Publications

May–June 1991
Article

Profit Priorities from Activity-Based Costing

By: Robin Cooper and Robert S. Kaplan

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit

02 Jul 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Profit as a “Direct Goal” Overrated?

Summing Up Why do managers choose to pursue profit so directly? The word "profit" in this month's column provoked a wide range of issues and emotions among respondents. It set off several debates. They ranged from definitions of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

February 2003
Other Article

The Emergence and Sustainability of Abnormal Profits

By: Michael E. Porter and Anita M. McGahan

In this paper, we examine the emergence and the sustainability of abnormal profits among businesses that were part of U.S. public corporations between 1981 and 1994 and that reported financial results for at least six years. Our results reveal strong asymmetries... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; United States

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November 22, 2014
Article

Profits Don't Create Inequality

By: Amar Bhidé

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September 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Zalora Philippines: From Growth to Profitability

By: Donald Ngwe and Thales Teixeira

In May 2015 Paulo Campos, co-founder and CEO of Zalora Philippines, found himself at a crucial turning point in his young company’s development. In just three years, Zalora had come from entering the Philippine fashion retail industry as an unknown quantity to becoming... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Business Subsidiaries; Business Growth and Maturation; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Sweden; Southeast Asia; Philippines

August 1994
Case

Komatsu Ltd. (B): Profit Planning and Product Costing

Describes Komatsu's profit planning and product costing systems. Komatsu can boast a high degree of employee dedication to achieving its profit plan. Also explores the logic behind the design of a new cost system at Komatsu that is less accurate at the product level... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Profit

October 1990 (Revised June 1992)
Case

Direct Product Profitability at Hannaford Brothers Co.

By: Walter J. Salmon

Concerns the pioneering use of a method of accounting in retailing which takes into account not only sales and the cost of goods sold but, at the item level, all of the variable costs associated with each item that is sold. Focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Cost; Price; Sales; Opportunities; Retail Industry

Article

On the Division of Profit in Sequential Innovation

By: Jerry R. Green and Suzanne Scotchmer

In markets with sequential innovation, inventors of derivative improvements might undermine the profit of initial innovators through competition. Profit erosion can be mitigated by broadening the first innovator's patent protection and/or by permitting cooperative... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Innovation and Invention

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March–April 1977
Article

Responding to Divisional Profit Crises

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Keywords: Profit

July 2010
Supplement

Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Pricing and Profitability Analysis (CW)

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery

Pricing is one of the most difficult decisions marketers make and the one with the most direct and immediate impact on the firm's financial position. This toolkit will introduce the fundamental terminology and calculations associated with pricing and profitability... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Decisions; Strategic Planning; Price; Partners and Partnerships; Cost; Demand and Consumers; Revenue; Profit; Mathematical Methods; Measurement and Metrics

February 1993
Article

Bank Mergers: Integration and Profitability

By: Dwight B. Crane and J. C. Linder

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Banks and Banking; Profit; Banking Industry

April 1998
Teaching Note

Managing Customers for Profits (TN)

By: Das Narayandas

Teaching Note for (8249) and (8257). View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Profit; Customer Relationship Management

1 Dec 2021
Interview

Hubert Joly on Humanizing the Profit Motive

By: Hubert Joly, William Kerr and Joseph Fuller

Can businesses afford to see employees in terms other than unit labor cost? How do you factor the Golden Rule into a profit and loss statement? Former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly explains how unlearning business orthodoxies helped him prove that a human-centered approach... View Details

January 1998 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Alert: This case has been revised since its original publication; all amounts have been converted to euros and the dates have been updated to 2020. If you’ve taught with this case in the past, please note that changes may affect teaching plans and classroom use. Using... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Profit; Financial Statements; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy