Publications

January 2008 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Restructuring at Nova Chemical Corporation

Management of a diversified chemicals company faces two financial decisions: whether to finance a major investment in new production facilities for its rapidly expanding Environmental Products Division, and whether to sell a more slowly growing non-specialty chemicals... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decision Choices and Conditions; Chemicals; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Finance; Chemical Industry

July–August 2014
Article

Unlock the Mysteries of Your Customer Relationships

By: Jill Avery, Susan Fournier and John Wittenbraker

Consumers have always had relationships with brands, but sophisticated tools for analyzing customer data are finally allowing marketing organizations to personalize and manage those relationships. With this new power comes a new challenge: people now expect companies... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; CRM; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Rakesh Khurana is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School. He is also Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, co-Master of Cabot House at Harvard College, and the Danoff Dean of Harvard College.

Professor... View Details

Keywords: executive search

March 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Eliot Spitzer: Pushing Wall Street to Reform

By: Rawi Abdelal, Rafael Di Tella and Jonathan Schlefer

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer faced a decision about how to stop wrongdoing committed by major Wall Street firms during the Internet boom. The equities analysts of Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street firms were charged with objectively advising retail... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decisions; Financial Institutions; Stocks; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Laws and Statutes; Lawsuits and Litigation; Conflict of Interests; Internet; Financial Services Industry; United States

01 Sep 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Transaction Cost Economics in the Digital Economy: A Research Agenda

Keywords: by Frank Nagle, Robert Seamans, and Steve Tadelis

20 Aug 2010
News

Global diversification: Anathema a decade ago, now a great strategy

29 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Star Power! How to Win in Professional Services

Limits To Leadership Being the chief executive of any company is a demanding job. Carrying out the responsibilities of a CEO in a professional service firm is exceptionally challenging because the position lacks the inherent power and... View Details

Keywords: by Jay W. Lorsch & Thomas J. Tierney

March 2016
Article

To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts

By: Benjamin Edelman, Sonia Jaffe and Scott Duke Kominers

We examine the profitability and implications of online discount vouchers, a relatively new marketing tool that offers consumers large discounts when they prepay for participating firms' goods and services. Within a model of repeat experience good purchase, we examine... View Details

Keywords: Voucher Discounts; Groupon; Experience Goods; Repeat Purchase; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications

Read Now

2014
Working Paper

~To Groupon or Not to Groupon: The Profitability of Deep Discounts

By: Benjamin G. Edelman

We examine the profitability and implications of online discount vouchers, a relatively new marketing tool that offers consumers large discounts when they prepay for participating firms' goods and services. Within a model of repeat experience good purchase, we examine... View Details

Keywords: Voucher Discounts; Groupon; Experience Goods; Repeat Purchase; Online Advertising; Price; Profit; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry

SSRN

Read Now

12 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 12

implementation of firm strategy). Thus, agency theory predicts managers will, on average, use the discretion in SFAS 142 consistent with private incentives. We test these hypotheses in a sample of firms with... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

TeachingInterests

Management of Technology: Strategies for the Digital Economy

Companies make decisions daily to compete in the digital age; some are laying strategic building blocks for the future while others are toiling away on tactical distractions or leading their organizations headlong down the path to obsolescence. The advent of digital... View Details

06 Aug 2015
News

When Workers Know Exactly How Much More Money CEOs Make, Will Anything Change?

Teaching Interest

Real Estate Management Program: Finance, Design, and Leadership

By: Andy Wu

How do you achieve short-term stability and long-term growth in the unpredictable real estate marketplace? This program explores how forward-thinking real estate leaders are positioning their firms to seize growth opportunities and maximize asset value. Equipped... View Details

December 2014
Article

Location Strategies for Agglomeration Economies

By: Juan Alcácer and Wilbur Chung

Geographically concentrated industry activity creates pools of skilled labor and specialized suppliers, and increases opportunities for knowledge spillovers. The strategic value of these agglomeration economies may vary by firm, depending upon the relative value of... View Details

Keywords: Location Strategies; Location Choices; Agglomeration Economies; Strategy; Value Creation; Geographic Location; Industry Clusters; Microeconomics; Manufacturing Industry; United States

October 2005 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Sales Force Integration at FedEx (A)

By: David B. Godes

Federal Express' (FedEx) recent acquisition of RPS--a ground delivery firm--gave the firm the potential to offer a single source for a client's delivery needs. However, to deliver on this potential, the firm needed to deliver the integrated solution through a single... View Details

Keywords: Horizontal Integration; Salesforce Management; Transportation; Compensation and Benefits; Transportation Industry

November–December 2017
Article

Innovation Streams and Executive Leadership

By: Michael Tushman

Incumbent firms face steep challenges in dealing with technological change and associated innovation streams. The firm's senior leadership team, and especially R&D leadership, plays a central role in shaping a firm's ability to both exploit existing capabilities and... View Details

Keywords: Ambidexterity; Exploit Vs. Explore; Dynamic Capabilities; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technology Adoption; Innovation Leadership