions; Debates; Profit; Production; Personal Development and Career; United States

October 1984
Case

Citibank Indonesia

Describes a dilemma faced by Citibank's country manager for Indonesia. His superiors have asked him to raise his profit goal for 1984. But to produce increased profits he would either have to reduce the amount lent at below-market rates, particularly to prime customers... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Multinational Firms and Management; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Indonesia