Publications

22 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 22, 2018

economic force is the selection between high- and low-type firms, which differ in terms of their innovative capacity. We estimate the parameters of the model using U.S. Census microdata on firm-level output,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

October 2001 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Herman Miller(B): Creating Innovation Streams

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Stacy McManus

In 1997, Mike Volkema faced the difficulty of attempting to revitalize a once dynamic organization. Volkema wondered how he could incorporate advances made within subsidiaries, such as Miller SQA's business model innovation, into the company as a whole while also... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Product Design; Product Development; Product; Supply Chain Management; Business Model; Service Delivery; Customer Value and Value Chain; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

March 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Supplement

Sandlands Vineyards

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Greg Saldutte

Approximately 80% of the wineries in the US breakeven or lose money. An even greater percentage lose money on an economic basis (i.e., after a charge for the cost of equity). Tegan Passalacqua is a successful, young, Californian winemaker who specializes in making... View Details

06 Nov 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, November 6, 2018

average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms and target cash in business segments unrelated to alleged infringement at essentially... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

possessed, first, strong capabilities in branding and marketing. It understood local markets, and it knew how to market to them. It was at the frontier of View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

2011
Book

Translating Empire: Emulation and the Origins of Political Economy

By: Sophus A. Reinert

Historians have traditionally used the discourses of free trade and laissez-faire to explain the development of political economy during the Enlightenment. But from Sophus Reinert's perspective, eighteenth-century political economy can be understood only in the context... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Government and Politics

2008
Chapter

Corporate Honesty and Business Education: A Behavioral Model

By: Rakesh Khurana and Herbert Gintis

Since the mid-1970s neoclassical economic theory has dominated business school thinking and teaching in dealing with the nature of human motivation. However valuable in understanding competitive product and financial markets, neoclassical economic theory employs an... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Ethics; Managerial Roles; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Business and Shareholder Relations; Mathematical Methods; Behavior

April 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Color Kinetics Incorporated (A)

By: Das Narayandas and Mary N. Caravella

Two-year-old start-up Color Kinetics has developed unique colored lighting technology using digitally controlled LEDs, and has developed that technology into a successful line of products for its first targeted market of "retailtainment." Now in November 1999, the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development; Management Teams; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Electronics Industry

It's tough to get consumers to adopt innovations--and it's getting tougher all the time. That's because more and more markets are taking on the characteristics of networks. The interconnections among today's companies are so plentiful that often a... View Details

13 Feb 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 13, 2018

accruing earnings for a charity instead of themselves, more targeting behavior and a more sluggish response to incentives should result. Results from an additional experiment add support to this explanation.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1978 (Revised December 1979)
Case

Federal Express (C)

The Marketing Director for Federal Express, a fast growing freight airline specializing in small packages, must select a strategy to achieve a big sales increase for one of the company's services. First he must decide on the relative emphasis to place between... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Sales; Air Transportation Industry; Service Industry; United States

April 2010
Article

Performance Persistence in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital

By: Paul A. Gompers, Josh Lerner, David Scharfstein and Anna Kovner

This paper presents evidence of performance persistence in entrepreneurship. We show that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are much more likely to succeed than first-time entrepreneurs and those who have previously failed. In particular, they exhibit... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Private Equity; Market Timing; Competency and Skills; Success; Business Startups

Read Now

October 1995
Case

Robert Mondavi Corporation

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Thomas N. Urban Jr

As the Mondavi Corp. moves from a private to a public company and increases the number of types of wine it sells, how does it position itself in various segments of the market and what brand and distribution system is most important? View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Distribution; Product Positioning; Going Public; Expansion; Change; Food and Beverage Industry

Research Summary

Is Deposit Insurance a Good Idea, and if so, Who Should Pay for it?

Joint work with Alan Morrison, Saïd Business School, Oxford.

Deposit insurance schemes are becoming increasingly popular around the world and yet there is little understanding... View Details

June 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Focus Financial Partners and the U.S. RIA Industry in 2014

By: Luis Viceira and Emily A. Chien

In the Spring of 2014, Rudy Adolf, CEO and founder of Focus Financial, and the two other co-founders of the firm are considering alternative growth strategies to solidify Focus Financial's position as a leading aggregator of independent wealth management firms in the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financial Services Industry

January 2019
Teaching Note

Pricing PatientPing

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-017. PatientPing sells a software platform that allows health care providers to receive real-time notifications (“pings”) when one of their patients is admitted to or discharged from a health-care facility. The platform facilitates... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Health Tech; Health Technology; Sales Process; Sales Strategy; Price; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts

April 2010
Case

Metabical: Pricing, Packaging, and Demand Forecasting Recommendations for a New Weight Loss Drug

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

Metabical is a new weight loss drug from Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals intended for moderately overweight individuals. In anticipation of final FDA approval, the senior director of marketing, Barbara Printup, prepares for the product launch and must make several... View Details

Keywords: Return On Investment; Forecasting; Pricing Policies; Demand Planning; Marketing Strategy; Price; Consumer Behavior; Investment Return; Forecasting and Prediction; Product Launch; Planning; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry

February 2010
Article

Conflict of Interest and the Intrusion of Bias

By: Don A. Moore, Lloyd Tanlu and Max Bazerman

This paper presents evidence of performance persistence in entrepreneurship. We show that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are much more likely to succeed than first-time entrepreneurs and those who have previously failed. In particular, they exhibit... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Prejudice and Bias; Performance; Entrepreneurship; Market Timing; Competency and Skills; Perception; Business Startups; Resource Allocation