Publications

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18 Oct 2012
Other Presentation

Two Decades of Research on Competitiveness and Clusters: A Conversation with Michael Porter

By: Michael E. Porter

Michael Porter at the TCI Conference 2012 View Details

Keywords: Economics; United States

10 Oct 2003
Other Presentation

Massachusetts Regional Competitiveness Councils: Survey Results for Berkshire, Pioneer Valley, and Central Regions

By: Michael E. Porter

Keywords: Economics; Growth and Development

2011
Report

State of the Region Report 2011: The Top of Europe's Quest for Resilience--A Competitive Region Facing a Fragile Global Economy

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The State of the Region Reports provide an annual discussion of competitiveness and collaboration across the Baltic Sea Region, covering the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries, Northern Germany, Northern Poland, and Northwestern Russia. The 2011 edition, the 8th in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Cooperation; Baltic Countries

Article

What It Takes to Reshore Manufacturing Successfully

By: Willy C. Shih

The data on comparative labor and energy costs may seem compelling, but the process of bringing assembly work back to domestic factories from abroad is substantially more challenging than the economics alone would predict. This paper looks at some of the issues firms... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Manufacturing Costs; Manufacturing Strategy; U.S. Competitiveness; Competitiveness; Labor Force Participation; Labor Management; Trade; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China

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Article

Handshaking Promotes Deal-Making by Signaling Cooperative Intent

By: Juliana Schroeder, Jane L. Risen, Francesca Gino and Michael I. Norton

We examine how a simple handshake—a gesture that often occurs at the outset of social interactions—can influence deal-making. Because handshakes are social rituals, they are imbued with meaning beyond their physical features. We propose that during mixed-motive... View Details

Keywords: Handshake; Cooperation; Affiliation; Competition; Negotiation; Nonverbal Communication; Negotiation Participants; Behavior; Communication Intention and Meaning; Negotiation Deal

January 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

CrossBoundary Energy

By: John Macomber

Almost 500 million people are without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and public utilities are challenged to bring generation and distribution to most of them. Considerable promise exists in “off-grid” or “mini-grid” technologies, notably using renewable... View Details

Keywords: Energy Investing; Economic Development; Renewable Energy; Business Growth and Maturation; Developing Countries and Economies; Project Finance; Emerging Markets; Industry Structures; Infrastructure; Segmentation; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Africa; Tanzania; Ghana

April 2012 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Capitalizing for the Future: HSBC in 2010

By: Anette Mikes and Dominique Hamel

Following the financial crisis of 2007/2008, HSBC CEO Michael Geoghegan saw a fundamental change in global opportunities and risks. With increasing regulation and fierce competition between banks, the Western hemisphere was going to be a tougher place to do business.... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Competitive Strategy; Control Systems; Finance; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Emerging Markets; Risk Management; Business Strategy; Banking Industry

August 2013 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Tesla Motors

By: Eric Van den Steen

In mid-2013, Tesla Motors was riding a wave of success: It had launched its first really mass-produced car—the model S—to rave reviews; had recently raised first-year production targets; and had started taking orders for its next car, the Model X. Tesla seemed to be on... View Details

Keywords: Barriers To Entry; Economic Analysis; Learning Curve; Economies Of Scale; Innovation; Market Entry; Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Vision; Strategy And Leadership; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Advantage; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Learning; Economics; Analysis; Auto Industry

Research Summary

Overview

Professor MacKay combines theory and measurement to deliver new insights about price competition and consumer preferences. In current and published papers, his research addresses how strategic pricing decisions may be influenced by algorithms, long-term contracts,... View Details

Keywords: Price Effects; Competition Policy; Algorithms; Online Competition; Dynamic Pricing; Beliefs; Preferences; Preference Heterogeneity; Preference Measurement; Competition; Microeconomics; Strategy; Integration; Cooperation

2022
Article

Dynamic Pricing Algorithms, Consumer Harm, and Regulatory Response

By: Alexander MacKay and Samuel N. Weinstein

Pricing algorithms are rapidly transforming markets, from ride-sharing apps, to air travel, to online retail. Regulators and scholars have watched this development with a wary eye. Their focus so far has been on the potential for pricing algorithms to facilitate... View Details

