Publications

March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Supplement

Arck Systems (E)

By: Ian Larkin

The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Framework; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Design; Performance Evaluation; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software

01 Mar 2017
Research & Ideas

A Good Thing Happens When Doctors Start Talking to Their Patients

performing costly medical procedures. And that’s a problem, argues Senior Fellow Robert S. Kaplan, the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. “It becomes... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

November 2008 (Revised January 2009)
Case

The Restructuring of Daiei

By: Richard S. Ruback

In 2004, the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan (IRCJ) was given the task of restructuring Daiei, one of the largest Japanese retailers and the country's most prominent zombie companies. The IRCJ was a government-sponsored organization that was funded with... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Performance Effectiveness; Retail Industry; Japan

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16 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 16

Publications December 2014 Management Science When Performance Trumps Gender Bias: Joint Versus Separate Evaluation By: Bohnet, Iris, Alexandra van Geen, and Max Bazerman Abstract—We examine a new... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2010
Case

Oral Rehydration Therapy

By: Nava Ashraf and Claire Qureshi

This case highlights the puzzlingly high rate of diarrhea-related child mortality in developing countries despite the existence of a simple, effective treatment: oral rehydration therapy (ORT). ORT treated extreme dehydration caused by diarrhea, which was a leading... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Innovation Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Developing Countries and Economies; Technological Innovation; Distribution Channels; Emerging Markets; Consumer Behavior; Performance Consistency; Performance Evaluation; Health Industry; Africa; Asia

04 Sep 2019
News

Advanced Statistics Are the New Foam Fingers

The Quantified Athlete “Athletes will always look to improve their performance and stay injury-free with technology. But the sports media industry is also starting to explore how to incorporate athlete data into their broadcasts. And as... View Details

March 1997 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Alden Products, Inc.--European Manufacturing

By: Robert H. Hayes

The European organization of Alden Products, Inc. is contemplating a doubling of unit sales over the next ten years. Their largest plant, located in Holland, was set up 25 years earlier to supply all demands of the EEC countries on the continent. It has since expanded... View Details

Keywords: Production; Growth Management; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Strategic Planning; Performance Capacity; Business Strategy; Netherlands; Europe

01 Sep 2011
News

Entrepreneur Named Director of Harvard i-lab

marketing and sales experience with Fortune 500, midsized, and start-up companies, Jones also has a background in education, having taught marketing as an adjunct lecturer at Bentley University outside Boston. Most recently, he worked with MBA Admissions in View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

01 Jun 2012
News

Noted & Quoted

“Trust your instincts 98 percent, your observations 50 percent, and your conclusions 25 percent.” —Zynga founder & CEO Mark Pincus (MBA 1993), discussing the entrepreneur’s need to balance data analysis and observation when evaluating... View Details

27 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Family CEOs Spend Less Time at Work

the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School who studies the curious relationship between managerial incentives and motivation. “Family CEOs are a very interesting group” "Family CEOs are a very interesting group," says Sadun, coauthor of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

February 1991
Case

Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (A)

By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan

Burlington Northern's decision whether to invest in ARES, an automated train control system, is a ($350 million) strategic investment in information technology. Although set in a service industry (railroad) the issues around this decision arise in many organizations... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Rail Transportation; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Performance Effectiveness; Cost vs Benefits; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Customers; Quality; Rail Industry

03 Nov 2003
What Do You Think?

Can Investors Have Too Much Accounting Transparency?

it, "We cannot look at investor losses as the only benchmark to evaluate the costs of Sarbanes-Oxley. One must also consider the cost of capital if confidence in the markets does not return…Unfortunately, you cannot legislate... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Jun 2006
News

Faculty Books

Questions of Character by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. (HBS Press) Professor Badaracco argues that serious fiction provides us with memorable characters facing challenges similar to those that confront business leaders. Through analysis of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

May 2008 (Revised September 2014)
Teaching Note

TD Canada Trust (A), (B), and (C)

By: Dennis Campbell

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Banks and Banking; Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Profit; Balanced Scorecard; Service Delivery; Announcements; Compensation and Benefits; Canada

December 2004
Article

Market Valuation and Merger Waves

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and S. Viswanathan

Does valuation affect mergers? Data suggest that periods of stock merger activity are correlated with high market valuations. The naïve explanation that overvalued bidders wish to use stock is incomplete because targets should not be eager to accept stock. However, we... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Market Transactions; Value; Cash; Stocks; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Bids and Bidding; Market Design; Stock Shares; Accounting Audits; Performance Evaluation

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February 2020
Case

Highfields Capital and McDonald's

By: Mark Egan and Robin Greenwood

McDonald’s reported its fifth consecutive quarter of declining same-store sales growth in early 2015. Despite McDonald’s recent poor performance, Jonathon S. Jacobson, the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Boston-based Highfields Capital Management, had initiated... View Details

Keywords: McDonald's; Stocks; Performance Improvement; Operations; Finance; Restructuring; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry

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

Keywords: Business Ventures; Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Productivity; Retail Industry; United Kingdom