Publications

February 1983
Case

Managing Product Safety: The Case of the Procter & Gamble Rely Tampon

Presents an accounting of Procter & Gamble's handling of a product safety controversy (1980) surrounding its Rely tampon. May be used as part of a series, Managing Product Safety, that provides an opportunity to compare and contrast the social response strategies... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Crisis Management; Product; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

December 7, 2011
Article

Choice Helps High-End Products, Hurts Low-End Products

By: Marco Bertini and Luc Wathieu

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1992
Book Review

Book Review of Intuition in Organizations: Leading and Managing Productively edited by Weston H. Agor

By: J. Polzer, K. Diekmann and M. Neale

Keywords: Leadership; Management

July–August 2015
Article

Engineering Reverse Innovations: Principles for Creating Successful Products for Emerging Markets

By: Amos Winter and Vijay Govindarajan

Multinationals are starting to catch on to the logic of reverse innovation, in which products are designed first for consumers in low-income countries and then adapted into disruptive offerings for developed economies. But only a handful of companies have managed to do... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Emerging Markets

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2012
Article

Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank

By: B. Staats and F. Gino

Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design-related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition... View Details

Keywords: Motivation; Productivity; Specialization; Variety; Work Fragmentation; Boundaries; Performance Productivity; Organizations; Research; Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Opportunities; Market Transactions; Resource Allocation; Performance; Goals and Objectives; Learning

July–August 2017
Article

Why Outlet Stores Exist: Averting Cannibalization in Product Line Extensions

By: Donald Ngwe

Outlet stores are a large and growing component of many firms' retailing strategies, particularly in the fashion industry. Outlet stores offer attractive prices in locations far from central shopping districts. The main perspectives on why outlet stores exist can be... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Industrial Organization; Outlet Stores; Price Discrimination; Retail; Channel Management; Luxury; Product Marketing; Price; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry

June 2014 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Molycorp: Financing the Production of Rare Earth Minerals (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Molycorp, the western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth minerals, was in the middle of a $1 billion capital expenditure project in its effort to become a vertically integrated supplier of rare earth minerals, oxides, and metals. Yet it had just reported lower... View Details

Educators

August 2012
Article

Consumer Response to Versioning: How Brands' Production Methods Affect Perceptions of Unfairness

By: Andrew Gershoff, Ran Kivetz and Anat Keinan

Marketers often extend product lines by offering limited-capability models that are created by removing or degrading features in existing models. This production method, called versioning, has been lauded because of its ability to increase both consumer and firm... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Production; Competency and Skills; Welfare or Wellbeing; Cost vs Benefits; Perception; Customers; Performance Evaluation; Fairness; Business Ventures

April 1987 (Revised May 1988)
Supplement

Inland Steel Co. Product Policy (G): Small Melts

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Lawrence B. Levine

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Steel Industry

2004
Other Unpublished Work

SEED: A Commitment Savings Product in the Philippines

By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan and Wesley Yin

Keywords: Saving; Financial Instruments; Philippines

August 2018
Article

Creative Sparks or Paralysis Traps? The Effects of Contradictions on Creative Processing and Creative Products

By: Goran Calic and Sébastien Hélie

Paradoxes are an unavoidable part of work life. The unusualness of attempting to simultaneously satisfy contradictory imperatives can result in creative outcomes that simultaneously satisfy both imperatives by inducing search for, and selection of, novel and useful... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Cognition and Thinking; Business or Company Management; Performance

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2013
Working Paper

How Does Risk Management Influence Production Decisions? Evidence from a Field Experiment

By: Shawn Cole, Xavier Gine and James Vickery

Weather is a key source of income risk, particularly in emerging market economies. This paper uses a randomized controlled trial involving a sample of Indian farmers to study how an innovative rainfall insurance product affects production decisions. We find that... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Production; Weather; Insurance; Emerging Markets; Agribusiness; Insurance Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; India

01 May 1998
Conference Presentation

Rapid Learning and Adaptation in Product Development: An Empirical Study of the Internet Software Industry

By: Alan MacCormack, M. Iansiti and R Verganti

Keywords: Learning; Product Development; Software; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry

2022
Book

Productive Tensions: How Every Leader Can Tackle Innovation's Toughest Trade-Offs

By: Chris Bingham and Rory McDonald

Why is leading innovation in nascent business environments so distressingly hit-or-miss? More than 90% of high-potential ventures don’t reach their projected targets. Surveys show that 80% of executives consider innovation crucial to their growth strategy, but only 6%... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Management; Organizational Culture; Leadership Style; Decision Making

18 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Commuter Hell? You Can Still Be Productive

their jobs overall if they can shift from thinking about themselves as “passive actors” during the commute to viewing that time as a potentially productive period. Lee used to arrive at work exhausted after commuting as much as 100... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July 1997
Case

Allentown Materials Corporation: The Electronic Products Division (B)

By: Michael Beer

Focuses on the recommendations and implementation strategy made by the organizational development group to address the division's problems. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Electronics Industry; United States

Educators

December 2007 (Revised April 2008)
Exercise

The Elcer Products Transaction: Confidential Information for Pearl Equity Partners

By: James K. Sebenius

In a six-party negotiation exercise, the TNDA Corp. plans to sell the Elcer Products Division to one of four potential buyers (industrial, financial, U.S., German). This case contains confidential information for the Pearl Equity Partners management role. Challenges... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation

July 1976 (Revised April 1983)
Case

Corning Glass Works: The Electronic Products Division (A)

By: Michael Beer

Describes a division of Corning Glass Works that finds itself with deep financial and organizational problems. Severe conflict and lack of coordination exist between functional groups. Employees do not have a sense of direction and morale is low. Provides sufficient... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Change Management; Transformation; Employees; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Educators