Publications

Web

Research - Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

wealth distribution and about 3% for the top 30% of the wealth distribution. Household consumption is significantly more responsive to dividend payouts. See Marco’s other research here , Amir’s other research here , and Kaven’s other... View Details

10 Oct 2023
Blog Post

Policy Drivers for Environmental Justice: What Businesses Need to Know

Disadvantaged Communities (DACs): communities “marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.”[1] Environmental Racism: “racial discrimination in environmental policy making, corporate decision making, and/or practice which results in the inequitable View Details

October 1992 (Revised September 1993)
Case

L.L. Bean, Inc.: Item Forecasting and Inventory Management

By: Arthur Schleifer Jr.

L.L. Bean must make stocking decisions on thousands of items sold through its catalogs. In many cases, orders must be placed with vendors twelve or more weeks before a catalog lands on a customer's doorstep, and commitments cannot be changed thereafter. As a result,... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Risk Management; Cost Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Demand and Consumers; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Retail Industry; United States

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

When Gender Changes the Negotiation

negotiations. After all, analysts in the investment management industry have highly portable skills and are frequently poached by competing firms. And though all of Park's employees were performing roughly the same work, they had... View Details

Keywords: by Dina W. Pradel, Hannah Riley Bowles & Kathleen L. McGinn

27 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 27

distribution strategy for Glass, a wearable computer that projected information on a display viewable with an upward glance. Options, which were not mutually exclusive, included 1) continuing to sell Glass directly through online... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2013
Case

Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong

Altius Golf is the clear leader in the golf ball market despite a long-term decline in the number of golfers and a drop in sales following the financial crisis. The firm has maintained its position by introducing generations of advanced, super-premium golf balls that... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Distribution Channels; Sports; Financial Crisis; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Sports Industry; Sports Industry

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

input more valuable. Distributed supermodular complementarity (DSMC) exists when two or more independent actors can create complementary value by pursuing their own interests and will not find it advantageous to combine in order to... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Web

Serving the Public Interest Through Competition: British Railroads - Railroads and the Transformation of Capitalism | Harvard Business School

Railroads Finance Management Business Analysts Mass Distribution Mergers & Syndicates Research Links Serving the Public Interest Through Competition: British Railroads Through comparative analysis of railroads in the United States and... View Details

17 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon, Whole Foods Deal a Big Win for Consumers

Source: 400tmax Editor's Note. Online retailing behemoth Amazon announced June 16 that it would acquire upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market in a deal valued at more than $13 billion. Though the company has dabbled with the idea of a brick-and-mortar footprint in... View Details

Keywords: by Jose Alvarez and Len Schlesinger; Retail

October 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Hulu: An Evil Plot to Destroy the World?

By: Anita Elberse and Sunil Gupta

In July 2009, Jason Kilar, the chief executive officer of Hulu, is debating whether the online video aggregator should move away from a purely advertising-supported model, and whether it should participate in an industry-wide initiative to develop and test... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Model; Television Entertainment; Distribution Channels; Service Operations; Internet and the Web; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

12 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 12

delayed. Additional tests show that the GQ project's effect operates in part through a stronger sorting of land-intensive industries from nodal districts to non-nodal districts located on the GQ network. The GQ upgrades further helped... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Chari: Exploring Fintech in Morocco

By: Karen G. Mills and Ahmed Dahawy

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Morocco. It highlights Morocco’s unique economy where cash remains a dominant player in the market despite global advancements in digitalization. The case also explores the various cultural and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry; Morocco

14 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Pay Attention To Your ‘Extreme Consumers’

of the bell curve, says Avery, product designers can discover truly innovative breakthroughs. "Only by looking at consumers who fall within those tails of the normal distribution can you understand the extremes," she says. "And they often... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

15 Jul 2019
Book

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

problem and the various pathologies that are associated with it. In short, the capital allocation problem is simple. The dominant question for managers is: Do you keep free cash or do you distribute it? If you keep it, should you invest... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

06 Jul 2016
What Do You Think?

How Do We Pay for the Costs of Globalization?

Should We Encourage the Redistribution of Benefits of Globalization? If So, How? The benefits of globalization outweigh the costs. But the costs are not being distributed equitably among investors, workers, consumers, and the public in... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Manufacturing

05 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

The Hidden Benefit of Giving Back to Open Source Software

that certain employees gain through contributing, says Nagle. His study suggests that contributing to crowdsourced digital or even physical “public goods” that benefit other firms or industries can enable companies to gain valuable... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Computer

Web

Becoming an Entrepreneur - Alumni

friction from ecommerce shopping, or applying Big Data to achieve supply chain efficiencies Enthusiasm for a particular industry or "space," such as IoT or green energy initiatives For those who recognize themselves as founders, the next... View Details

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville