Publications

05 Jul 2023
HBS Case

What Kind of Leader Are You? How Three Action Orientations Can Help You Meet the Moment

the same sorts of results.” Given his prior success in reading the market, Johnson relied on a contextual orientation to develop various plans to reinvent the JCPenney way, including new concepts in retailing and new compensation plans that drew inspiration from... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

Web

Lifelong Learning - Alumni

strategic ways to compete, to foreseeing existential threats that could obviate one’s business. 31232 02 Jan 2024 HBS Working Knowledge 10 Trends to Watch in 2024 Harvard Business School faculty members on the View Details

October 2024
Case

Parexel: Scaling Up and Industry Dynamics

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo

Through the lens of biopharmaceutical contract research organization (CRO) PAREXEL, this case traces the evolution of the firm as it reinvents itself in response to the transformation of the CRO sector from a small, secondary cluster of firms into a major player with... View Details

Keywords: Research; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; Transformation; Globalization; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Pharmaceutical Industry

2020
Article

A Practical Approach to Sales Compensation: What Do We Know Now? What Should We Know in the Future?

By: Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim and Niladri B. Syam

Personal selling represents one of the most important elements in the marketing mix, and appropriate management of the sales force is vital to achieving the organization’s objectives. Among the various instruments of sales management, compensation plays a pivotal role... View Details

Keywords: Sales Compensation; Sales Management; Sales Strategy; Principal-agent Theory; Structural Econometrics; Field Experiments; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; AI and Machine Learning

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September 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Case

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro, Hayley Pallan and Sarah Jeong

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Productivity; Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

We introduce the concept of an underdog brand biography to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author a historical account of their humble origins, lack of resources, and determined struggle against the odds. We identify two essential... View Details

Program

Designing and Executing Corporate Revitalization

Summary Given today's turbulent environment, business leaders are seeking a new path to success for their companies. But while many firms talk about transforming themselves around current trends such as digitization and remote work, most... View Details

Research Summary

Investment and marketing strategies of American multinationals in Argentina (1890c-1939)

Andrea Lluch is undertaking a major research project on American business expansion in Argentina up to the beginning of World War II. The first part of the project focuses on the American companies investment strategies. The second part analyses of the evolution of... View Details

Spring 2013
Article

The Investment Strategies of Sovereign Wealth Funds

By: Shai Bernstein, Josh Lerner and Antoinette Schoar

This paper examines the direct private equity investment strategies across sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and their relationship to the funds' organizational structures. SWFs seem to engage in a form of trend chasing, since they are more likely to invest at home when... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Strategy; Investment Funds

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February 2009 (Revised September 2010)
Case

JWT China: Advertising for the New Chinese Consumer

By: Elisabeth Koll

This case analyzes the business strategy and expansion of JWT China from the late 1990s to 2008. As part of the world's fourth largest marketing communications network, JWT China grew into one of the largest integrated communications companies in China operating from... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Business and Government Relations; Business Strategy; Expansion; Advertising Industry; China

Personal selling represents one of the most important elements in the marketing mix, and appropriate management of the sales force is vital to achieving the organization’s objectives. Among the various instruments of sales management, compensation plays a pivotal... View Details

09 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

How Firms Respond to Mandatory Information Disclosure

Keywords: by Anil R. Doshi, Glen W.S. Dowell & Michael W. Toffel

Article

Biosimilars and Follow-On Products in the United States: Adoption, Prices, and Users

By: Ariel Dora Stern, Jacqueline L. Chen, Melissa Ouellet, Mark R. Trusheim, Zeid El-Kilani, Amber Jessup and Ernst R. Berndt

Biologic drugs account for a disproportionate share of the increase in pharmaceutical spending in the U.S. and worldwide. Against this backdrop, many look to the expanding market for biosimilars—follow-on products to biologic drugs—as a vehicle for controlling... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Drug Spending; Drug Pricing; Health Care and Treatment; Spending; Price; Markets; Cost Management; United States

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2013, Anders Byriel, CEO of the family-owned Danish textiles company, Kvadrat, considered the firm's strategic plan. In 2000, Byriel and Mette Bendix, Kvadrat's Product Director, had taken over management of the company from their fathers, who had founded Kvadrat... View Details

Keywords: General Management; Organizational Behavior; Strategy; Performance Management; Leadership; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Human Resources; Denmark; Europe; Asia