Publications

April 2019
Article

Score Blending: How Scale Response Grouping Biases Perceived Standing

By: Ryan Hauser and Norbert Schwarz

Numerical values—from test scores to credit scores—inform us of our relative standing and can shape our decisions. The values are usually presented in a continuous format (which places scores on a single line) or a grouped format (which separates scores into several... View Details

Keywords: Decision-making; Scale; Decision Making; Perception

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2015
Working Paper

Bottlenecks, Modules and Dynamic Architectural Capabilities

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

How do firms create and capture value in large technical systems? In this paper, I argue that the points of both value creation and value capture are the system's bottlenecks. Bottlenecks arise first as important technical problems to be solved. Once the problem is... View Details

Keywords: Architecture; Architectural Knowledge; Dynamic Capabilities; Bottleneck; Modularity; Organization Design; Organization Boundaries; Property Rights; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure

SSRN

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Kristin Mugford is the Melvin Tukman Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Finance Unit at the Harvard Business School and the Senior Associate Dean for Culture and Community. She previously served as Faculty Chair for field-based learning and... View Details

2012
Other Unpublished Work

Towards Efficiencies in Canadian Internet Traffic Exchange

By: Benjamin Edelman and Bill Woodcock

Canadian Internet access is heavily and unnecessarily dependent upon foreign infrastructure, especially U.S. infrastructure. This dependence imposes significant burdens upon Canadian Internet users:

* Service prices are higher than would be the case if... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Canada; Privacy; Technology Networks; Rights; Communication Technology; Internet; Ethics; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

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May 2008 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Palm (A): The Debate on Licensing Palm's OS (1997)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Kevin Boudreau and Jordan Mitchell

This case series looks at three important inflection points in Palm's history that relate to decisions about its platform: when the company was debating whether to open its operating system (OS) for licensing to third-party hardware manufacturers; 2001, when the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Debates; Decisions; Innovation and Invention; Product Launch; Production; Competition; Value Creation; Information Technology Industry

October 2011
Case

Strategy and Governance at Yahoo! Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan, David Lane and Ian McKown Cornell

Yahoo! faces a number of governance and strategic challenges in late 2011 as it tries to compete with rivals such as Google and find ways to monetize its shareholding and business links with Alibaba Group in China and Yahoo! Japan. The company is now valued at almost... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Corporate Governance; Web Services Industry

Research Summary

Overview

Paul is primarily interested in studying explainable machine learning (ML), digital transformation, and data science operations. He works on research that explores how stakeholders within organizations can use machine learning to make better decisions. In particular,... View Details

24 Jan 2024
Op-Ed

Why Boeing’s Problems with the 737 MAX Began More Than 25 Years Ago

the name of shareholder value over the past two decades have cost its investors $87 billion since 2018. The long-term damage to Boeing’s reputation and market position is even greater as Airbus has outsold... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Air Transportation; Transportation; Aerospace

July 2009 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Alacra, Inc.

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Aldo Sesia

In 2009, the CEO of Alacra, a venture-backed information services firm that provides customized data primarily to financial services firms, must decide how to respond to the global economic crisis. View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Information Industry

August 2000 (Revised January 2001)
Background Note

Asset Reporting

By: Paul M. Healy and Preeti Choudhary

Using historical cost and conservatism to identify and value assets, this case explains the criteria for asset reporting in straightforward situations and then examines scenarios where implementing the criteria for recognition and valuation of assets is conceptually... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Assets; Problems and Challenges; Accounting Industry

Research Summary

Overview

By: Nien-he Hsieh

Professor Hsieh’s research concerns ethical issues in business and the responsibilities of global business leaders. His work centers on the question of whether and how managers ought to be guided not only by considerations of economic efficiency, but also by values... View Details

January 2021
Case

Saham Group: It's In the Genes

By: Christina R. Wing and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in August 2020 as Moulay Mhamed Elalamy (Mhamed), CEO of the Saham Group (the Group), a pan-African investment company that operates a variety of businesses out of Morocco, contemplates the Group’s identity, its investment strategy, and how to navigate... View Details

Keywords: Family and Family Relationships; Family Business; For-Profit Firms; Transformation; Transition; Emerging Markets; Change Management; Private Equity; Investment; Strategy; Insurance Industry; Real Estate Industry; Education Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Morocco; Africa

November 1997 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Woodmere Properties, Inc.

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

In 1996, Woodmere Properties, a REIT owning 198 office and industrial properties in the southeast, is about to acquire Lanier Realty Trust. Nina Zanger, a potential investor in Woodmere, attempts to analyze the stock value of Woodmere both with and without the... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Size; Acquisition; Real Estate Industry; United States

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Research Summary

Sustainable Operations

Professor Lee studies how operational synergies between different supply chains can be used to create economic value and improve environmental sustainability. She uses an operational lens to approach sustainability problems, focusing on the management of material flow... View Details

Keywords: Environment; Environmental Operations; Sustainability; Operations Management; Operational Disruptions; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Food Security

Shawn A. Cole

Shawn Cole is the John G. McLean Professor in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches and conducts research on financial services, impact investing, and Social Enterprise. He serves as faculty chair of the Social Enterprise... View Details

Keywords: banking; financial services; microfinance

November 1999
Case

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (A)

By: Andre F. Perold

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (LTCM) was in the business of engaging in trading strategies to exploit market pricing discrepancies. Because the firm employed strategies designed to make money over long horizons--from six months to two years or more--it adopted a... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Management; Risk Management; Marketing; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry

November 2012
Technical Note

OpCo / PropCo Valuation

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Lisa Strope and John C. Hettinger

This technical note describes the "OpCo/PropCo" process of valuing a real estate intensive business. The term "OpCo/PropCo" refers to a business arrangement in which a consolidated, real estate-intensive enterprise is split into two separate businesses: (1) A property... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Property; Valuation; Investment