Publications

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June 2003 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Pension Policy at The Boots Company PLC

By: Luis M. Viceira and Akiko M. Mitsui

In early 2000, the trustees of the pension scheme at Boots considered a proposal to move 100% of the pension assets into a bond portfolio, which would be passively managed. The Boots Co. PLC was a leading retailer of cosmetics and toiletries in the United Kingdom, and... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Employees; Asset Management; Capital Structure; Investment Portfolio; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom

2009
Chapter

On the Goals of Successful Family Companies

By: John A. Davis and Renato Tagiuri

Providing clear goals for a company and communicating them are among the most powerful means for guiding the behavior of the people in an organization. In this article, we explore the range of objectives or goals of family-owned and -managed companies and identify... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Interpersonal Communication; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership

Teaching Interest

Risk Management for Corporate Leaders

By: Robert Simons

As companies adapt to the aftershocks of the global recession, senior executives and boards are discovering that risk management has never been more important. The financial crisis revealed that risk management structures break down just when... View Details

December 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Background Note

The Business Development Manager

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Sarah Dillard, Katharine Nevins and Puja Ramani

Describes the role of business development (BD) managers in technology companies, detailing: 1) BD managers' key responsibilities at each step in the process of creating a partnership agreement; 2) how the nature of the BD function evolves as a technology startup... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Partnerships; High Technology Products; Information Technology; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Management Skills; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry

In this article, we present a new categorization of risk that allows executives to tell which risks can be managed through a rules-based model and which require alternative approaches. We examine the individual and organizational challenges inherent in generating open,... View Details

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

IT Links for Boundaryless Companies

'How will it change? How will it improve in the future?'" The role of IT in this model is essential, said Upton, but the primary managerial effort, which starts at the top of the company, is in managing the standards that you allow... View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss

13 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Public Companies Underinvest in the Future

managers to favor short-term profits over long-term gains. The research results suggest that managers of public companies are under much more pressure than their private-firm... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

02 Oct 2018
News

How Companies Can Tap Into Talent Clusters

January 2025
Article

Overcoming Barriers to Employee Ownership: Insights from Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

By: John Guzek and Ashley Whillans

This research investigates the limited adoption of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) among small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) in the U.S. Through interviews with 30 SMB owners across various industries, we identify the key barriers to ESOP adoption as lack of... View Details

Keywords: Profit Sharing; Employee Ownership; Management Practices and Processes; Compensation and Benefits; Small Business; Adoption; Employees

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October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Blethen Family and the Seattle Times Company (A), The

By: John A. Davis and Cathy Quinn

Frank Blethen, the fourth-generation publisher of The Seattle Times, ponders the challenges facing this family business. This case reviews the long history of this business and family and asks whether family ownership and management are in the interests of both the... View Details

Keywords: History; Management; Business or Company Management; Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Family Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

Research Summary

Managing Human Resources for Competitive Advantage

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

This stream of research is leading to a study of companies that are gaining competitive advantage through their ability to attract, recruit, develop, deploy, and retain superior human resources. The objective is to develop a more strategically-based and general... View Details

Capitalism at Risk: How Companies Can Lead

Q. Who should take the lead in fixing market capitalism? A. Business, not government alone. The spread of capitalism worldwide has made people wealthier than ever before. But capitalism's future is far from assured. Pandemics, income inequality, resource depletion,... View Details

December 2011
Case

Roger Caracappa: Package Deals for the Estée Lauder Companies

By: James K. Sebenius

Roger Caracappa must negotiate a cost-saving, innovative proposal from a potential French supplier that could displace the otherwise satisfactory, long-time incumbent supplier. Shortly after being promoted to executive vice president of the Estée Lauder Companies with... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain Management; Change; Innovation and Invention; Cost vs Benefits; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

isn’t necessary when looking for the right top executive; industry expertise often counts more. Many of these leaders have previous public-company management experience, and they deliver outsized returns for themselves and the PE-backed... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

18 May 2009
Other Presentation

Regional Competitiveness in a Global Economy: A Small Business Led Economic Strategy for America

By: Michael E. Porter

This presentation draws on ideas from Professor Porter's articles and books, in particular, The Competitive Advantage of Nations (The Free Press, 1990), "Building the Microeconomic Foundations of Competitiveness," in The Global Competitiveness Report 2007/08 (World... View Details

Keywords: Economics; United States

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November 1992 (Revised August 1994)
Case

McKinsey & Company (A): 1956

Professional service firms, in law, accounting, advertising, consulting, and so on are ubiquitous and relatively easy to start. Few firms, however, gain scale or permanence. This case explores the reasons behind McKinsey & Co.'s exceptional success in building a... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Organizations; Service Industry