Publications

April 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Wal-Mart Update, 2017

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

In 2017 Wal-Mart was still the world’s largest company, with over $480 billion in annual revenue and operations in 28 countries. Although it had mostly vanquished its rival discount retailers in the U.S., it was struggling to find the right growth strategy. Facing a... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Range; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry

2009
Case

The Prediction Lover's Handbook

By: Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris

When picking assessment tools to inform better decisions about future paths, executives are faced with a wide variety of options--some of which are well established, while others are in early stages of development. The authors provide an insider's guide to prediction... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Analysis; Forecasting and Prediction

February 2025
Case

Doing Business in Manila, Philippines

By: Jill Avery, Harold Zhu and Billy Chan

This case explores the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the Philippines, focusing on its economic transformation from "the sick man of Asia" to a rising force in Southeast Asia in the decades leading up to 2024. It examines key obstacles like... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Globalization; Logistics; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Transformation; Fashion Industry; Asia; Philippines

April 2021
Case

Glass-Shattering Leaders: Jack Rivkin

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman

Jack Rivkin’s innovative approach to hiring, developing, and retaining employees created opportunities for female analysts to thrive at the equity research department he led, and also made the entire department more effective. Rivkin fostered a culture of gender... View Details

Keywords: Gender Inclusivity; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Gender; Talent and Talent Management

May 2022
Article

Investment as the Opportunity Cost of Dividend Signaling

By: Zach Kaplan and Gerardo Pérez Cavazos

We provide evidence that firms with weak investment opportunities (those whose current earnings justify a greater valuation than firms with strong investment opportunities) signal their permanent earnings level through their dividends. In the cross-section, we show... View Details

Keywords: Dividends; Earnings; Investment Opportunities; Payout Policy; Signaling; Capital Structure; Business Earnings; Investment; Opportunities

March 2018
Case

TrustSphere: Building a Market for Relationship Analytics

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Manish Goel was the CEO of TrustSphere, a seven-year-old company in the data analytics industry that focused squarely on relationship analytics, a space in which TrustSphere was pioneering a unique technology and solutions in the areas of sales, risk, and people... View Details

Keywords: Data Analytics; People Analytics; Talent Management; Human Resources; Networks; Relationships; Analysis; Employee Relationship Management; Core Relationships; Applications and Software; Communication; Technology Industry; Singapore

August 2017
Article

A Formal Theory of Strategy

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

What makes a decision strategic? When is strategy most important? This paper formally studies these questions, starting from a (functional) definition of strategy as “the smallest set of choices to optimally guide (or force) other choices.” The paper shows that this... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Development; Strategy; Decisions

Research Summary

Optimal Contracting with Reciprocal Agents

(with Florian Englmaier) (Job Market Paper)

Abstract: Empirically, compensation systems often seem to generate substantial effort despite weak incentives. We consider reciprocal motivations as a source of incentives. We solve for the optimal... View Details

February 1995 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Russia 1994

Describes Russia's transition from a centrally planned economy under Communist rule to an increasingly market-oriented economy under a more democratic political regime. Can be used to discuss the complementarity of elements of an economic strategy, and the optimal... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Economic Systems; Russia; Soviet Union

October 31, 2023
Article

Research: Can a More Detailed LinkedIn Profile Boost Your Salary?

By: Boris Groysberg and Eric Lin

Our digital presence impacts how others perceive us. A simple résumé and a list of references no longer captures the essence of our professional capabilities. In this article, the authors explain how the intentional management of our online personas can have a positive... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Job Search; Social Media

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April 2020
Article

Digital Emotion Contagion

By: Amit Goldenberg and James J. Gross

People spend considerable time on digital media, and during this time they are often exposed to others’ emotion expressions. This exposure can lead their own emotion expressions to become more like others’ emotion expressions, a process we refer to as digital emotion... View Details

Keywords: Emotion; Emotion Contagion; Digital Media; Emotions; Media; Internet and the Web; Measurement and Metrics; Social Media

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14 Dec 2015
News

Another Year Has Passed, but the List of Massive Global Problems Has Stayed the Same

2017
Chapter

The Swedish Competitiveness Scorecard 2017

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

The Swedish Competitiveness Scorecard assesses Sweden's current competitiveness across a broad range of indicators, applying an impact logic from competitiveness fundamentals to productivity and prosperity outcomes. On these indicators Sweden is compared to a peer... View Details

Keywords: Competitiveness; Sweden; Economic Policy; Economy; Policy; Competition; Sweden

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2016
Chapter

Evaluating the Effects of Large Scale Health Interventions in Developing Countries: The Zambian Malaria Initiative

By: Nava Ashraf, Gunther Fink and David N. Weil

Since 2003, Zambia has been engaged in a large-scale, centrally coordinated national anti-Malaria campaign, which has become a model in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper aims at quantifying the individual and macro-level benefits of this campaign, which involved mass... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Health Pandemics; Developing Countries and Economies; Zambia

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Research Summary

Consumer-Brand Relationships

Susan M. Fournier is conducting extensive research into the relationships consumers form with brands. Her work builds on the premise that, although marketers espouse the notion of relationships in current thought and practice, none have theoretically maximized the... View Details

Negotiation 360

Negotiation 360 an app built for Apple and Android personal devices. It empowers users to track negotiation performance and draw valuable lessons from their own experience. Its interactive features are based on cutting edge theory and proven best practices.
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Global Accountabilities

Accountability is seen as an essential feature of governments, businesses and NGOs. This volume treats it as a socially constructed means of control that can be used by the weak as well as the powerful. It contributes analytical depth to the diverse debates on... View Details

08 Dec 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Industry R&D Survey: Patent Database Link Project

Keywords: by William R. Kerr & Shihe Fu; Technology

February 1991
Case

George B.H. Macomber Co.--1990

Details a fledgling president's attempt to build an information systems and manage the expertise base of the firm. Intrigued by the potential information technology holds for the construction industry, this general contractor has initiated the overhaul of the firm's... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Management Systems