Publications

May 2024
Case

Naked Wines: The Profit vs. Growth Decision

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

Nick Devlin faced a difficult strategic decision in October 2022. As the CEO of a UK-based subscription business connecting wine drinkers in the US, UK, and Australia with winemakers from around the world (which one journalist called the “Netflix of Wine”), he had to... View Details

16 Jun 2016
News

How Shareholders Jumped to First in Line for Profits

January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

BlackRock: Linking Purpose to Profit

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Aiyesha Dey and George Serafeim

The case revolves around the actions that Barbara Novick, co-founder and Vice-Chair of Blackrock, and Michelle Edkins, Global Head of Investment Stewardship, would need to take in response to the controversial CEO letters from Laurence (Larry) Fink, Chairman and CEO of... View Details

March 2000
Case

Merloni Elettrodomestici spa: Building for Profit

By: Joseph L. Bower, Bruce McKern and John L. Naman

In 1995, the Merloni management is faced with profitless prosperity. A rise in raw material prices in the face of ferocious competition in their markets hurts margins. At the same time, the company is trying to expand geographically in order to become Pan-European and... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Profit; Management; Problems and Challenges; Markets; Europe

07 Jun 2009
News

Tax Break for Profits Went Awry

October 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 6: Evaluating Strategic Profit Performance

By: Robert Simons

This module reading demonstrates how to calculate and analyze the profit generated by different business strategies. Formulas and examples are provided to calculate profit generated by changes in market share, revenue growth, efficiency improvements, and support costs.... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Evaluating Business Performance; Profitability Analysis; Variance Analysis; Measuring Effectiveness; Measuring Efficiency; Activity-Based Costing; Flexible Budget; Accounting; Strategy

06 May 2002
Research & Ideas

Profits for Nonprofits: Earning Your Own Way

self-sufficient while not being self-sufficient ourselves?— Alfred Wise,Share Our Strength The session, led by HBS professor James E. Austin, featured three managers whose experiences highlight the challenges and benefits of thinking... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

08 Nov 2011
News

Capitalism 2.0: Corporate Social Responsibility Is Not the Enemy of Profits

02 Jan 2019
News

Not Waiting for Progress

then—after leaving the Capital Group—as the Council’s COO, from 2012 to 2017, Diamond deepened his involvement in opening access to “places where people of color have not been part of the leadership structure.” As head of ELC’s Institute... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

August 2018
Case

Cannabis: Growing Profits for Real Estate

By: Charles F. Wu, Teddy Blank, Chris Grenga, Carlotta Weller and Curtis Wu

Keywords: Real Estate; Marijuana

12 Jan 2011
News

To Groupon or Not To Groupon: New Research on Voucher Profitability

October 2016 (Revised February 2019)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 5: Building a Profit Plan

By: Robert Simons

This module reading describes how to build a profit plan to reflect the strategy of a business in economic terms. After introducing the profit wheel, cash wheel, and ROE wheel, the module illustrates how to use a profit plan to assess the viability of different... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Profit Planning; Cash Flow Analysis; Asset Utilization; Return On Equity; Business Planning; Testing Strategy; Analyzing Strategic Alternative; Strategy; Asset Management; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Management Systems; Profit

April 2000
Teaching Note

Merloni Elettrodomestici spa: Building for Profit TN

By: Joseph L. Bower

Teaching Note for (9-300-118). A rewritten version of an earlier teaching note. View Details

Keywords: Europe

September–October 1987
Article

Manage Customers for Profits (Not Just Sales)

By: Benson P. Shapiro, V. K. Rangan, Rowland T. Moriarty and Elliot Ross

Keywords: Customers; Profit; Management; Sales

Find at Harvard

1999
Article

Managing Advertising and Promotion for Long-Run Profitability

By: Kamel Jedidi, Carl F. Mela and Sunil Gupta

Keywords: Management; Advertising; Profit

Find at Harvard

May 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Sovereign Wealth Funds: For Profits or Politics?

By: Laura Alfaro and Renee Kim

On March 21, 2008, the U.S. government secured an agreement from two leading sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to adopt a new set of investment principles to govern the Funds' activities. SWFs, broadly defined as an investment fund owned by a national or a government, were... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Sovereign Finance; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; International Relations; State Ownership; United States

22 Mar 2021
News

Pressed for time? You’re not alone.

Personal Relationships and Enforcement of Management Controls: An Analysis of Punishments for Perpetrators of Economic Crimes

To explore how companies enforce management control systems, we examine whether social relationships influence the severity and consistency of punishments for main perpetrators of corporate economic crimes. We find wide variation in rates of dismissal and... View Details

March 1987 (Revised April 1987)
Background Note

Specialties vs. Commodities: The Battle for Profit Margins

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Explains the differences between commodities and specialties and defines four different types of specialty products. The analysis is customer oriented. Special attention is given to the distinctions between functions (product- ) and relationship (vendor-oriented)... View Details

Keywords: Goods and Commodities