Publications

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

01 Dec 2019
News

Bridging the Gap

openings forecast over the next five years. At Chattanooga’s Howard School, where nearly 90 percent of the student body receives free or discounted school lunch, a classroom of sophomores enrolled in another FRI will be well-positioned to... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; illustration by Josh Cochran; photographed by Melissa Golden; cross sector collaboration; local government; nonprofits; education; leadership; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

May 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Prediction Markets at Google

By: Peter A. Coles, Karim R. Lakhani and Andrew P. McAfee

In its eight quarters of operation, Google's internally developed prediction market has delivered accurate and decisive predictions about future events of interest to the company. Google must now determine how to increase participation in the market, and how to best... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Market Participation; Information Technology

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

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

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

Blog

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

AI has fundamentally shifted the nature of Wall Street trading. It determines credit scores for existing and potential customers, screens applicants, assists in hiring, responds in real-time to queries, and suggests new courses of action. "AI SYSTEMS HELP PRODUCE... View Details

Web

Case Studies - Social Impact Collaboratory

big-name players in impact investing is an opportunity but also a risk. TPG Rise is defending against that risk by developing a detailed algorithm to forecast and “underwrite” impact using academic evidence. This raises many questions... View Details

January 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

People Analytics at McKinsey

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Olivia Hull

A private equity–backed fast food chain has hired McKinsey’s new People Analytics group to help it improve performance. As the final client workshop approaches, Associate Partner Alex DiLeonardo ponders the best way to present the team’s findings, especially those that... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Customer Relationship Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Measurement and Metrics; Performance; Performance Capacity; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Consulting Industry; Service Industry

16 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting the Message: How the Internet is Changing Advertising

that marketers began to think of the Web as an advertising medium, U.S. Internet advertisers spent $940 million; a year later, that number had almost doubled, and some put it as high as $4 billion in 1999. Forecasts on what lies ahead are... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

December 2001 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Borealis

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Bjorn N. Jorgensen

When Borealis, a European producer of plastics, used a traditional, time-consuming budgeting process, the budget was quickly out of date in a competitive environment characterized by continually changing input and output prices and dynamic market conditions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Forecasting and Prediction; Investment; Governance Controls; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry; Europe

Web

Technology & Operations Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Service Operations Management (M&SOM) Best Paper Award with Bin Hong Alex Lee and David Simchi-Levi for "Analytics for an Online Retailer: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization." Christian Kaps : Awarded the 2018 SmartPort Thesisprice... View Details

September 2004 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Hedging Currency Risks at AIFS

By: Mihir A. Desai, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

The American Institute for Foreign Studies (AIFS) organizes study abroad programs and cultural exchanges for American students. The firm's revenues are mainly in U.S. dollars, but most of its costs are in eurodollars and British pounds. The company's controllers review... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Forecasting and Prediction; Revenue; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Education Industry; North and Central America

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Cartwright Lumber Company

By: Thomas R. Piper

The Cartwright Lumber Co. faces a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Financing and Loans; Corporate Finance; Construction Industry; Forest Products Industry

21 May 2021
Blog Post

Alumni Spotlight: Cissy Chen (MBA 2019)

similar companies in their industry and recommended areas of expense adjustments that would be of help. I also quantified the environmental impact on the company’s supply chain with a proposal that they make certain adjustments that would positively affect their... View Details

June 2015 (Revised July 2016)
Case

Gilbert Lumber Company

By: Steven Rogers and Kenneth Cooper

The Gilbert 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... View Details

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