Publications

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Exercise

E-Commerce Analytics for CPG Firms (C): Free Delivery Terms

By: Ayelet Israeli and Fedor (Ted) Lisitsyn

The E-Commerce Analytics group at the traditional CPG firm was in charge of compiling various online sales reports, as well as making data-driven recommendations for sales and marketing tactics. In a series of exercises, students address different data challenges for... View Details

October 1994
Case

Bankers Trust: Global Investment Bank

By: Andre F. Perold and Kuljot Singh

In October 1992, Eugene Shanks, president of Bankers Trust New York Corp., and Brian Walsh, head of the Global Investment Bank (GIB) business unit, are considering a proposal for a large and complex financing involving the North Sea Oil Co. (NSOC). The financing... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Risk Management; Value Creation; Business History; Capital Markets; Financing and Loans; Financial Markets; Corporate Finance; Banking Industry; Energy Industry

14 Jun 2023
Op-Ed

Every Company Should Have These Leaders—or Develop Them if They Don't

We’ve long known that organizations require so-called flexible leaders to respond to rapid market fluctuations; the last couple of years have only emphasized that necessity. The environment we operate in—shaped by the pandemic, social... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson

January 2018 (Revised January 2021)
Background Note

Customer Lifetime Social Value (CLSV)

By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller

One of the hallmarks of the digital revolution is the rise of the socially connected consumer. Concomitantly, the ability of companies to affect and measure the social interactions among customers has grown tremendously. Consequently, in assessing the full value of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Management; Social Contagion; Word Of Mouth; Customer Engagement; Customer Value and Value Chain; Measurement and Metrics; Customer Relationship Management

07 Feb 2008
News

Harvard Business School Faculty Members Win Smith Breeden Prize for Distinguised Paper in Finance

10 Apr 2021
News

Trump's Plan to Start His Own Social Media Platform Is Doomed to Failure, Say Experts

August 1985 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Waters Chromatography Division: U.S. Field Sales (A)

Provides background information on the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) industry and the Waters Chromatography Division, an operation engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of HPLC instrument systems and chemical products. An overview of Waters'... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Sales; Technology Industry

Program

Finance for Senior Executives

compensation incentives, and play a bigger role in helping your company optimize its financial resources and strengthen its bottom line. Details Apply strategic financial insight Make informed strategic... View Details

Research Summary

The Architecture of the Integrated Organization

By: Ranjay Gulati

In this research I explore how organizations balance pressures for efficiency with the need to be responsive at the same time. Operating in turbulent global markets it is increasingly important for firms to embrace both global efficiency and also local responsiveness.... View Details

Research Summary

The Strategic Management of Technology

Clayton M. Christensen's research on the management of technological innovation suggests that for leading firms in a wide variety of industries, developing advanced technologies per se is rarely the constraining challenge in technological innovation. Rather, the... View Details

September 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Mobile Banking for the Unbanked

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

The case describes in detail the workings of two mobile banking operators in Africa—WIZZIT in South Africa and M-PESA in Kenya. It explores the dimensions of strategy that make for success in the market for the unbanked. It raises questions regarding the portability of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Financial Institutions; Disruptive Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Banking Industry; Kenya; South Africa

October 1992 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Nopane Advertising Strategy

By: David E. Bell

Nopane is a proprietary drug that sells in much of the United States. It faces substantial competition. The brand manager is undertaking an experiment to determine whether ad copy should be emotional-based or rational-based. The data and associated regression results... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Intellectual Property; Advertising; Health Care and Treatment; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

February 1985 (Revised April 1991)
Case

Computervision-Japan (A)

The CAD/CAM market in Japan is about to take off. Computervision wants its exclusive distributor to dramatically expand its sales and service coverage. The distributor wants a joint venture with Computervision before expanding. Several distribution alternatives... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Information Technology Industry; Japan

December 2012
Article

Estimating the Value of Connections to Vice-President Cheney

By: Rakesh Khurana, Raymond Fisman, Julia Galef and Yongxiang Wang

We estimate the market valuation of personal ties to Richard Cheney. Our proxies for personal ties are based on corporate board linkages that are prevalent in the network sociology literature. We consider a number of distinct political and personal events that either... View Details

Keywords: Event Analysis; Political Economy; Corruption; Networks; United States

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12 Sep 2023
What Do You Think?

Who Gets the Loudest Voice in DEI Decisions?

of ESG, there are similar controversies around DEI. For example, marketing to or recruiting from a particular group—for example, members and allies of the LGBTQ community—might offend other people or cause... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

February 2019 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Sales Force Management at Nobel Ilac

By: Doug J. Chung and Gamze Yucaoglu

Nobel Ilac was a Turkish generic pharmaceutical company marketing more than 100 drugs in 20 countries and, as of 2017, had over 2,500 employees worldwide. Nobel had implemented a transformation strategy—more specifically, a customer segmentation plan—whereby the sales... View Details

Keywords: Sales Strategy; Compensation; Employee Retention; Recruiting; Pharmaceuticals; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Organizational Design; Human Resources; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Retention; Recruitment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Turkey

June 2007 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The CW: Launching a Television Network

By: Anita Elberse and S. Mark Young

In May 2006, Dawn Ostroff, president of entertainment of the newly formed CW Television Network, was faced with the task of choosing the final set of programs for the 2006 fall schedule, which she would present to advertisers at the annual "upfront" market in New York... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Television Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Strategic Planning; Networks; Media and Broadcasting Industry

October 1994 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Patricia Ostrander

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Donald J. Edwards and Antonio F. Weiss

Analyzes the career of former money manager Patricia Ostrander. Focuses on Ostrander's purchase of stock warrants issued in connection with the 1985 leveraged buyout of Storer Communications and on her later indictment and conviction for accepting unlawful... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Ethics; Capital Markets; Managerial Roles; Outcome or Result; United States

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July 2020
Case

Driving Transformation at the Majid Al Futtaim Group

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

The case opens with Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding, anticipating on the Group’s next phase in the multi-year transformation journey and reflecting on the initiatives he implemented to create the Group’s growth-oriented culture. Founded in 1995,... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; United Arab Emirates; Middle East; Dubai