Publications

October 1989 (Revised November 2006)
Background Note

Channel Management

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Written as an introduction to a module concerning channel management for the second-year MBA elective in Marketing Implementation. Discusses: 1) reasons for the growth of multichannel systems in marketing efforts, 2) key components and choices in channel management, 3)... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels

January 1996
Background Note

National Cultures and Work-Related Values: The Hofstede Study

People from different national cultures often operate under different assumptions about what is appropriate behavior. In organizational settings, these cultural differences in underlying assumptions can significantly affect interactions when individuals from various... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Organizations; Attitudes; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Computer Industry

25 Nov 2019
News

Business and the Politics of Climate Change

August 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Oaktree: Pierre Foods Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina and Mike Harmon

This case is a setting to discuss “loan to own” investment strategy that is often pursued by distressed investors. The aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis left many companies with poor liquidity and limited ability to obtain credit. One of these companies was Pierre... View Details

Keywords: Distress Investing; Investment; Debt Securities; Strategy; Restructuring

August 2012
Case

Polar Sports, Inc.

By: W. Carl Kester and Wei Wang

Polar Sports, Inc. is a fashion skiwear manufacturing company in Littleton, Colorado. The company has a unique design for skiwear using a special synthetic material that improves insulation and durability. The ski apparel industry is highly competitive and the best way... View Details

Keywords: Production; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Colorado

29 Oct 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability

Keywords: by George Serafeim

June 2003
Module Note

Design and Implementation of Activity-Based Cost Systems

By: V.G. Narayanan

Describes the main themes of the module on the design and implementation of an activity-based costing (ABC) system. Instructors can teach this module to second-year MBA students who have been exposed to activity-based costing in their first-year core accounting... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting

April 1983
Supplement

Dansk Designs Ltd.: The Administration of Creativity, Video II

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Presents two divergent views on the administration of creativity. Jens Quistgaard, designer, discusses his feelings about Dansk's policy direction as it affects design creativity. Then Ted Nierenberg, president, discusses his type of management and some of the problems... View Details

Keywords: Management; Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Creativity; Balance and Stability

16 Jan 2019
News

The caring company

Article

Raiffa Transformed the Field of Negotiation—and Me

By: Max Bazerman

Howard Raiffa was a role model, friend, and inspiration. He transformed the field of negotiation, and he transformed my career. This brief article provides a recollection of how Howard revolutionized the field of negotiation and how those insights are now affecting... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Decision Making; Analysis; Game Theory; Personal Development and Career

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September–October 2016
Article

What Senior Executives Should Know About Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Business is more complex, data more abundant, and more specialists are needed to stay up-to-date with functional best practices. As a senior executive, you can worry all you want about disruption, but you need a salesforce aligned with strategy to do something about... View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Management Teams

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January 22, 2015
Other Article

Are Capital Controls Effective? Firm-level Evidence from Brazil

By: Laura Alfaro, Anusha Chari and Fabio Kanczuk

Capital controls are back in fashion. This column discusses new firm-level evidence from Brazil showing that capital controls segment international financial markets, reduce external financing, and lower firm-level investment. They disproportionately affect small,... View Details

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28 Apr 2020
Blog Post

A Crash Course in Saving a Family Business

Jiyoon Han (MBA 2021) is getting a taste of what it’s like to be a case protagonist—learning how to pivot while measuring unforeseen challenges against new opportunities. When news broke in March about how COVID-19 would affect the... View Details

September 2014
Case

Victors & Spoils: 'Born Open'

By: Karim R. Lakhani and Michael L. Tushman

Victors & Spoils (V&S), located in Boulder, Colorado, was the first advertising agency built on open innovation and crowdsourcing principles from the ground-up. V&S was co-founded in 2009 by John Winsor, Claudia Batten and Evan Fry, all former members of the... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Agency; Marketing; Crowdsourcing; Open Innovation; Growth; Acquisitions; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Digital Marketing; Acquisition; Innovation and Invention; Advertising Industry; United States

Dr. Josh Baron is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a part of the Strategy Unit. In the MBA program, he teaches in the Required Core Strategy course as well as elective courses on Ownership and Leading a Family Business. He... View Details

18 Nov 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Payout Taxes and the Allocation of Investment

Keywords: by Bo Becker, Marcus Jacob & Martin Jacob

2019
Working Paper

Relative Performance Transparency: Effects on Sustainable Choices

By: Ryan W. Buell, Shwetha Mariadassou and Yanchong Zheng

We study how transparency into the levels and changes of relative sustainability performance affects consumer choices. Our work considers two forms of transparency: process transparency, in which customers receive information about the company's sustainability... View Details

Keywords: Relative Performance Tranparency; Process Transparency; Customer Transparency; Levels; Changes; Reflectiveness; Self-serving Attribution Biases; Sustainability; Consumer Choice