Publications

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07 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 7

these dynamics has been constrained by fragmentation within relevant management research. In this paper, we clarify and describe two narratives that have emerged within past and current research on growth and the internal organization.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2020
Case

Mortgage Backed Securities and the Covid-19 Pandemic

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Luis M. Viceira and Dean Xu

In April 2020, global financial markets were still reeling as the COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly across the world. Global equity markets had initially fallen by 30% in response to the pandemic, and high-yield credit markets had dropped by nearly 20%. In contrast,... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Mortgage-backed Securities; Health Pandemics; Financial Markets; Assets; Resource Allocation; Financial Instruments; Decision Making

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

2023
Working Paper

The Limits of Algorithmic Measures of Race in Studies of Outcome Disparities

By: David S. Scharfstein and Sergey Chernenko

We show that the use of algorithms to predict race has significant limitations in measuring and understanding the sources of racial disparities in finance, economics, and other contexts. First, we derive theoretically the direction and magnitude of measurement bias in... View Details

Keywords: Racial Disparity; Paycheck Protection Program; Measurement Error; AI and Machine Learning; Race; Measurement and Metrics; Equality and Inequality; Prejudice and Bias; Forecasting and Prediction; Outcome or Result

SSRN

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September 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Blenheim Chalcot

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In April 2019, Manoj Badale and Charles Mindenhall, co-founders of Blenheim Chalcot, were contemplating how they might go about developing their portfolio. Since founding the company as an internet consultancy called netdecisions in 1998, Badale and Mindenhall had... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; United Kingdom; United States; India

February 2008
Supplement

Shinhan Financial Group (B)

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew J. Morgan

By 2007, there were many signs that the merger of Chohung and Shinhan banks to form the Shinhan Financial Group in 2003 had met its goals. Shinhan Financial Group's stock price had increased from $31 a share at its opening on the New York Stock Exchange in September... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Global Strategy; Expansion; Markets; Strategic Planning; South Korea

2017
White Paper

Medical Knowledge Synthesis: A Brief Overview

By: Maryaline Catillon

The value of medical research derives from its ability to impact further research and medical practice. Medical knowledge synthesis, bridging the gap between current research, future research and medical practice, is a rapidly changing industry. The expanding mass of... View Details

Keywords: Systematic Review; Clinical Practice Guideline; Textbook; Point-of-care Resource; Health; Knowledge; Research; Practice; Health Industry

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16 Dec 2013
HBS Case

D’O: Making a Michelin-Starred Restaurant Affordable

that harmony, you must avoid repetition on the menu. You cannot repeat the same cooking styles or the same sauces. Not two red meats or two white meats. You cannot have two carbs. A main dish of pasta can't be followed View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel & Joanie Tobin; Food & Beverage

12 May 2003
Research & Ideas

How Hot is the “Hot Spot” Business?

Internet pioneers looked at everything from Wi-Fi "hot spots" to the future of broadband at a recent telecommunications conference at Harvard Business School. The issues were debated at the Bandwidth Explosion colloquium held View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne & Martha Lagace; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

18 Oct 2016
Op-Ed

Why Business Should Invest in Community Health

million grant to scale a successful medical knowledge sharing and collaborative practice platform pioneered by Project Echo in 2003 to expand specialty care access and quality at the centers. Long involved in community initiatives, IBM... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch, Howard Koh, and Pamela Yatsko; Health

30 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Where Could More Regulation Help Small Businesses? Online Lending.

and purviews. This leaves online small business lenders to be governed by an expensive and time-consuming patchwork of state oversight, often with inconsistent rules that can confine online lending to state-by-state silos, undermining... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills and Brayden McCarthy; Financial Services

12 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

John Irving’s Lessons for Business

Creativity" is scheduled to appear in the April 2001 issue. Asked by HBS Working Knowledge about her motivation for focusing on John Irving, Amabile replied, "I wanted to counteract a strong... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark & Martha Lagace

03 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Who Guarantees Your Workplace Is Safe for Return?

This measure is already employed at places like the White House, hospitals, and some commercial facilities. Surveys: Workers need monitoring, too. What will it take for you and your employees to feel safe? Will they be comfortable with... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber and Joseph Allen; Real Estate

May 2010
Article

Bye Bye Bundles: The Unbundling of Music in Digital Channels

By: Anita Elberse

Fueled by digital distribution, unbundling is prevalent in many information industries. What is the effect of this unbundling on sales? And what bundle characteristics drive this effect? I empirically examine these questions in the context of the music industry, using... View Details

Keywords: Unbundling; Bundling; Digital Distribution; System-of-equations Modeling; Sales; Distribution Channels; Framework; Mathematical Methods; Revenue; Reputation; Internet and the Web; System; E-commerce; Information Industry; Music Industry

March 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Mubadala and EBX: To X or to X It?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz, Ricardo Andrade and Sayiddah Fatima McCree

In April 2012, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund invested $2 billion in Brazilian conglomerate EBX, believing the company to be undervalued by the public markets. Shortly thereafter, however, EBX and its multiple business lines began to spiral downward. Hani... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Wealth Funds; Conglomerates; Investing; Corporate Structure; International; Sovereign Finance; Business Conglomerates; Investment; Financing and Loans; Restructuring; Organizational Structure; Economy; Brazil; Abu Dhabi

20 Sep 2016
First Look

September 20, 2016

to Jewish organizational life. Inspired by 30 years of pioneering work by retail giant Leslie Wexner’s philanthropic focus on Jewish leadership, More Than Managing brings together diverse and remarkable... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2021
Supplement

Hello Alfred: Come Home Happy — Operating the Business Model Exercise, Instructor Version

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Christopher Payton

On a mission to "automate the on-demand economy," Harvard Business School classmates Marcela Sapone and Jessica Beck launched Hello Alfred in 2013 to provide subscribers with an "Alfred" to complete various chores for a monthly fee. In early 2016, the company has built... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Service Operations; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Service Industry; New York (city, NY); Boston

January 2014
Supplement

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (C): Back to the Future

By: Elie Ofek, Jill Avery and Jose B. Alvarez

Rehired in April 2013, Myron E. "Mike" Ullman III was brought back to stabilize the retailer's business. Under Ron Johnson's "Fair and Square" program, sales had declined rapidly and quarterly losses and expensive capital investments had put severe pressure on cash... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry

March 2011
Case

Insight Communications

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

After undertaking a multi-year, metrics-driven operational and cultural overhaul, in April 2010 Insight Communications was planning the next phase of its development. Insight was a New York-based provider of cable, landline phone, and high-speed Internet service to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Improvement; Growth Management; Management Systems; Business Processes; Measurement and Metrics; Employees; Telecommunications Industry; New York (state, US)