Publications

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27 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 27

2017 New York: Oxford University Press Profits and Sustainability: A History of Green Entrepreneurship By: Jones, G. Abstract—This book explores whether profits and environmental sustainability are... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Feb 2020
Research & Ideas

What We Learned from Reading Jeff Bezos’ Patents

time breaking through the corporate shields that Bezos has erected. (A former analyst recalled to us that on a trip to the company, she saw the World War II slogan “Loose Lips Sink Ships” on a bathroom wall.) So we wondered if there... View Details

Keywords: by Tricia Gregg and Boris Groysberg; Retail

25 Oct 2010
HBS Case

Tesco’s Stumble into the US Market

five-year plan to profitability that would come due in 2011. Q: The case ends with Tesco in the fourth year of its five-year plan, with largely disappointing results. We heard the news recently that Philip Clarke has authorized a new... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

15 Jul 2019
Book

Many Executives Are Afraid of Finance. Here's How They Can Gain Confidence

researches tax policy, international finance, and corporate finance. The book grew out of his efforts to make finance more accessible through executive education teaching and his online course Leading with Finance. His previous book, The... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

10 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

High Commitment, High Performance Management

value, though they all understand profit as an essential outcome. HCHP firms are able to show sustained performance because they achieve the following three paradoxical goals: Performance alignment: Managing with their head, leaders... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

08 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Seven Negotiation Lessons from Amazon's HQ Disaster in Queens

New York offered to entice Amazon. This quickly became an albatross: Why did Amazon, whose value briefly exceeded a trillion dollars, headed by the world’s wealthiest man, need such incentives? (It didn’t help that Amazon paid no federal taxes on its $11.2 billion... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius; Real Estate; Construction

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales. These results were in marked contrast... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

moving in favorable directions. McCool confirmed his belief in the strategy when he confidently told the employees to stay the course, to keep improving the performance driver measures on the scorecard. And his faith was soon confirmed: By the end of the year, Mobil... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

28 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 28

M. Perkins, and Mark Weick Publication: Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 24, no. 2 (spring 2012) Abstract Dow Chemical Company, which was founded in 1894, is now the second‐largest chemical company in the world. From the outset, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Dec 2022
Op-Ed

Employee Feedback: The Key to Retention During the Great Resignation

Can there be corporate democracy if employees can’t vote on the actions its companies take? Yes, and it’s needed now more than ever. The pandemic has brought much employee discontent and activism. Last January, for example, with one-third... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer

February 1999
Case

Volant Skis

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden

Volant brought innovation to the ski equipment industry in 1989 by developing a stainless steel ski. He claimed the skis could turn more easily, could hold an edge in icy conditions, and were more stable than aluminum or fiberglass skis. The company's "soft-flex"... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Quality; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation

May 2022
Case

Maestro Pizza: Coming in Hot!

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro Pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

January 2017 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Royal DSM: From Continuous Transformation to Organic Growth

By: William W. George, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Amram Migdal

Royal DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma was pondering the challenges of shifting DSM’s global organization from the constant transformations of the past 100 years to creating organic growth. When Sijbesma took the helm as CEO in 2007, he further pushed and completed the company’s... View Details

Keywords: Organic Growth; Organizational Change; M＆A; Mergers And Acquisitions; Divestment; Business Ventures; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Transition; Engineering; Chemicals; Mining; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Finance; Capital Markets; Financial Markets; Food; Globalization; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Health; Nutrition; History; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Ownership; Public Ownership; Performance; Strategy; Adaptation; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Value; Value Creation; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Mining Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Europe; Netherlands