Keywords: Competition Policy; Regulation; Algorithmic Pricing; Dynamic Pricing; Economics; Law And Economics; Law And Regulation; Consumer Protection; Antitrust Law; Industrial Organization; Antitrust Issues And Policies; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Competition; Policy; Price; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Microeconomics; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Law

SSRN

February 2020 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Australia: Commodities, Competitiveness, Climate and China

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Laura Alfaro

For the past few decades, Australia has dealt with the benefits and costs of repeated mining booms—inflation, a housing bubble, a current account deficit, and growing dependence on China. Between 1996 and 2007, however, Australia had most of these issues under control... View Details

Keywords: Commodities; Competitiveness; Carbon Tax; Environment; Capital Flows; Current Account; Mining; Economy; Problems and Challenges; Climate Change; Taxation; Competition; Financial Condition; Government and Politics; Inflation and Deflation; Environmental Sustainability; Australia

2015
Report

Clusters and Regional Economies: Implications for the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Region

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Region, covering eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces located around the lakes and waterways that have given this region its name, is what economic developers call a 'macro region'. It is an area of intensive economic interaction... View Details

Keywords: Clusters; Regional Policy; Great Lakes; Economic Development; Industry Clusters; Economy; Canada; United States

Article

Large Banks and Small Firm Lending

By: Vitaly Bord, Victoria Ivashina and Ryan D. Taliaferro

We examine the long-lasting effects of the 2007 real estate price collapse on small business credit supply. Banks affected by the decline in real estate prices systematically contracted their credit to small firms. At the same time, regional and local banks, many of... View Details

Keywords: Small Firms; Credit Supply; Banking Competition; Small Business; Credit; Financial Crisis; Banks and Banking; Competition

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March 2013
Case

Currency Wars

By: Laura Alfaro and Hilary White

In February 2013, the G-20 finance ministers met in Moscow, Russia to discuss the rising anxieties over a potential international currency war. It was speculated that certain countries were purposely devaluing their currencies in order to improve their competitiveness... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Competitiveness; Trade Policy; Devaluation; Exchange Rate; Monetary Policy; Quantitative Easing; Inflation Targeting; Capital Flows; Central Banking; Currency Exchange Rate; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Policy; Trade; Conflict and Resolution; Banking Industry; Public Administration Industry; Moscow

September 2012 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Inkaterra

By: Diego Comin, Rohan Gopaldas and Diego Rehder

The case presents the unique business model of Inkaterra, a leading eco-tourism organization in Peru, and the different strategies the company can pursue to grow. Through the experience of Inkaterra the case studies two general issues. First, it discusses the potential... View Details

Keywords: Inkaterra; Ecotourism; Tourism; Environment; Peru; Informal Sector; Regulation; Economic Development; Bottom Of The Pyramid; Technology Diffusion; Competitiveness; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Natural Environment; Market Entry and Exit; Conflict Management; Tourism Industry; Peru

May 2011
Article

Underdog Branding: Why Underdogs Win in Recessions

By: Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Jill Avery

Underdog stories about overcoming great odds through passion and determination are particularly resonant during difficult times as they inspire us and give us hope when the outlook we face is bleak. They promise that success is still possible, a much needed message in... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brand Building; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Brands and Branding; Economics; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Advertising Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Fashion Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2023
Teaching Note

India: Will the Giant Emerge?

By: Christian Ketels

This teaching note outlines a plan for conducting a discussion of the case "India: Will the Giant Emrge?". The case provides information on the Indian economy, a key driver of future global growth,. It discusses how India's challenges in defining an effective... View Details

Keywords: Indian Economy; Development; Policy Making; Competitiveness; Policy; Growth and Development; Economic Growth; Government Administration; India

October 2017
Article

American Danger: United States Empire, Eurafrica, and the Territorialization of Industrial Capitalism, 1870–1950

By: Sven Beckert

During the last third of the nineteenth century, a debate emerged in a number of European countries on the “American danger.” Responding to the rapid rise of the United States as the world’s most important economy, some European observers feared their nations’... View Details

Keywords: Atlantropa; Colonial Expansion; Economic Nationalism; Second Great Divergence; Economics; Global Range; History; United States; Europe; Africa

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