Publications

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

risen to economic and business prominence in many industries. This paper first lays out a simple micro-founded framework that aims to organize academic and managerial thinking about MSPs. It argues that any... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 1986 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Lotus Development Corp. Channel Choice: Direct vs. Distribution

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Lotus Development Corp., the number one microsoftware firm has traditionally sold to its customers through a distributor-retail dealer network. In early 1986, the company is considering the option of selling direct to large corporate customers. Students are expected to... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Sales; Software; Information Technology Industry; United States

13 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

School researchers: Disregarding advice from colleagues could invite harsh backlash that just might damage valued workplace relationships, according to the recent paper Seeker Beware: The Interpersonal Costs of Ignoring Advice, published... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July 2003 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Sustainable Conservation--Where Next?

Sustainable Conservation (SusCon) is an environmental nonprofit in San Francisco that works collaboratively with the private and public sectors to achieve positive environmental change. The organization forms partnerships with industry and government agencies to devise... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Environmental Sustainability; San Francisco

November 2011
Article

The Role of the Board in Accelerating the Adoption of Integrated Reporting

By: Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim

This report examines the concept of integrated reporting and its current state of adoption around the globe. It also discusses the benefits to both companies and society and recommends ways boards can help their organizations accelerate the implementation of integrated... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Social Issues; Global Range; Adoption

Read Now

November 2019
Article

Many Medicare Beneficiaries with Serious Illness Report Financial Hardships Despite Coverage

By: Michael Anne Kyle, Robert J Blendon, John M Benson, Melinda K Abrams and Eric C Schneider

In a national survey, seriously ill Medicare beneficiaries described financial hardships resulting from their illness—despite high beneficiary satisfaction with Medicare overall and the fact that many have supplemental insurance. About half reported a serious problem... View Details

Keywords: Medicare; Health Care and Treatment; Cost; Financial Condition

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May 2009 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Depreciation at Delta Air Lines: The "Fresh Start"

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

In estimating depreciation for accounting purposes, Delta Air Lines has changed its assumptions about aircraft lifespan and residual values four times in the last thirty years or so. In the most recent changes, Delta adopted fair value accounting as part of its fresh... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Policies; Accounting Procedures; Depreciation; Bankruptcy; Cost Accounting; Financial Reporting; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Policy; Air Transportation Industry

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

26 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Yes, You Can Raise Prices in a Downturn

higher prices," says Frank V. Cespedes, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, who spent 12 years running a professional services firm. That's right. Higher prices, not lower. “Competing on price is ultimately a bet on your View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Consumer Products

September 2021 (Revised October 2022)
Supplement

Hester Pharmaceuticals (B): Securing Supply

By: Dante Roscini and John Masko

Supplements the (A) case. In late 2020, demand for Hester Pharmaceutical’s (Hester’s) breakthrough oncology drug Akrozumab was outstripping the company’s most optimistic projections. In order to increase manufacturing capacity and meet the demand, Hester was... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Cost vs Benefits; Trade; Supply Chain; Global Strategy; Buildings and Facilities; Operations; Health Care and Treatment; Demand and Consumers; Global Range; Globalized Markets and Industries; Pharmaceutical Industry; Italy; China; United States; Germany

24 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 24

instead of participating in negotiated exchange offers. This paper critically examines this claim and argues that the incentives for holdout litigation are limited because of (1) significant constraints on creditor litigation, (2)... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

A Smarter Way to Reduce Customer Defections

should consider not only the churn probability of customers, but also how much they spend, the likelihood that they will respond to a retention offer, and the cost of the offer itself. Gupta's predictive... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail; Service

January 2021
Case

Rio Tinto Aluminum: Can Purpose Lead to Profit?

By: David Fubini and Agastya Muthanna

This case describes the tradeoffs Rio Tinto faces as it considers investments to ensure environmentally friendly, sustainability produced aluminum with the potential risks of competitive pricing and profit loses. View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Price; Competition; Profit; Cost vs Benefits; Mining Industry

05 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 5

provided to customers as a consequence of reduced marginal costs for a task. We find that an increase in physicians' capacity for ordering ultrasounds (U/S) resulted in an 11.5 percentage point increase in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 15, 2008

advertising agency's decision to unbundle its services as a tradeoff between the fixed cost to the advertiser of establishing and maintaining a relationship with an advertising agency View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

mutually agreed-upon transfers with compensation and are located within the task network. Placing a transaction in a particular location in turn requires work to define, count (or measure), and pay for the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 13

Publication:Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (forthcoming) Abstract We empirically document factors that influence how local operating managers use discretion to balance the tradeoff between service capacity View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 1984
Case

NIKE (F1)

Concerns a specific strategic decision--should the apparel division expand rapidly? The teaching plan would highlight the pros and cons of such a move. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Business Divisions; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry