Publications

22 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Control Your Inventory in a World of Lean Retailing

with high variance. (See the exhibit "A Better Way to Manage Inventory.") The first test shows a scenario in which a manufacturer is most concerned about keeping its big retail customers happy by maintaining very high order... View Details

Keywords: by Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond & David Weil; Consumer Products

November 2000
Background Note

Note on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and Phantom Stock Plans

By: Dwight B. Crane and Indra Reinbergs

Provides a brief overview of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and phantom stock plans for owners of closely held companies. ESOPs can be used as a tool of corporate financing, and can provide employees with ownership interests. Phantom stock plans can reward... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Motivation and Incentives; Management Teams; Corporate Governance; Ownership Stake; Taxation

September 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Hitachi Rail Limited (A)

By: David J. Collis, Akiko Kanno and Nobuo Sato

Hitachi must decide whether to make a British executive, who has successfully built its European rail business from scratch, head of its global rail division even though the bulk of revenues for the unit still come from Japan. The case describes the history of Hitachi... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Human Resources; Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Rail Industry; Japan

25 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

An Organization Your Customers Understand

If customers were unhappy, they reasoned, the product should be changed. Militant demands displaced an environment of mutual respect and shared learning. Needless to say, the practice of telling students they were customers was quickly stopped. View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

09 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Andy Grove: A Biographer’s Tale

life when he was a child was a life and death matter in the most literal sense. We're not talking about the life and death of a firm. We're talking about the physical survival of a human being and of his parents and of their extended... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Computer

April 2008
Supplement

Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (B)

By: Paul W. Marshall, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

In late November 2000, Chung Telecom Co., Ltd., the once-monopolized telecom operator owned by the Taiwanese government, was on its way to privatization. Mr. C.K. Mao, Chairman of the company, was headed the job only three months earlier, after its prior chairman... View Details

Keywords: State Ownership; Jobs and Positions; Monopoly; Privatization; Competition; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Labor and Management Relations; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Price; Status and Position; Telecommunications Industry; Public Administration Industry; Taiwan

Find at Harvard

September 1999 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Eggrock Partners, LLC (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus

Explores the challenges of choosing how to grow a professional services firm (PSF). Before developing a growth strategy, the partners need to agree on what business(es) the company should be in. Each of the three partners has differing views of what the company should... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Expansion; Business Processes; Industry Structures; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Partners and Partnerships; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

08 Dec 2015
First Look

December 8, 2015

Argentina and Chile over recent decades. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50182 forthcoming Management Science Creating Reciprocal Value Through Operational Transparency By: Buell, Ryan W., Tami Kim, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2010
Teaching Note

Acumen Fund: Measurement in Impact Investing (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

Teaching Note for 310011 and 310017. View Details

Keywords: Projects; For-Profit Firms; Networks; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Evaluation; Investment Portfolio; Asset Pricing; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Venture Capital; Investment Return; Poverty; Financial Services Industry; Kenya

February 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Lilium: Preparing for Takeoff

By: Navid Mojir, Vincent Dessain, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

Lilium is a German company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) that can be used to offer air taxi services. The company went public in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal, raising more than... View Details

28 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, February 28

success factors for managing business experiments at the “incubation moment,” which appear to improve the prospects of success. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52307 forthcoming Strategy Science... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

A Litmus Test for Entrepreneurs

unsuccessful ventures I've studied, many simply burned up their capital by trying to expand too soon. Entrepreneurs should be greedy, but they need to be patient as well. Are You A Closer? Successful entrepreneurs know how to seal deals.... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

03 Mar 2010
What Do You Think?

To What Degree Does “Identity” Affect Economic Performance?

people, society and government is required." David Cawlfield, citing his experiences in what he believes is a high-identity organization, credits this to "Consistent discussion and communication of 'corporate values' (that) help our View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

25 Jul 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: July 25, 2017

three factors that predict neighborhood improvement. First, neighborhoods that are densely populated by college-educated adults are more likely to experience physical improvements—an observation that is compatible with the economic literature linking View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

Rebuilding Commercial Real Estate

Slaughter, managing director and head of North American real estate investment banking for Morgan Stanley. Some refer to the post-crash era as a paradigm shift for commercial real estate. Others call it a sea change. Whatever the choice... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Construction; Real Estate

November 2016 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Deutsche Bank: Structured Retail Products

By: Boris Vallée and Jérôme Lenhardt

Describes how Deutsche Bank, a leading European bank, is deciding whether or not to launch a new structured retail product in Germany: an autocallable note. Will this product find a market and how does it fit into the bank’s product portfolio? The case investigates how... View Details

13 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

Can AI Save Physicians from Burnout?

than putting them at odds, allowing AI to be used for the greater good. Many health care organizations are starting to use AI AI, which encompasses machines and software capable of reproducing human behavior in solving complex problems,... View Details

Keywords: by Susanna Gallani, Lidia Moura, and Katie Sonnefeldt; Health

March 2000
Background Note

Transfer Pricing

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Discusses use of market prices, negotiated prices, variable costs, dual rate, and full costs for transfer prices. View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Cost Accounting; Price; Price Bubble; Negotiation; Cost Management; Cost of Capital; Financial Markets; Strategic Planning; Accounting Industry

October 2020 (Revised November 2023)
Case

COVID-19 Testing at Everlywell

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

In March 2020, as COVID-19 spreads rapidly across the U.S., Everlywell founder Julia Cheek considers how to respond as a small start-up specializing in at-home lab testing. After making dramatic budget cuts, she decides to pivot the organization to address the... View Details