Publications

Web

Advisory Board - Entrepreneurship

computer simulation modeling. In a joint program with Harvard Law School, he lectured on marine legal / regulatory policy. His research focused on forecasting economic and environmental consequences of offshore oil and gas development. He... View Details

23 May 2018
Research & Ideas

How to Know If Your Neighborhood Is Being Gentrified

measures of local business activity, such as prices and user ratings, provide a new way of studying the economy. This data can provide indicators that gentrification is occurring, forecast an increase in housing prices, and shed new light... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

04 Dec 2019
Book

Creating the Experimentation Organization

When customers log onto Booking.com—the world’s largest online accommodations platform—they might naturally assume they are seeing the same website as every other customer logged on at the same time. In fact, Booking is running quadrillions (millions of billions) of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 1994 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Sport Obermeyer Ltd.

By: Janice H. Hammond and Ananth Raman

The case describes operations at a skiwear design and merchandising company and its supply partner. Introduces production planning for short-life-cycle products with uncertain demand and allows students to analyze a reduced version of the company's production planning... View Details

Keywords: Product; Supply Chain; Demand and Consumers; Production; Planning; Globalized Markets and Industries; Forecasting and Prediction; Industry Growth; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; United States; Hong Kong

August 1980 (Revised March 1994)
Case

Freemark Abbey Winery

Freemark Abbey must decide whether to harvest in view of the possibility of rain. Rain could damage the crop but delaying the harvest would be risky. On the other hand, rain could be beneficial and greatly increase the value of the resulting wine. This decision is... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Forecasting and Prediction; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

21 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

How to Predict if a New Business Idea is Any Good

the researchers drilled down into the data, however, they found some marked differences in the ability to forecast success based on the industry of the proposed idea. Expert interest was highly predictive of success in sectors that were... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Accommodations; Financial Services

01 Feb 1999
News

Too Much of a Good Thing?

overseas, trade friction, and government intervention. Recession - and fears of even worse - often follow. Forecasts and the Eye of the Beholder Lately, such repercussions have been felt around the world, particularly in Asia. Along with... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

15 Jul 2019
Book

Many Executives Are Afraid of Finance. Here's How They Can Gain Confidence

being possibly regulated as a publisher, and many, many other things! Unsurprisingly, people get valuations wrong all the time. That’s part of what makes finance so much fun and so interesting. People’s forecasts will differ, and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

07 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

What Drives Supply Chain Behavior?

forecasts as well as decisions about inventory. In this interview with HBS Working Knowledge, Oliva and Watson say a key to understanding and avoiding supply chain inefficiency may be a better understanding of the behavioral side of the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Box Office Power of Stars

relatively good forecasts of actual box office returns. In fact, the forecasting accuracy is what makes it such a valuable research setting. I used HSX to measure how the involvement of a movie star affects... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

14 Oct 2021
In Practice

Reunited and It Feels (Not) So Good: Tips for Managing a Rocky Return

widespread and the timing and nature of the end of the virus as we know it so uncertain that it is impossible to know what the parameters of such an end state. Business leaders should, instead, think in terms of a “next normal.” Their back-to-work policies should... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

17 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Blue Skies, Distractions Arise: How Weather Affects Productivity

conducted the sessions of the study to take advantage of natural variation, and then we experimentally manipulated subjects' exposure to outside options," the authors explain in the paper. Half of the participants were asked to come to the lab on days View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

October 1991 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Butler Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The Butler Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of the... View Details

Keywords: Commercial Banking; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Capital Structure; Forecasting and Prediction

Web

Finance & Investing - Business & Environment

Confronting Climate Change Finance & Investing Understanding risk, identifying opportunity, and managing investments in the context of climate change The global financial landscape is increasingly being shaped by factors associated with climate change––including View Details

December 2009
Case

TruEarth Healthy Foods: Market Research for a New Product Introduction

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sunru Yong

Topics covered include: consumer marketing, market research, new product introduction, and quantitative analysis. TruEarth Healthy Foods, a maker of gourmet pastas, sauces, and meals, wants to build on its successful introduction of fresh whole grain pasta by... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Consumer Marketing; Brands; Food; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Forecasting and Prediction; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

31 Jul 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Learning from Double-Digit Growth Experiences

Keywords: by Eric D. Werker

July 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Acelerex

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, Randell Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive of Acelerex, was reflecting on the company’s first year of rapid growth and the challenges of scaling the business that lay ahead. Acelerex was riding the waves of change taking place in electrical power grids... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Cash Flow; Energy Industry; Web Services Industry; Consulting Industry