Publications

SSRN

29 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Whence IT Value?

During the past few years inventory turns among U.S. manufacturers have climbed steadily, and it appears as if productivity has improved nicely. One explanation for these happy trends is that the massive investments we've been making in... View Details

Keywords: by Andrew McAfee

18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

selection for treatment—now allow manufacturers to target smaller populations. Taken together, these changes raise doubts about whether the ODA encourages the development of products that otherwise would not have been brought to market—or... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

July–September 2012
Article

The (Un)Hidden Turmoil of Language in Global Collaboration

By: Tsedal Neeley, Pamela J. Hinds and Catherine D. Cramton

Companies are increasingly relying on a lingua franca, or common language (usually English), to facilitate cross-border collaboration. Despite the numerous benefits of a lingua franca, our research reveals myriad challenges that disrupt collaboration and contribute to... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Loss; Spoken Communication; Performance Productivity; Research; Global Range; Problems and Challenges; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

February 2008
Article

Blonde and Blue-eyed?: Globalizing Beauty, c.1945–c.1980

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article examines the globalization of the beauty industry between 1945 and 1980. The industry grew quickly. Firms employed marketing and marketing strategies to diffuse products and brands internationally, despite business, economic, and cultural obstacles to... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Markets and Industries; Product Marketing; Standards; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

Brian J. Hall is the Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He served as the Unit Head for the Negotiation, Organizations and Markets (NOM) Unit for 14 years. Previously, he was an assistant professor of economics in the... View Details

Keywords: consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products

14 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Pay Attention To Your ‘Extreme Consumers’

consumer, which gets rid of the noise in an effort to study the majority of customers, but also gets rid of people who are potentially leading the category," she says. “Often the lovers or haters of a product can be the canary in the coal... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

February 2011
Exercise

Carbon Trading Simulation: Green Cement Inc.

By: Peter A. Coles

This simulation presents students the opportunity to experience firsthand the economics of carbon markets and permit trading. Each student has private role information about a company he or she manages. The student must make decisions about pollution-reducing... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Investment; Markets; Agreements and Arrangements; Production; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants

Research Summary

Technology Adoption

How large are cross-country differences in technology adoption? How important are they to explain the large observed cross-country differences in per capita income? What factors accelerate of slowdown the adoption of technology? What factors affect the shape of the... View Details

April 2020
Supplement

Oaktree: Pierre Foods Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina and Terrence Shu

This case is a setting to discuss “loan to own” investment strategy that is often pursued by distressed investors. The aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis left many companies with poor liquidity and limited ability to obtain credit. One of these companies was Pierre... View Details

Keywords: Distress Investing; Investment; Debt Securities; Strategy; Restructuring

07 Dec 2015
HBS Seminar

Antonio Moreno-Garcia, Assistant Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Jumia's Path to Profitability

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in September 2019 as Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, co-founders and co-CEOs of Jumia, the leading Pan-African e-commerce platform, are contemplating the company’s path to profitability in the aftermath of a fragile investor sentiment, as the company... View Details

December 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

i2 Technologies, Inc.

By: Ananth Raman and Jasjit Singh

Describes the emergence and growth of i2 Technologies and the supply chain planning software industry. In December 1998, i2's market capitalization was in excess of $2 billion; the supply chain planning software industry had annual sales of approximately $1 billion and... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Applications and Software; Supply Chain Management; Production; Forecasting and Prediction; Information Technology Industry

November 1998 (Revised November 2001)
Case

BMW AG: The Digital Car Project (A)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes how the German automotive firm BMW is trying to reduce its development time by half with the aid of computer-aided technologies. To leverage these technologies fully in the very competitive automotive industry, BMW is faced with the challenge of changing its... View Details

Keywords: Change; Competency and Skills; Management; Time Management; Product Positioning; Product Development; Business Processes; Performance; Problems and Challenges; Technology; Auto Industry

November 2017 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Summa Equity: Building Purpose-Driven Organizations

By: George Serafeim

In 2015, Reynir Indahl left top Nordic private equity firm Altor Equity Partners to found Summa Equity (Summa). After long contemplation following the financial crisis, Indahl was convinced the financial system was producing negative externalities and that the current... View Details

July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

SIG Beverages (A)

SIG Beverages, a leading supplier of bottling and packaging systems for the beverage industry, has recognized an opportunity in providing services for its product end users. Management's challenge is to develop a service portfolio to address end users' needs, while... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Production; Service Delivery; Manufacturing Industry; Italy

Web

Food & Agriculture - Business & Environment

investment of $57 billion. [31] 2019 Global Agricultural Emissions Innovation Several types of innovations can reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions and facilitate its adaptation to climate change. Production innovations such as... View Details

2007
Working Paper

Retail Market Structure and Dynamics: A Three Country Comparison of Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.

By: Jonathan Haskel, Ron S. Jarmin, Kazuyuki Motohashi and Raffaella Sadun

This paper compares structure and dynamics of the Retail Trade Sectors in Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. This is done using confidential establishment and firm level data for each country. By using micro data we are able to perform much more detailed comparisons than... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Market Entry and Exit; Jobs and Positions; Size; Performance Productivity; Japan; United Kingdom; United States

July 2012
Article

The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love

By: Michael I. Norton, Daniel Mochon and Dan Ariely

In four studies in which consumers assembled IKEA boxes, folded origami, and built sets of Legos, we demonstrate and investigate boundary conditions for the IKEA effect—the increase in valuation of self-made products. Participants saw their amateurish creations as... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Product; Valuation; Labor

August 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Background Note

Comments on the Second Toyota Paradox: With appendix on modularity for managing complex-systems design

Two groups of people start out with the same task, equipped with the same resources and the same initial conditions. One, however, consistently beats the other. What are the differences between what the two groups are doing, and what can we adopt from the better... View Details

Keywords: Management; Product Design; Auto Industry; Japan