Publications

09 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Identify Great Customers from Their First Purchase

School. By incorporating data most companies discard, Ascarza and her co-researcher devised an algorithm capable of quickly analyzing more than 40 variables to create a “first impression” of the customer after the initial transaction. The... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail; Service

October 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

H.J. Heinz Co.: The Administration of Policy (A)

Relates the April 1979 discovery of improper income transferal practices used at the H.J. Heinz Co. Background data on the company is presented, along with a detailed description of the organizational practices, the management incentive system, and the corporate... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business Processes; Compensation and Benefits; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

July 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Carnival Cruise Lines

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Robert Kwortnik and Gabriele Piccoli

Highlights the potential value of customer data and the choices and challenges the firm faces when attempting to capture this value. Carnival collects a significant amount of individual-level behavioral and demographic customer data. Senior management must now decide... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Demographics; Customer Relationship Management; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Performance Improvement; Business Strategy; Travel Industry; Tourism Industry

11 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

estate company—they have a lot of buildings,” says MarcAntonio Awada, head of research and data science at the Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard (D^3). For an investor looking for an edge, the distinction could be critical.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consumer Products; Real Estate; Financial Services; Retail

Edward H. Chang

Edward Chang (he/him/his) is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Inclusion in the MBA required curriculum and Negotiations in the MBA elective curriculum.
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Amit Goldenberg

Amit Goldenberg is an assistant professor in the Negotiation Organization & Markets unit, an affiliate with Harvard’s View Details

03 Jun 2019
Video

Overcoming institutional voids to succeed in emerging markets

Miaomiao Zhang

Miaomiao Zhang is a doctoral candidate at the Technology & Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. Miaomiao received a B.S. in Applied Mathematics & Statistics and Economics from Emory University. She worked at the Strategy Unit at Harvard... View Details

August 1988 (Revised January 1992)
Supplement

Norton Group PLC: To Be or Not to Be in the Motorcycle Business (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Jon Skofic

Outlines the decisions taken by the company's management team in response to the challenges posed in Norton Group PLC (A). For each such decision, further data is provided for students to ponder the effectiveness of the action steps undertaken. View Details

Keywords: Motorcycle Industry

June 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Driving Towards a Disruption?

By: Willy Shih and William Noble

As Clayton Christensen drove to the studio to deliver an online executive education class, he pondered the future of management education. How big a threat did online degree programs, corporate universities, and other innovations in the delivery of management training... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Technology; Performance Trajectories; Disruptive Innovations; Business Education; Business School; Internet And Online Services Industries; Disruptive Innovation; Higher Education; Corporate Strategy; Internet; Performance; Education Industry; Boston

15 Jan 2019
Blog Post

Interning in the Retail Sector

Jasmyn Beausejour, MBA 2019, describes his summer at Wayfair. As a native from Montreal and having worked in management consulting, Jasmyn was excited by the opportunity to analyze Wayfair’s expansion and segmentation into the Canadian... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

April 1995 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Xerox: Outsourcing Global Information Technology Resources

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kevin Davis

In order to increase revenues, develop new technologies, and manage information technology more efficiently, Xerox decided to sign a 10-year, $3.2 billion contract with Electronic Data Systems (EDS). This case describes the events that preceded Xerox's decision to... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology Industry

13 Apr 2021
News

New Study Reveals That Stress Causes People's Minds to Wander Close to 60% of the Workday

2019
White Paper

Impact-Weighted Financial Accounts: The Missing Piece for an Impact Economy

By: George Serafeim, T. Robert Zochowski and Jennifer Downing

Reimagining capitalism is an imperative. We need to create a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism that works for every person and the planet. Massive environmental damage, growing income and wealth disparity, stress, and depression within developed... View Details

Keywords: Impact-Weighted Accounts; IWAI; Background; Economic Systems; Economy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Statements

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October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Decision Making at the Top: The All-Star Sports Catalog Division

By: David A. Garvin and Michael Roberto

Describes a senior management team's strategic decision-making process. The division president faces three options for redesigning the process to address several key concerns. The president has extensive quantitative and qualitative data about the process to guide him... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Teams; Performance Improvement; Planning; Mathematical Methods; Strategy

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

[This is the fourth installment in a monthly series on management issues in the time of COVID-19.] “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

Alexandra C. Feldberg

Alexandra (Allie) Feldberg is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School.

Professor Feldberg uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine intersections between gender,... View Details

Janice H. Hammond

Janice H. Hammond is the Jesse Philips Professor of Manufacturing. She currently serves as coursehead for the new MBA required course, Data Science for Managers. She serves as program chair for the HBS Executive Education International Women’s Foundation and Women’s... View Details

Keywords: apparel; distribution; e-commerce industry; manufacturing; retailing; textiles; transportation

July 1992 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) and Project ICON (A), Abridged

Describes the reorganization of the Systems Development resource from Central MIS to the divisions. Whereas this had been planned for October 1990, unexpected senior management changes precipitated a request to reorganize 12 to 18 months ahead of schedule. Also... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; London; Pennsylvania