Cost Control - Publications - Faculty & Research

12 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 12

real actions to boost earnings to meet different types of earnings benchmarks. We estimate that marketing actions can be used to boost quarterly net income by up to 5% depending on the depth and duration of promotion. However, there is a price to pay, with the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Find Your Pragmatic Path through Radical Uncertainty

the future. Process planning and scenario planning make more sense than fixed projections because they focus on answerable questions. What is required to remain solvent per month? What startup costs will be required to return to “normal?”... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson, Eugene B. Kogan, and Shirley Spence

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Media Metamorphosis: Advertising in the Technology Age

their media purchases with one or a few agencies or independent media buying firms. This combination of unbundling and consolidation has been accompanied by greater cost consciousness and downward pressure on agency compensation,... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs; Advertising

13 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

Can AI Save Physicians from Burnout?

country primarily using the fee-for-service model while struggling to control costs, there is also a risk of embedding questionable practices into AI algorithms. For instance, upcoding—when providers inflate the severity of a patient's... View Details

Keywords: by Susanna Gallani, Lidia Moura, and Katie Sonnefeldt; Health

08 Jan 2001
What Do You Think?

Have We Extended the Boundaries of the Firm Too Far?

quite high at the time, thus providing a justification for the vertical integration of large organizations) set limits on behaviors that we refer to today as partnering, the forming of alliances, and outsourcing. Transaction costs... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

03 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 3, 2009

(February 2009) Abstract Pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) have a unique opportunity to promote public health and generate value in the healthcare system. However, PBMs are largely evaluated on their ability to control View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

The Drive to Acquire’s Impact on Globalization

now give to the overall benefits of globalization. As practiced today, Ricardo's classic system results in win-win exchanges when both trading partners are either (1) industrialized nations with modern impulse/check/balance governments, no excessive unemployment, and... View Details

Keywords: by Paul R. Lawrence

18 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 18

more likely to return to work when initial socialization focused on personal identity as compared to a focus on organizational identity or a control condition. In addition, authentic self-expression mediated these relationships. We call... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

23 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

supplying superior bottleneck components while outsourcing non-bottleneck components. I show that a firm pursuing this strategy will have a higher return on invested capital (ROIC) than competitors with a less modular design. Over time, the focal firm can drive the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

30 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 30, 2015

directors. Controlling for these effects and other ratings determinants, we find that firms with lower residual ratings have higher subsequent citations in corruption news events. They also report higher future sales growth and show a... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

Four Companies that Conquered America

consumers but exclusively on an online basis. Taking advantage of its low no-bricks-and-mortar cost structure, ING was able to offer generous rates on certificates of deposit. Just four years on, ING is the third-largest holder of... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

02 Apr 2010
What Do You Think?

Why Are Fewer and Fewer U.S. Employees Satisfied With Their Jobs?

Joyce Dias puts it, "People give up what they enjoy doing most in order to submit to the unnatural process of doing something— anything in order to earn their living." Combine this with research that cites a high correlation between job satisfaction and View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

23 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Medical Debt Won't Make Everyone Happier

and data on future debt sent to collections. In the first experiment, researchers compared more than 14,000 randomly selected patients for whom RIP Medical Debt relieved a total of about $19 million in debt with a control group of more... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

01 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 1

propose a general mechanism of partner choice, "screening," that is similar to the economic theory of mechanism design. Imposing the appropriate costs and rewards may induce the informed individuals to screen themselves... View Details

12 May 2003
Research & Ideas

How Hot is the “Hot Spot” Business?

Characteristics favoring the technology, Dayton said, are the relatively cheap cost (providers can establish a hot spot for about $2,000; users can equip their laptop with a Wi-Fi card for about $50), relatively good performance (up to 11... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne & Martha Lagace; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

22 Nov 2016
First Look

November 22, 2016

managerially substantial increases in current retailer orders (i.e., demand, not just sales). Specifically, a one percentage point increase in fill rate, measured over the prior year, is associated with a statistically significant 11% increase in current retailer... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 31, 2006

capital are also important for the effect of FDI on economic growth. Download working paper: http://papers.nber.org/papers/W12522 A New Framework for Analyzing and Managing Macrofinancial Risks of an Economy Authors:Dale F. Gray, Robert C. Merton, and Zvi Bodie... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 6

residential real estate and away from more productive investments. Third, the cost of professional investment management is too high, which drains talent from other industries. The financial sector could promote the health and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 19, 2007

also show that the internal control provisions of section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley make royalty arrangements based on self-reporting more attractive. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-100.pdf Toward a Theory of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 1988 (Revised September 1992)
Case

Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Backhaul Decision

By: Janice H. Hammond

Prior to the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, companies with private trucking fleets were generally prohibited from selling transportation services to other companies. The deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980 allowed private carriers to offer for-hire transportation... View Details