Publications

01 Nov 2017
What Do You Think?

What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?

Fargo was asking its sales force to sell 8 products (‘Going for gr-eight’) to customers that needed fewer products.” This was coupled, as Thomas Dean put it, “with high, high pressure on line employees to perform or be fired.” Hamad... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Banking

25 Jan 2021
Book

In a Nutshell, Why American Capitalism Succeeded

How did the United States become the world’s center of business growth following its founding in 1776? Surely a number of nations had powerful natural resources, stable financial and legal institutions, and dynamic entrepreneurs over that same span. Why was American... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

Web

California - Global

topics such as scaling startups, angel and venture investing, acquisition-related manufacturing integration processes, the commercialization of technology, capacity issues at biotech companies, and growth challenges for clean-tech... View Details

10 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 10

insider stock purchases are significantly greater after SOX than before. Abnormal trading volumes around filings of insider sales are also greater post-SOX on average, but stock returns are not more negative. However, once controlling for... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Haier: Taking a Chinese Company Global in 2011

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Phillip Andrews

In 2011, Haier, China's leading appliance manufacturer, had over $20 billion in worldwide sales and had just been named the leading refrigerator manufacturer worldwide. Describes Haier's rise over three decades from a defunct refrigerator factory in China's Qingdao... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Global Strategy; Expansion; Diversification; Emerging Markets; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

14 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

from that.” The new inventory system was actually something Whole Foods had started to implement before the Amazon deal, pressured by activist shareholders who had seen the grocer’s stock and sales margins slipping for two years. “This is... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

29 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 29, 2018

countries for the period 2001–2010. We uncover the following stylized facts: In emerging Asia, real depreciations are associated with faster growth of firm-level total factor productivity (TFP), sales and... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

August 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2018, LIU Chang (Angela), chairman of Beijing-based New Hope Liuhe (NHL), was considering the strategy of the firm. With $9 billion in sales and a presence in nearly 20 countries, NHL was China’s largest animal feed producer and a major pork and poultry... View Details

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

company and grow as fast as possible (e.g., high double digits) or be more conservative and grow sales at a financially healthy rate, like traditional retailers did (e.g., single digits). The primary way e-retailing companies achieved... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Web

Finance - Faculty & Research

partnership, and how its accounting choices shaped external assessments of performance and growth potential. Keywords: Accounting ; Financial Reporting ; Revenue Recognition ; Corporate Finance ; Capital ; Investment ; Revenue ; AI and... View Details

18 Mar 2013
HBS Case

HBS Cases: LEGO

components. While the number of LEGO-branded items grew, sales did not, and in 1998 the company suffered its first financial loss. "Their top-line growth was slowing down but their cost was... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Entertainment & Recreation

04 May 2021
Book

Best Buy: How Human Connection Saved a Failing Retailer

In 2019, a three-year-old boy walked with his mother into a Florida Best Buy store, clutching a toy dinosaur that Santa had given him for Christmas. Only, the dinosaur’s head had broken, and now tears were streaming down the boy’s face as his mother explained to two... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Inditex: 2000

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2000, Inditex was one of the largest specialty apparel retailers in the world, with $2.4 billion in sales from 1,080 stores across 33 countries. Zara, Inditex's main brand, produced popular designer items at a fraction of design-house prices and could push an item... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Fashion Industry; Succession; IPO; Competition; Initial Public Offering; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Succession; Growth and Development Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

January 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Henry Luce and the American Century

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Logan Wilcox

Henry Luce, founder of the publishing company which produced Time, Life, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated, created the largest media company in the world by the mid-20th century. Luce's flagship magazine, Time, was able to gross over $20 million in sales during its... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Leadership Style; Emerging Markets; Publishing Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

June 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Spir-It, Inc. (B): Managing People

When Jack Sindler founded Spir-it, Inc. in 1934, he was the company's sole employee. By 1999, Sindler's firm more than survived its first 55 years. Employment was up to nearly 200, with facilities in two states and work done in three shifts. The product line--which had... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Production; Business Growth and Maturation; Interpersonal Communication; Logistics; Human Resources; Diversity Characteristics; Manufacturing Industry