Publications

12 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

What Brands Can Do to Monitor Factory Conditions of Suppliers

brand-name multinationals that contract out the work. “In a sense, global supply chains are serving a regulatory function, with companies imposing an additional layer of rules and investing resources to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Tracking the Short-Run Price Impact of U.S. Tariffs

This paper examines the short-run impact of the 2025 U.S. tariffs on consumer prices using a unique integration of high-frequency retail pricing data, product-level country-of-origin information, and detailed tariff classifications. By linking daily prices from major... View Details

March 2011
Article

Restaurant Organizational Forms and Community in the U.S. in 2005

By: Glenn R. Carroll and Magnus Thor Torfason

Recent sociological theory and research highlights food, drink, and restaurants as culturally meaningful and related to social identity. An implication of this view holds that the prevalence of corporate chain restaurants affects the sociological character of... View Details

Keywords: Demographics; Age; Supply Chain Management; Culture; Balance and Stability; Income Characteristics; Research; Civil Society or Community; Identity; Theory; Society; Service Industry; United States

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14 Nov 2019
HBS Seminar

Volodymyr Babich, Georgetown University

Research Summary

Innovations in Logistics: The Impact of Channel Coordination

By: Roy D. Shapiro

Roy D. Shapiro is studying innovative systems and management approaches that integrate and coordinate material and information flows through the supply chain so as to reduce or eliminate the redundant activities that tend to characterize these channels. His research... View Details

June 2004 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Zara: IT for Fast Fashion

In 2003, Zara's CIO must decide whether to upgrade the retailer's IT infrastructure and capabilities. At the time of the case, the company relies on an out-of-date operating system for its store terminals and has no full-time network in place across stores. Despite... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Information Management; Infrastructure; Supply Chain Management; Information Technology; Retail Industry

December 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Lit Motors

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In mid-2012 Lit Motors had created both engineering and design prototypes and conducted initial customer tests on less than $750,000 of investment. Lit Motors' founder, Daniel Kim, had started the company to design and manufacture an efficient electric 2-wheeled... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Prototyping; Electric Vehicle; Urban Vehicle; Customer Tests; Gyroscope; Entrepreneurs; Development Stage Enterprises; Creativity; Disruptive Technologies; Consumer Surveys; Market Segmentation; Manufacturing Costs; Entrepreneurship; Auto Industry; United States; California

2025
Working Paper

Tracking the Short-Run Price Impact of U.S. Tariffs

By: Alberto Cavallo, Paola Llamas and Franco Vazquez

This paper examines the short-run impact of the 2025 U.S. tariffs on consumer prices using a unique integration of high-frequency retail pricing data, product-level country-of-origin information, and detailed tariff classifications. By linking daily prices from major... View Details

Keywords: Tariffs; Trade; Price; Inflation and Deflation

23 May 2016
News

The Biggest Challenges of Data-Driven Manufacturing

2012
Working Paper

Information Technology and Boundary of the Firm: Evidence from Plant-Level Data

By: Chris Forman and Kristina McElheran

We study the relationship between different margins of information technology (IT) use and vertical integration using plant-level data from the U.S. Census of Manufactures. Focusing on the short-run decision of whether to allocate production output to downstream plants... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Production; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Vertical Integration; Supply Chain; Manufacturing Industry; United States

May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Traces the history of IKEA's response to a TV report that its Indian carpet suppliers were using child labor. Describes IKEA's growth, including the importance of a sourcing strategy based on its close relationships with suppliers in developing countries. Details the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Moral Sensibility; Policy; Employment; Contracts; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Natural Environment; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Issues

September 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act: Trade and Genocide in U.S.-China Relations

By: Jeremy Friedman and David Lane

On June 21, 2022, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) went into effect, requiring companies to prove that goods imported from the People’s Republic of China were not made with forced labor. The bill was a reaction to reports of products being made with... View Details

Research Summary

Innovations in Logistics: The Impact of Channel Coordination

By: Janice H. Hammond

Roy D. Shapiro (with Janice H. Hammond and Marshall L. Fisher) is studying innovative systems and management approaches that integrate and coordinate material and information flows through the supply chain so as to reduce or eliminate the redundant activities that tend... View Details

21 Jun 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Information Technology and Boundary of the Firm: Evidence from Plant-Level Data

Keywords: by Chris Forman & Kristina McElheran

October 1997 (Revised June 1998)
Case

Woolworths South Africa

By: David B. Yoffie and Anthony St. George

Woolworths South Africa is one of the most successful retail chains in the country, modeled on Marks and Spencer of the United Kingdom. This case focuses on the sources of Woolworth's competitive advantage within South Africa and the challenges of growth in the wake of... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth Management; Global Strategy; Industry Structures; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Retail Industry; South Africa

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Research Summary

Managing the Manufacturer-Retailer Interface

By: Janice H. Hammond

Janice H. Hammond is studying the impact of coordination on the performance of manufacturing and retail channels. The focus of her research is on the supply "channel", the set of firms that undertakes the chain of activities that begins with acquisition of raw... View Details

May 2023
Article

Decarbonizing Health Care: Engaging Leaders in Change

By: Vivian S. Lee, Kathy Gerwig, Emily Hough, Kedar Mate, Robert Biggio and Robert S. Kaplan

Health care leaders are often surprised to learn that their operations contribute significantly to a warming climate. In addition to their roles as responders to and victims of extreme weather events, health care organizations have an obligation to reduce... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Decarbonization; Carbon Emissions; Net-zero Emissions; Climate Change; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry