Publications

January 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial (RJF) currently sells financial services through two channels. It is considering adding a third in the "middle" of the other two. The current strategy has one channel with employees and another with independent contractors. These attract very... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Human Resources; Financial Services Industry; Service Industry

June 2017
Case

Magellan Boatworks

By: John A. Quelch and James T. Kindley

Magellan Boatworks is a midsize manufacturer of customized, power "cruising yachts." In the face of economic and political uncertainty in late 2016, Magellan's VP of sales and marketing, Walt Robinson, wonders whether he should request a budget increase for 2017.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Marketing Communications; Advertising; Strategy; Salesforce Management

12 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Operations and the Competitive Edge

Obstacles facing companies in today's hyper-competitive global markets are seemingly more complex than ever, to the point that managers must rethink many of the basic principles of good operations management, says Robert Hayes. In a new... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Sealed Air Corporation: Deciding the Fate of VTID

By: Elie Ofek

In mid 2010 the Sealed Air Corporation has to decide on next steps for its novel video tracking technology (called VTID) after unsuccessful attempts to market it in three different industry settings. The company must determine whether its most recent target market, the... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Commercialization; Service Industry

January 1985 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Turner Construction Co.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In June, 1984, a vice president at Turner Construction Co. must decide whether to approve a construction project being considered by one of Turner's territorial offices and how to manage that territory general manager's apparent reluctance to pursue another account... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Projects; Market Entry and Exit; Integration; Contracts; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Business or Company Management; Business Offices; Geographic Location; Construction Industry

19 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting School Ties and Stock Recommendations

would come out strong, in fact ties from non–Ivy League schools were just as powerful, the researchers learned. They detail the results and implications in an HBS working paper, "Sell Side School Ties" [PDF]. "Our findings... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

Fast Answer

Forecasts: economic, industry, and country

Intelligence Unit Select Data--Data Tool from the top menu. In Step 1, select All Market Indicators. Choose countries or region in Step 2 and add your... View Details

November 2003 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Atlas Electrica: International Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter and Arturo Condo

Atlas must decide whether to acquire La Indeca, increasing its Central American presence, or to focus on larger Latin American markets where higher growth is possible. In the year 2000, Jorge Rodriguez was in charge of Atlas Electrica, the largest home appliance firm... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Expansion; Latin America; Central America

11 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?

again a magnet for companies. With its targeting capabilities, relatively low cost, and vast reach, social media has become an essential marketing channel, especially for those... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Tourism

07 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Off and Running: Professors Comment on Olympics

audience mix, as does the element of national pride that comes with victory and the emotional flag-raising ceremony that follows. The brand power of the Olympics is also fueled by business and View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Sports

January 2018
Technical Note

The Scope of Business at the Base of the Pyramid: Middle and Lower Income Countries

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Tricia Gregg

Using World Bank data, the note defines the Base of the Pyramid population as the 4.76 billion people living on less than $10/day. It briefly reviews the perspectives of key business articles that address this market, notably C.K. Prahalad’s work on Bottom of the... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Poverty; Social Issues; Human Needs; Segmentation

07 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

Who Pays For Wildfire and Hurricane Damage? Everyone.

New Mexico homeowners might think their inland location buffers them from the financial toll of climate change, but they’re still paying for climate-related property damage occurring in coastal states. New research finds that homeowners in New Mexico and other states... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Insurance

01 Apr 2016
News

New brew: Starbucks Canada to offer beer, wine

24 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Boards and Corporate Governance: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

A board's most important function is approval and oversight of strategy and of major strategic decisions, such as acquisitions and large capital expenditures. Boards are... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert S. Kaplan & Krishna G. Palepu

19 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Racist Umpires and Monetary Ministers

a select number of games in 2007 and 2008 the researchers also analyzed where the pitchers threw the ball over the plate. They found that when the umpire and pitcher were of a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Information; Publishing

31 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

The Effect of Institutional Factors on the Value of Corporate Diversification

Keywords: by Venkat Kuppuswamy, George Serafeim & Belén Villalonga

July–September 2014
Article

Investing in Superstars: Lessons from the World of Football [¿Cómo Invertir en Superestrellas? Lecciones del Mundo del Fútbol]

By: Anita Elberse

Markets for soccer players are winner-take-all markets in which a select few top players earn extremely high rewards. The search for effective talent strategies in these conditions has led clubs to pursue a superstar-acquisition model, a talent-development model, or a... View Details

Keywords: Sports Management; Talent Management; Talent and Talent Management; Sports; Sports Industry; Europe; Latin America

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

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details