Publications

March 2020
Article

Synergistic Value in Vertically Integrated Power-to-Gas Energy Systems

By: Gunther Glenk and Stefan Reichelstein

In vertically integrated energy systems, integration frequently entails operational gains that must be traded off against the requisite cost of capacity investments. In the context of the model analyzed in this study, the operational gains are subject to inherent... View Details

May 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

TransDigm's Acquisition and Integration of Arkwin Industries

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

In May 2013, TransDigm, a company that manufactured a wide range of highly engineered aerospace parts for both military and civilian aircraft, announced it was buying Arkwin Industries for $286 million in cash (3 times Arkwin’s sales of $91 million). Having acquired... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Value Creation; Strategy; Acquisition; Integration; Talent and Talent Management; Aerospace Industry

29 May 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is the “Service Sector Effect” on Productivity?

concerning the accounting and payment for work and failure to provide healthcare. All of this raises a number of questions. In the cost-driven U.S. service economy, are benefits to workers being sacrificed in the name of lower-cost... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service

2014
Working Paper

Dodging the Taxman: Firm Misreporting and Limits to Tax Enforcement

By: Paul Carrillo, Dina Pomeranz and Monica Singhal

Reducing tax evasion is a key priority for many governments, particularly in developing countries. A growing literature has argued that the ability to verify taxpayer self-reports against reports from third parties is critical for modern tax enforcement and the growth... View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance; Taxation; Ecuador

January 2001
Background Note

Online Brokers

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alastair Brown

Describes online brokers, companies that use the Internet to help clients identify prospective trading partners and sometimes help their clients complete transactions. First, summarizes the various ways that online brokers create value for their clients. Then analyzes... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Web Services Industry

March 2020
Article

Voluntary, Self-Regulatory, and Mandatory Disclosure of Oil and Gas Company Payments to Foreign Governments

By: Paul M. Healy and George Serafeim

Concerns about high rates of government corruption in resource-rich countries have led transparency advocates to urge oil and gas firms to disclose payments to host governments for natural resources. Transparency, they argue, can increase government accountability and... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Corruption; Transparency; Self-regulation; Industry Self-regulation; Regulation; Disclosure; Disclosure Regulation; Energy Sources; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy Industry

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2017
Report

Room to Grow: Identifying New Frontiers for Apprenticeships

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Matthew Sigelman

In the United States, apprentices are employed in just 27 occupations, mostly in skilled, physical trades. An analysis of job postings data shows that extending apprenticeships to more occupations provides an opportunity to expand employment and close the middle skills... View Details

Keywords: Employment; Training; Competency and Skills; Personal Development and Career; United States

November 2011
Case

Comfort Class Transport: Does Customer Service Need an Overhaul?

By: Michael J Roberts and Paul E. Morrison

The general manager of a chauffeured limousine transport company is concerned about underperformance at the company's customer service call center. The eight-person call center handles almost all customer interaction including discussing company services with... View Details

Keywords: Capacity Utilization; Supply ＆ Demand; Operations Management; Customer Service; Management; Demand and Consumers; Service Operations; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Performance Capacity; Customer Satisfaction; Transportation Industry

February 2002 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Roundabout Theatre Company, The (A)

Todd Haimes is the artistic director of the Roundabout, a nonprofit theatre. He must decide if he is willing to accept a large sponsorship from American Airlines and, in doing so, allow the airline to the name the Roundabout's new Broadway theatre. In making this... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Decision Making; Financing and Loans; Theater Entertainment; Fine Arts Industry

2017
Working Paper

Inventory Management for Mobile Money Agents in the Developing World

By: Karthik Balasubramanian, David F. Drake and Douglas Fearing

Mobile money systems, platforms built and managed by mobile network operators to allow money to be stored as digital currency, have burgeoned in the developing world as a mechanism to transfer money electronically. Mobile money agents exchange cash for electronic value... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Mobile Technology; Market Platforms; Developing Countries and Economies

2016
Working Paper

Infrastructure, Incentives and Institutions

By: Nava Ashraf, Edward L. Glaeser and Giacomo A.M. Ponzetto

Cities generate negative, as well as positive, externalities; addressing those externalities requires both infrastructure and institutions. Providing clean water and removing refuse requires water and sewer pipes, but the urban poor are often unwilling to pay for the... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Urban Development; Organizations; City; Infrastructure; Zambia

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December 1991 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Eli Lilly and Co.: Manufacturing Process Technology Strategy--1991

By: Gary P. Pisano, Steven C. Wheelwright and Jonathan West

Outlines the evolution of Lilly's corporate manufacturing strategy over the past decade. The corporate vice president of manufacturing must decide on the next phase of Lilly's strategy for the early 1990s, as well as to what extent and what role process development... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Structures; Product Development; Production; Research and Development; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

03 Mar 2014
HBS Case

Decommoditizing the Canned Tomato

sales growing from 11 million in 1995 to 185 million in 2011. And it offers important insights on supply chain management, innovation, and risk-taking. But it also provides lessons to anyone selling a commodity—after all is said and done... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Food & Beverage; Retail

2010
Working Paper

The Unbundling of Advertising Agency Services: An Economic Analysis

By: Mohammad Arzaghi, Ernst R. Berndt, James C. Davis and Alvin J. Silk

We address a longstanding puzzle surrounding the unbundling of services occurring over several decades in the U.S. advertising agency industry: What accounts for the shift from bundling to unbundling of services and the slow pace of change? Using Evans and Salinger's... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost; Price; Analytics and Data Science; Surveys; Marketing Strategy; Media; Service Operations; Agency Theory; Mathematical Methods; Advertising Industry; United States

17 Oct 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Consequences of Voluntary and Mandatory Fair Value Accounting: Evidence Surrounding IFRS Adoption in the EU Real Estate Industry

Keywords: by Karl A. Muller III, Edward J. Riedl & Thorsten Sellhorn; Construction; Real Estate

17 Sep 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Input Constraints and the Efficiency of Entry: Lessons from Cardiac Surgery

Keywords: by David M. Cutler, Robert S. Huckman & Jonathan T. Kolstad; Health

2021
Working Paper

The Effects of Temporal Distance on Intra-Firm Communication: Evidence from Daylight Savings Time

By: Jasmina Chauvin, Prithwiraj Choudhury and Tommy Pan Fang

Cross-border communication costs have plummeted and enabled the global distribution of work, but frictions attributable to distance persist. We estimate the causal effects of temporal distance, i.e., time zone separation between employees, on intra-firm communication,... View Details

Keywords: Communication Patterns; Time Zones; Geographic Frictions; Knowledge Workers; Multinational Companies; Communication; Multinational Firms and Management; Geographic Location