Publications

TeachingInterests

Strategy and Technology

By: Andy Wu

The Strategy and Technology elective course explores the unique aspects of creating effective strategies for technology-intensive businesses.

What strategies win in markets with network effects?
How can technology be... View Details

June 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

The Rise of Circuit City Stores, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In fiscal 2000, Circuit City was at the top of its game. The world's leading consumer electronics retailer had delivered record sales and profits for the first year of the new millennium. It was a fitting moment for Richard Sharpe, the CEO of the last 14 years, to step... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Strategic Planning; Competition; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; North America

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—Middle East

performance. You will emerge prepared to contribute to your company's success on a more strategic and senior level. Read More Think strategically, seize growth opportunities, and compete successfully, regionally and globally Foster the... View Details

December 2017
Case

Clover Food Lab in 2016

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Sonia Smith and Sandra Bahous

Ayr Muir, founder and CEO of Clover Food Lab, has grown his restaurant chain from a single food truck to 11 thriving stores but he has no interest in running a regional chain. His ambition is to change the way America eats and his goal is national expansion. As he... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant Industry; Food; Growth Management; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Innovation and Management; Customer Satisfaction; Small Business; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry

2010
Working Paper

Just Say No to Wall Street: Putting A Stop to the Earnings Game

By: Joseph Fuller and Michael C. Jensen

Putting an end to the "earnings game" requires that CEOs reclaim the initiative by avoiding earnings guidance and managing expectations in such a way that their stocks trade reasonably close to their intrinsic value. In place of earnings forecasts, management should... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Performance Expectations; Goals and Objectives; Risk and Uncertainty; Growth and Development Strategy; Decisions; Risk Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Earnings Management; Value; Projects

SSRN

20 Aug 2024
Cold Call Podcast

Angel City Football Club: A New Business Model for Women’s Sports

Keywords: Re: Jeffrey F. Rayport; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation

20 Aug 2024
Interview

Angel City Football Club: A New Business Model for Women’s Sports

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Brian Kenny and Nicole Tempest Keller

Angel City Football Club (ACFC) was founded in 2020 by venture capitalist Kara Nortman, entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and actor and activist Natalie Portman. As outsiders to professional sports, the all-female founding team had rewritten the playbook for how to build a... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Gender; Franchise Ownership; Business Model; Sports Industry

Program

Preparing to Be a Corporate Director

board committees, especially those related to audit, compensation, and nomination Engage in collaborative decision-making with colleagues who may have differing perspectives Expand your leadership capabilities Add value to an organization by overseeing its leadership... View Details

April 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Change at Whirlpool Corporation (A)

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Dorothy A. Leonard and Gary Hamel

In 1998, the CEO of Whirlpool Corp. decides to change the company's strategy significantly to escape an increasingly unattractive "stalemate" in the appliance industry. The change he proposes involves a fundamental shift in the company's focus--from manufacturing to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Competitive Advantage; Strategic Planning; Production; Brands and Branding; Management Teams; Consumer Products Industry; United States

February 2017 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Link REIT

By: Siddharth Yog

Publicly listed in November 2005, Link REIT was the first real estate investment trust (REIT) in Hong Kong after the Hong Kong government decided to privatize a portfolio of community shopping malls, car parks, and fresh produce markets. Run by CEO George Hongchoy, the... View Details

Keywords: Hong Kong; REIT; Real Estate; Retail; Government; China; Housing; Public Company; Strategic Planning; Expansion; Public Equity; Real Estate Industry; Hong Kong; China

Program

Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

geography Distinguish between short-run gains and lasting competitive advantage Adapt your strategy to market shifts and your organization's changing ambitions Transform ideas into successful action plans Know when to initiate a strategy... View Details

February 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

International Steel Group

By: Paul W. Marshall and Todd H Thedinga

Profiles veteran investor Wilbur L. Ross, Jr.'s plan to turn around the aging steel assets of LTV, formerly America's second largest integrated steel producer. Purchasing several key assets from LTV under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code, Ross is able to acquire the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Strategic Planning; Lawfulness; Labor Unions; Organizational Culture; Agreements and Arrangements; Global Strategy; Assets; Steel Industry; United States

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

December 1997 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Franco Bernabe at ENI (A)

By: Linda A. Hill, Jennifer Suesse and Mara Willard

Describes Franco Bernabe's ascent to leadership at ENI, Italy's national oil and gas company. Illustrates Bernabe's early career experiences in academia, as the chief economist at Fiat. Then describes his arrival at ENI during the early 1980s, where he became first the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Personal Development and Career; Management Teams; Management Style; Strategic Planning; Crisis Management; Privatization; Italy

October 2020
Case

Genomics in the Family Office

By: Lauren Cohen, Ronnie Stangler and Spencer C. N. Hagist

Alice Anane is the member of a large, wealthy family that collectively operates a multi-pronged family business in Israel. Upon discovering partway into her pregnancy that the rapidly degenerative brain disease her father succumbed to now threatens her and potentially... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Health Disorders; Strategic Planning; Corporate Governance

Career Coach

Okan Okutgen

Okan (Princeton BSE ‘11, HBS MBA ’15) has years of experience in the tech startup world as a go-to-market leader, general manager and strategic finance leader. He has served as Head of Global Sales Operations & Strategy, Head of APAC... View Details

August 2006 (Revised September 2012)
Case

Arrow Electronics--The Apollo Acquisition

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

Having already made 10 acquisitions of competitors in the last decade, the CEO of Arrow is evaluating the acquisition of another small competitor to boost sales, become #1 in a niche market segment, and achieve economies of scale. He is struggling with whether the deal... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Strategic Planning; Growth and Development Strategy; Electronics Industry; United States

March 2025
Article

Does Communicating Measurable Diversity Goals Attract or Repel Historically Marginalized Job Applicants? Evidence from the Lab and Field

By: Erika L. Kirgios, Ike Silver and Edward H. Chang

Many organizations struggle to attract a demographically diverse workforce. How does adding a measurable goal to a public diversity commitment—for example, “We care about diversity” versus “We care about diversity and plan to hire at least one woman or racial minority... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Recruitment; Diversity; Goals and Objectives; Communication Intention and Meaning; Behavior

Read Now

Article

MIT Roundtable on Corporate Risk Management

By: Robert C. Merton

Against the backdrop of financial crisis, a distinguished group of academics and practitioners discusses the contribution of financial management and innovation to corporate growth and value, along with the pitfalls and unintended consequences of such innovation.... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Market Participation; Finance; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Value; Distribution; Capital Structure; Risk Management; Business Ventures; Business Model; Strategy