Publications

01 Jun 2024
News

Quantum Leap

more to develop an error-free quantum computer by 2029. In addition, venture capital can be difficult to secure, in part because many VCs lack the technical expertise to properly vet the startup. “The groups that can diligence what we’re doing tend to be View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; photographed by Chris Sorensen; quantum computing; innovation; leadership; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

May 2022
Case

Maestro Pizza: Coming in Hot!

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro Pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

Web

Morgan Hall | About

troubled businesses to profitability became widely known, and investors were eager to support his ventures. J.P. Morgan & Company organized and financed some of the largest corporate mergers of the early... View Details

09 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

War in Ukraine: Soaring Gas Prices and the Return of Stagflation?

researching the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline linking Russia and Germany. In an interconnected corporate world, he says, the pipeline project illustrates how inseparable politics and business are, especially at the edges of old Cold... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Energy

04 Mar 2019
What Do You Think?

What’s the Antidote to Surveillance Capitalism?

inter-governmental regulation as powerful enough to offer some hope of containing the excesses of surveillance capitalism. When industrial capitalism was moderated we lived in a world where nation states still had much autonomy confronted by global View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Advertising; Consumer Products

15 Jul 2019
Book

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

researches tax policy, international finance, and corporate finance. The book grew out of his efforts to make finance more accessible through executive education teaching and his online course Leading with Finance. His previous book, The... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Budgeting Kills Your Company

tool for achieving strategic alignment. How Fixed-performance Contracts Ensure Underperformance At its simplest, a company's budget process consists of each unit producing a sales forecast (assuming it's a profit center) and a capital... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gary

Web

Strategy Execution Online Course | HBS Online

of Strategy Execution Understand the various tensions managers face as they execute strategy and implement a framework for managing those tensions effectively. Highlights Making Tough Choices Push to Profitability Analyzing Management... View Details

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

compared to Kmart. (The other companies in their quad were Target and the Limited.) Both companies were in roughly the same financial shape in 1986, but Dollar General grew steadily, showing healthy profits year after year. Meanwhile,... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

20 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 20

distribute cash to shareholders. We also provide indirect evidence as to why firm managers may cater to the demand for dividends from local seniors. Overall, these results suggest that the composition of a firm's investor base affects View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 5

profits at the extensive rather than the intensive margin, outperforming competitors by attracting a larger customer base. And fourth, higher competition intensity need not improve consumer privacy when consumers exhibit low willingness... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

The Innovator’s Battle Plan

technology so it could be useful to Western Union's most profitable real-time long-distance data customers. When an existing firm tries to insert a product or service with disruptive potential into its processes, what comes out the other... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony & Erik A. Roth

05 May 2020
Research & Ideas

China Tariffs and Coronavirus a Double Hit to American Retailers

however, that mostly absorbed the higher prices caused by the ongoing trade war. While last year’s corporate tax cuts helped to soften the blow, those tariffs have continued to cut into their profit margins.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

15 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 15

system of expense allocation, and anti-inversion legislation—reflect the intuition that building "strong fences" around the United States advances American interests. This paper examines the interaction of a strong fences policy with the increasingly... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2012 (Revised February 2013)
Case

H-E-B: Creating a Movement to Reduce Obesity in Texas

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Jason Riis and Walter J. Salmon

In January 2012, H-E-B Grocery Co., a private retail chain with stores located in Texas and Mexico, was introducing its Healthy at H-E-B program to its customers. The program, which started with the company's employees a few years earlier, was an effort to educate and... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Profit; Leading Change; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; Texas