Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(361)
- Faculty Publications (87)
- November 2012
- Case
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (Abridged)
By: H. Kent Bowen, Robert S. Huckman, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Matthew Preble
Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok—a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique... View Details
- November 2012
- Article
Does Management Really Work?
By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen
HBR's 90th anniversary is a sensible time to revisit a basic question: Are organizations more likely to succeed if they adopt good management practices? The answer may seem obvious to most HBR readers, but these three economists cast their net much wider than that. In... View Details
- Article
Can Wages Buy Honesty?: The Relationship Between Relative Wages and Employee Theft
By: C. X. Chen and Tatiana Sandino
In this study we examine whether, for a sample of retail chains, high levels of employee compensation can deter employee theft, an increasingly common type of fraudulent behavior. Specifically, we examine the extent to which relative wages (i.e., employee wages... View Details
- November 2011 (Revised December 2012)
- Case
Rent the Runway
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Laura Winig
Two months after a successful launch in November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round... View Details
- May 2011
- Case
The Morrison Company
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Paul Meyers
The Morrison Company develops and manufactures radio frequency identification tags (RFID) known as smart labels for the retail and pharmaceutical industries. RFID technology is a fast-growing and increasingly competitive industry. Sales have risen dramatically over the... View Details
Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Information Technology; Strategy; Production; Organizational Structure; Infrastructure; Product Development; Information Infrastructure; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Electronics Industry
- 2011
- Case
Scientific Glass, Inc.: Inventory Management: Brief Case No. 4208.
By: Steven Wheelwright and William Schmidt
- February 2011 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
ALAC International
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
ALAC was a small importer of specialty industrial chemicals. The case explores the different financing alternatives to facilitate the company's explosive growth in working capital. At the end of 2009, the company was awarded the United States distributorship for the... View Details
- December 2010
- Case
Leadership, Culture, and Transition at lululemon
By: Michael Tushman, Ruth Page and Tom Ryder
The case examines leadership and organizational change within a strong culture context through a multimedia study of lululemon, a specialty retailer of high-end athletic apparel. Video segments trace the company's history from its founding in 1998 as a single retail... View Details
- June 2010 (Revised January 2011)
- Case
Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt
Scientific Glassware is a fast-growing, privately held company that provides specialized glassware for laboratory and research facilities. Excess inventory is tying up extra capital needed to fund the company's expansion plans. The newly hired Manager of Inventory... View Details
- June 2010 (Revised January 2011)
- Teaching Note
Scientific Glass Incorporated: Inventory Management (Brief Case)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt
Teaching Note for 4208 View Details
- June 2010
- Case
FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario
Demand for folding and stackable chairs and tables at FoldRite Furniture Co. is unexpectedly strong. The company spent the previous two years improving manufacturing quality and efficiency, dropping poor-performing product lines, developing new products that are... View Details
- 2010
- Book
The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance
By: Marshall Fisher and Ananth Raman
Retailers today are drowning in data but lacking in insight: They have huge volumes of information at their disposal. But they're unsure of how to sort through it and use it to make smart decisions. The result? They're struggling with profit-sapping supply chain... View Details
- 2010
- Case
Scientific Glass, Inc.: Inventory Management (TN): Brief Case No. 4209.
By: Steven Wheelwright and William Schmidt
- April 2010 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A) (Abridged)
By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem
Owens & Minor (O&M) performed lean inventory services for Virginia Mason (VM) as its Alpha Vendor, but the outdated industry pricing model created perverse incentives and could not capture O&M's costs. Together, O&M and VM created an activity-based pricing model: Total... View Details
- January 2010
- Case
DR Corporation
By: Roy D. Shapiro
DR Corporation is a manufacturer of major appliances. The traffic manager is facing a decision of selecting a carrier for the inbound movement of motors. The primary case decisions are 1) what factors are critical to the decision; 2) how to calculate the tradeoffs... View Details
- April 2009 (Revised June 2010)
- Case
Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A)
By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem
Virginia Mason Medical Center (VM) hired Owens & Minor (O&M) as its alpha vendor for medical/surgical supplies in 2004. By 2005, O&M was performing Just-in-Time and Low Unit of Measure services for VM, but they believed the pricing model in the industry was outdated.... View Details
- April 2008
- Journal Article
Inventory Record Inaccuracy: An Empirical Analysis
By: Nicole DeHoratius and Ananth Raman
This study explores the systematic variation in inventory record inaccuracy (IRI) observed both within and across stores. Traditional inventory models, with a few exceptions, do not account for the existence of IRI and those that do treat record inaccuracy as random.... View Details
- April 2006 (Revised June 2008)
- Case
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
By: H. Kent Bowen, Robert S. Huckman and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok--a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique... View Details
- July 2005 (Revised February 2011)
- Case
Tanpin Kanri: Retail Practice at Seven-Eleven Japan
By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han
Toshifumi Suzuki, chairman and CEO of Seven and I Holding Co., was widely credited as the mastermind behind Seven-Eleven Japan's spectacular rise. Although Seven-Eleven Japan began as a small licensee of U.S. convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Inc. (then Southland... View Details
- June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
- Case
Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy
By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron
Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details