Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,344)
- Faculty Publications (550)
- March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Purity Steel Corporation, 2012
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details
- February 1997 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
Smith Breeden Associates: The Equity Plus Fund (A)
By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel
In early 1997, Smith Breeden Associates, a money management and consulting firm, was pondering the future of the Equity Plus Fund. The Equity Plus Fund was an S&P enhanced-index fund that tried to outperform the S&P Index by replicating the index using low-cost... View Details
- August 1996 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
Howard, Shea & Chan Asset Management (A)
A medium-sized investment management firm is attempting to decide whether to try to grow, and if so, how. It is a complicated decision because the managing partner and her colleagues have significantly different views. This case provides the background on the industry,... View Details
- July 1996
- Case
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.--1990
By: Nancy F. Koehn and Michael Dearing
Howard Lester, chairman and CEO, has just completed a second offering of common stock in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. ($218.2 million 1989 sales). Having targeted $500 million in retail sales, Lester's challenge is to: 1) prioritize growth investments in five existing catalog... View Details
- March 1996 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
Singapore's Trade in Services
By: Debora L. Spar
Focuses on the efforts of Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) to grow the tiny island almost wholly through an expansion of its service economy. Between 1965 and 1990, Singapore achieved a remarkable rate of growth, largely by opening its economy to foreign... View Details
- May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
- Case
Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office
By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan
Motorola, a leader in semiconductors and telecommunications, embarked on an ambitious program of renewal beginning in the early 1980s, leading to dramatic improvements in the company's quality, cycle time, and growth. Much of this progress was attributed to a major... View Details
- October 1993 (Revised September 1994)
- Case
Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal (Condensed)
By: Robert J. Dolan
The business products division has developed a business proposal asking for $50 million to fund the creation of a new telephone system for the small business market. The company's last entry into this marketplace lost $70 million. The new product would face 100... View Details
- September 1993 (Revised June 1994)
- Case
Hewlett-Packard: Singapore (A)
In the over 20 years since Hewlett-Packard (HP) set up a manufacturing site in Singapore to produce calculators, HP has invested managerial talent and resources in developing its licensor into a technology development partner. The case details the growth of high-volume... View Details
- April 1993 (Revised May 1993)
- Case
Northern Telecom (A): Greenwich Investment Proposal
By: Robert J. Dolan
The business products division has developed a business proposal asking for $50 million to fund the creation of a new telephone system for the small business market. The company's last entry into this marketplace lost $70 million. The new product would face 100... View Details
- March 1993 (Revised April 1995)
- Case
Singapore
By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Edward Prewitt
Since winning independence in 1965, Singapore achieved some of the world's highest rates of economic growth. A large part of GDP and employment came from direct investment by multinational companies in low-cost assembly work, but in the 1990s Singapore's rising wage... View Details
- February 1993 (Revised June 2011)
- Case
David Fletcher
By: Linda A. Hill and Melinda B. Conrad
David Fletcher, manager of the Emerging Growth Fund at a New York investment management firm, decides to assemble a team of analysts to which he can delegate part of his workload. The case explores the challenges of being a producing manager and Fletcher's efforts to... View Details
- June 1991 (Revised May 1992)
- Case
Lithonia Lighting
By: Nitin Nohria
In early 1991, Lithonia, the U.S.'s largest manufacturer of lighting fixtures, faced a major slump in the construction business that threatened to cause its first decline in revenues after over a decade of strong growth. With financial pressures from its parent company... View Details
- August 1990 (Revised March 1991)
- Case
Eli Lilly and Co. (C): Japan
Describes the process of establishing an independent operation in Japan in the mid-1980s as a result of a decision to make a major investment in the market. Describes the challenges in setting up such an operation and focuses on the role of the country manager in... View Details
- November 1985 (Revised August 1997)
- Case
Harnischfeger Corp.
Presents an analysis of Harnischfeger's quality of earnings, and the investment potential of the company's stock in light of the company's turnaround strategy. View Details
- February 1984 (Revised February 1986)
- Case
E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.: Titanium Dioxide
By: W. Carl Kester, Robert R. Glauber, David W. Mullins Jr. and Stacy S. Dick
Disequilibrium in the $350 million TiO2 market has prompted Du Pont's Pigments Department to develop two strategies for competing in this market in the future. The growth strategy has a smaller internal rate of return than the alternative strategy due to large capital... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Doing Business in Africa
By: John D. Macomber
This course introduces frameworks and models for smart and focused investing and operations across sectors, nations, industries, and time frames in Africa. Students will learn tools and skills to help navigate the business landscape of Africa in terms of selection... View Details
Keywords: Africa
- Research Summary
Growth and the Quality of Foreign Direct Investment: Is All FDI Equal? (joint with Andrew Charlton)
By: Laura Alfaro
In this paper we distinguish different qualities of FDI to re-examine the relationship between FDI and growth. Establishing the quality of FDI, however, is a difficult concept. Quality, that is the effect of a unit of FDI on economic growth, is a combination and... View Details
- Research Summary
How Does Foreign Direct Investment Promote Economic Growth? Exploring the Effects of Financial Markets on Linkages (with Areendam Chanda, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Selin Sayek)
By: Laura Alfaro
The empirical literature finds mixed evidence on the
existence of positive productivity externalities in the host country
generated by foreign multinational companies. We propose a novel
mechanism, which emphasizes the role of local financial markets in
enabling... View Details
- Research Summary
International Competitiveness in High Technology and Science Based Sectors
By: Gary P. Pisano
This research project examines shifts in competitive capabilities of companies and countries in high technology and science based businesses. It is particularly concerned with the potential loss of such capabilities in various industrial sectors in the... View Details