Publications

February 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Akshaya Patra: Impact at Scale

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

Akshaya Patra, an Indian NGO, had set an ambitious goal of serving 5 million free meals daily to India's schoolchildren. Founded in 2000, Akshaya Patra had thus far opened 25 high-capacity kitchens in 10 different States to provide a midday meal to nearly 1.65 million... View Details

Keywords: Scaling; Public-private Partnership; Operational Excellence; Nonprofit Scaling; Social Impact; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Performance Effectiveness; Nonprofit Organizations; India

Article

How Much (More) Should CEOs Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay

By: Sorapop Kiatpongsan and Michael I. Norton

Do people from different countries and different backgrounds have similar preferences for how much more the rich should earn than the poor? Using survey data from 40 countries (N = 55,238), we compare respondents' estimates of the wages of people in different... View Details

Keywords: Inequality; Justice; Wage; Cross-cultural; Wages; Equality and Inequality; Fairness; Income; Employees; Management Teams; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

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01 Mar 2004
What Do You Think?

Are Customer Loyalty Initiatives Worth the Investment?

Summing Up This month's column presented two views of the importance of customer loyalty management, one challenging its feasibility and long-term impact (Michael Treacy, Double Digit Growth) and one concluding that it is one of the most important drivers of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

23 Jan 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Sports: Lessons for Managers

“Sports is a metaphor for overcoming obstacles and achieving against great odds. Athletes, in times of difficulty, can be important role models.” -Bill Bradley, former pro basketball player and United States senator. When scholars discuss what makes a great business... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

December 2002
Other Article

The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy

By: Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer

When it comes to philanthropy, executives increasingly see themselves as caught between critics demanding ever higher levels of "corporate social responsibility" and investors applying pressure to maximize short-term profits. Increasingly, philanthropy is used as a... View Details

Keywords: Strategy

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31 May 2022
Cold Call Podcast

Corruption: New Insights for Fighting an Age-Old Business Problem

Keywords: Re: Tarun Khanna & Geoffrey G. Jones

02 Apr 2014
What Do You Think?

Has the Post-Capitalist Economy Finally Arrived?

to the fore are now promising to push it into the background. The competition that capitalism has fostered is bringing marginal costs of production down far lower than anticipated by economists, to near zero in sectors such as publishing,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service

18 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Penn State Lesson: Today’s Cover-Up was Yesterday’s Opportunity

them immediately? Many leaders strive for such a high degree of perfection that they are unwilling to admit mistakes. They feel tremendous external pressure to be perfect, but in reality they are far more successful when they are... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Education

June 2014 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Access Health CT: Marketing Affordable Care (A)

By: John A. Quelch and Michael Norris

At the close of open-enrollment in March of 2014, Kevin Counihan, CEO of Access Health CT, Connecticut's state health insurance exchange, stops to consider the success it has experienced so far and think about how to ensure its long-term sustainability. View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care Industry; Health Care Policy; Public Health Insurance Exchange; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Connecticut

02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Gear: Why Managers Don’t Act

common for most companies are the slow, incremental shifts that smart managers do see coming down the road. Why then aren't they better at shifting gears? According to Sull, most top managers are far sighted and methodical, active and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

28 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

Amazon, eBay and the Bidding Wars

Beware of competitors lying in the grass, says Harvard Business School professor Alvin E. Roth. His study of bidding practices on eBay suggest that those who wait until the last minute to bid—a practice called sniping—is an effective way to not only get what you want,... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Web Services; Technology

June 2004 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion

In 2003, Zara's CIO must decide whether to upgrade the retailer's IT infrastructure and capabilities. At the time of the case, the company relies on an out-of-date operating system for its store terminals and has no full-time network in place across stores. Despite... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Information Management; Infrastructure; Supply Chain Management; Information Technology; Retail Industry

12 Feb 2016
Op-Ed

The Real Jobs Tragedy in the US: We've Lost the Skills

domestic skills market is far more relevant to the future of American workers than potential job losses through expanded trade with other Pacific-rim nations. Signs of distress The long-term structural decline of American jobs began well... View Details

Keywords: by Joe Fuller and Matt Sigelman; Manufacturing; Electronics

February 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

MercadoLibre.com

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Joshua Bellin and James Robert Dillon

MercadoLibre.com, eBay's Latin-American partner, needed to decide how far it was going to follow eBay's practice of offering "free listing days" and discounted special-feature days. Was this type of promotion prudent, given MercadoLibre.com's customer base, revenue... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Auctions; Service Industry; Latin America