Publications
Publications
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(3,283)
- Faculty Publications (796)
- June 2014 (Revised January 2017)
- Supplement
YAAS's Service Center (C)
By: Brian Hall and Sara del Nido
This case is about a compensation change at an automotive service company in the Middle East. The case allows investigation and analysis of many issues related to compensation design and human resource management, and even change management. The focus of the case is... View Details
- June 2014 (Revised January 2017)
- Case
YAAS's Service Center
By: Brian Hall and Sara del Nido
This case is about a compensation change at an automotive service company in the Middle East. The case allows investigation and analysis of many issues related to compensation design and human resource management, and even change management. The focus of the case is... View Details
- June 2014 (Revised October 2015)
- Case
Molycorp: Financing the Production of Rare Earth Minerals (A)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield
Molycorp, the western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth minerals, was in the middle of a $1 billion capital expenditure project in its effort to become a vertically integrated supplier of rare earth minerals, oxides, and metals. Yet it had just reported lower... View Details
Keywords: Convertible Debt; Uncertainty; Competition; Startup; China; Supply ＆ Demand; Growth; Rare Earth Minerals; Discounted Cash Flows; Mining; Payoff Diagrams; Option Pricing; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Financial Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Vertical Integration; Valuation; Metals and Minerals; Mining Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Canada; California
- Summer 2014
- Article
When Does a Platform Create Value by Limiting Choice?
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Hanna Halaburda
We present a theory for why it might be rational for a platform to limit the number of applications available on it. Our model is based on the observation that even if users prefer application variety, applications often also exhibit direct network effects. When there... View Details
Keywords: Platform Governance; Direct Network Effects; Indirect Network Effects; Complements; Tragedy Of The Commons; Equilibrium Selection; Coordination; Foresight; Strategy; Value Creation; Digital Platforms; Balance and Stability; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Applications and Software; Network Effects
- May 2014
- Article
How to Outsmart Activist Investors
By: Bill George and Jay W. Lorsch
We offer opinions on how management and corporate boards of directors can best manage investor relations with activist stockholders such as hedge funds who are demanding major changes within a corporation to improve stockholder return. Beverage industry firm PepsiCo is... View Details
Keywords: Investment Activism
- 2014
- Other Teaching and Training Material
Marketing Reading: Brand Positioning
By: Jill Avery and Sunil Gupta
This Reading addresses the principles of brand positioning and demonstrates how companies can strategically craft powerful, resonant, and unique brand positions to help products stand out amidst the cacophony of the marketplace. Strategic brand positioning provides... View Details
Keywords: Brand Positioning; Branding; Consumer Research; Defensive Strategies; Market Positioning; Marketing; Product Differentiation; Product Positioning; Strategic Positioning; Value Proposition; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding
- April 2014
- Supplement
Interview: Man Jit Singh at Sony Entertainment Television
By: Linda A. Hill and Allison J. Wigen
Contains excerpts from an interview with Man Jit Singh. Singh discusses the results of events covered in the case "Man Jit Singh at Sony Entertainment Television," including his decision to begin evaluating employees on values as well as performance.
This short... View Details
This short... View Details
- April 2014
- Supplement
Ingrid Johnson: Reflections on Leading Change
By: Michael Tushman
This case discusses the issue of leading change at the business banking division of Nedbank, a prominent South African bank, between 2005 and 2009. (This timeframe, beginning just 11 years after Apartheid's end, covers Ingrid Johnson's leadership of this division... View Details
- 2014
- Article
The Growth and Limits of Arbitrage: Evidence from Short Interest
By: Samuel G. Hanson and Adi Sunderam
We develop a novel methodology to infer the amount of capital allocated to quantitative equity arbitrage strategies. Using this methodology, which exploits time-variation in the cross section of short interest, we document that the amount of capital devoted to value... View Details
- March 2014
- Technical Note
Performance and Value Analysis
This note introduces the Performance and Value Analysis (PVA) framework, an integrated framework to analyze strategic performance (i.e., performance corrected for temporary and random effects). This framework (quantitatively) decomposes a firm's performance into 3... View Details
- March 2014
- Course Overview Note
Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage
This note gives an overview (for instructors) of the MBA elective course "Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage" (CSCA). The course gives students a deep dive on competitive advantage, on its relation to overall strategic performance (defined as performance... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
- Case
Showdown at Cracker Barrel
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Tim Gray
In the fall of 2011, activist investor, Sardar Biglari, has acquired nearly 10% ownership in the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. He believes that the board and senior management have failed and the company has underperformed relative to its peers. When he is denied a... View Details
Keywords: Boards; Activist Investors; Proxy Battles; Shareholder Activism; Peer Firm; Ratio Analysis; Financial Accounting; Financial Analysis; Board Of Directors; Boards Of Directors; Financial Intermediaries; Financial Analysts; CEO Turnover; New CEO; Peer Groups; Hedge Fund; Hedge Funds; Proxy Contest; Proxy Fight; Proxy Advisor; Proxy Battle; Financial Statement Analysis; Financial Strategy; Corporate Governance; Corporate Disclosure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Competition; Valuation; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
- January 2014 (Revised April 2025)
- Supplement
The PGA Tour (B)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath
In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised April 2025)
- Supplement
The PGA Tour (C)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath
In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised April 2025)
- Supplement
The PGA Tour (D)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath
In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised April 2025)
- Supplement
The PGA Tour (E)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath
In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised April 2025)
- Supplement
The PGA Tour (F)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath
In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details
- January 2014
- Case
In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma
By: Robert J. Dolan and Heather Beckham
Peak Sealing Technologies (PST), a manufacturer of premium carton sealing tapes, stresses technological innovation as the company's core value. But when a new regional competitor introduces a less expensive and inferior product, PST is faced with a decision that could... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised August 2017)
- Case
StepSmart Fitness
By: Robert J. Dolan, Benson P. Shapiro and Alisa Zalosh
StepSmart Fitness, a manufacturer of exercise equipment, is undergoing a sweeping reorganization. The new CEO has terminated the District Sales Director and Regional VP and promoted 30-year-old Benjamin Cooper to manage the underperforming New England district. A... View Details
- December 2013 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
The PGA Tour (A)
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Cole Magrath
In 1994, the PGA Tour (the "Tour"), the dominant incumbent professional golf circuit, had created tremendous value for its players. In the 1974 season, players competed for $8 million in prize money; by the 1994 season, the total prize purse had increased to $56... View Details