Publications

October 2005 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities

Describes the efforts of Volkswagen of America, the U.S. subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, to arrive at a process for setting IT funding priorities so that they align with business priorities and the company's overall strategy. The process is carefully thought out and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Business Subsidiaries; Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Alignment; Auto Industry; United States

June 2019
Article

Social Risk, Fiscal Risk, and the Portfolio of Government Programs

By: Samuel G. Hanson, David S. Scharfstein and Adi Sunderam

We develop a model of government portfolio choice in which a benevolent government chooses the scale of risky projects in the presence of market failures and tax distortions. These two frictions generate motives to manage social risk and fiscal risk. Social risk... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Government and Politics; Programs

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June 2020
Supplement

TransDigm: The Acquisition of Aerosonic Corp.

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

This courseware accompanies the case "TransDigm: The Acquisition of Aerosonic Corp." View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Growth Management; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Valuation; Negotiation; Cash Flow; Contracts; Aerospace Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States

18 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Schumpeterian Competition and Diseconomies of Scope: Illustrations from the Histories of Microsoft and IBM

Keywords: by Timothy Bresnahan, Shane Greenstein & Rebecca Henderson

winter 1986
Article

Changing Patterns of International Competition

By: M. E. Porter

Keywords: Competition; Change

May 2019
Teaching Note

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

By: William R. Kerr and Jordan Bach-Lombardo

Teaching Note for HBS No. 819-042. It provides a detailed lesson plan for the case study discussion, including assignment questions and sample board and slide plans. View Details

Keywords: Walmart; Omnichannel; Strategy; Transformation

06 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness

When American companies move pieces of their operations overseas—often because manufacturing and labor costs are much cheaper—they run the risk of moving the expertise, innovation, and new growth... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Manufacturing

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Schumpeter’s Plea: Rediscovering History and Relevance in the Study of Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones & Dan Wadhwani

January 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Eaton Corporation: Portfolio Transformation and the Cost of Capital (Abridged)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, E. Scott Mayfield and Daniel Fisher

In 2000, Eaton Corporation was a broadly diversified industrial conglomerate. But its strategy was evolving and its focus was narrowing around “power management” and more recently on “intelligent power,” the use of digitally enabled products and services designed to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Cost of Capital; Corporate Finance; Value; Valuation; Industrial Products Industry; United States; Denmark; Republic of Ireland

2014
Working Paper

Firm Competitiveness and Detection of Bribery

By: George Serafeim

Using survey data from firms around the world I analyze how detection of bribery has impacted a firm's competitiveness over the past year. Managers report that the most significant impact was on employee morale, followed by business relations, and then reputation and... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; Corruption; Bribery; Employee Engagement; Reputation; Regulation; Competition; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Performance

SSRN

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Jun 21 2017
Testimonial

Appreciating the Art of Negotiation

2018
Working Paper

Class Matters: The Role of Social Class and Organizational Sector in High-Achieving Women's Legitimacy Narratives

By: Judith A. Clair, Rachel D. Arnett, Katherine Chen, Beth K. Humberd and Kathleen L. McGinn

While prior research recognizes that women struggle to maintain legitimacy for their successes and that self-narratives play a key role in building such legitimacy, theory provides limited insight into how women build legitimacy through their self-narratives. Our... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Gender; Success; Diversity; Perception; Situation or Environment

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April 2019
Supplement

Upwork in 2019

By: David Yoffie and Allison M. Ciechanover

Stephane Kasriel, the CEO of Upwork, the leading platform for freelance labor, updates his progress on how to redesign its business model in 2019. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Platform; Platform Businesses; Technology; Business Model; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Labor

2012
Book

The Rise of the Modern Firm

By: Geoffrey Jones and Walter A. Friedman

This authoritative volume focuses on the rise of modern firms, from their early history to the present day. It considers the role of laws and contracts in shaping the growth and influence of business enterprises. It presents entrepreneurs, executives and the firms they... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Economy; Business History; Archives; Contracts; Theory

19 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: “The Architecture of Innovation”

The key to managing innovation starts, and probably ends, with incentives. In his new book, The Architecture of Innovation: The Economics of Creative Organizations, Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Josh Lerner; Financial Services

November 2004 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Hala Madrid: Managing Real Madrid Club de Futbol, the Team of the Century

Florentino Perez, the president of Real Madrid, a leading European soccer team, is preparing for a press conference in which he will be asked about his plans for the coming season. Economic success and some sports mishaps during the prior season represent the scenario... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Strategic Planning; Value Creation; Risk Management; System; Budgets and Budgeting; Sports Industry; Spain

June 1992
Article

The Strategic Management of Uncertainty

By: David J. Collis

Keywords: Strategy; Management; Risk and Uncertainty

May 2014 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Unilever's new Global Brand VP must not only revitalize Lifebuoy soap's sagging market performance, but simultaneously impact the health of one billion people worldwide. The latter challenge comes from Unilever's new CEO who has introduced the Unilever Sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Management; Corporate Social Responsibility; Strategy Implementation; Marketing Strategy; Mission And Purpose; Change Management; International Business; Global; Fast-moving Consumer Goods; Soap; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Care and Treatment; Environmental Sustainability; Global Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Health Industry; India