Publications

20 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

How Consumers Value Global Brands

In 2002, we carried out a two-stage research project in partnership with the market research company Research International/USA to find out how consumers in different countries value global brands. First, we conducted a qualitative study in forty-one countries to... View Details

Keywords: by Douglas B. Holt, John A. Quelch & Earl L. Taylor

October 1997 (Revised February 2003)
Background Note

Worldwide Web and Internet Technology,The

In terms non-technical readers can understand, the evolution of the Internet and the Web, characteristics of the supporting technology, and current issues surrounding use of the technology are examined. View Details

Keywords: Internet; Web

2003
Article

Do Investors Respond to Analysts’ Forecast Revisions As If Forecast Accuracy Is All That Matters?

By: Michael B. Clement and Senyo Tse

Prior research suggests that investors' response to analyst forecast revisions increases with the analyst's forecast accuracy. We extend this research by examining whether investors appear to extract all of the information that analyst characteristics provide about... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Forecasting and Prediction; Knowledge Sharing

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June 2002
Background Note

Convertible Securities

This case covers the general characteristics of convertible securities and briefly discusses their history, investors, issuers, and method of valuation. View Details

Keywords: Debt Securities

June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy

By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron

Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Distribution; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Web Services Industry

01 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

What it Takes to Lead Through Turmoil

take advantage of change in fundamental ways. In a presentation to an overflow crowd of HBS alumni, Kanter discussed the characteristics of companies that thrive with change and those that are swamped by it. She illustrated the talk with... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Summer 2012
Article

How to Become a Sustainable Company

By: Robert G. Eccles, Kathleen Miller Perkins and George Serafeim

Using field and survey data we identify the characteristics of sustainable companies, and we develop a two-stage model that can help companies develop a culture of innovation, trust, and the ability for transformational change. View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Innovation; Leadership; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Trust; Organizational Change and Adaptation

January 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Four Deals

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

Describes four disguised deals with different characteristics from the perspective of the acquirer. Asks students to compare, contrast, and rank the opportunities. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Negotiation Deal

2014
Working Paper

Which Does More to Determine the Quality of Corporate Governance in Emerging Economies, Firms or Countries?

By: Andrea Hugill and Jordan Siegel

Scholars of corporate governance have debated the relative importance of country and firm characteristics in understanding corporate governance variation across emerging economies. Using panel data and a number of model specifications, we shed new light on this debate.... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Corporate Governance; Developing Countries and Economies

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September 2015
Teaching Note

Unidentified Industries: Australia 2014

By: Benjamin C. Esty and William E. Fruhan, Jr.

Helps students to understand how the characteristics of a business are reflected in the firm's financial statements. In this exercise, students are given balance sheet data in percentage form (common-size balance sheets) and other selected financial ratios for a set of... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Finance; Financial Management; Australia

March 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Module Note

Negotiating Effectively in Family Business Systems

By: Deepak Malhotra and John A. Davis

Explores how families in business can apply five principles of negotiation that are used effectively by non-family members. The distinctive characteristics of family relationships and of family business systems--which affect the use of these principles--are described. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Negotiation; Family Ownership

March 1999 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, The

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Ann Winslow

Describes the death of a cancer patient in one of the nation's premier cancer treatment centers and examines the organizational and process characteristics that may have contributed to the medical error. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Quality; Service Operations; Management Practices and Processes; Business Processes; Failure; Health Industry

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

Race Does Matter in Mentoring

In a three-year research project, I studied the career trajectories of minority and white professionals at three major U.S. corporations. The story of one of the participants—Stephen Williams—sheds light on many of the differences in career advancement between whites... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Thomas

December 1994
Background Note

Cost System Analysis

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes six characteristics of cost systems: standard vs. actual costs; job-order vs. process costing; variable vs. full costs; disaggregate vs. aggregate cost accumulation; and specific vs. average rates for labor and overhead. A rewritten version of an earlier... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Analysis; System

2016
Working Paper

Equal Opportunity? Gender Gaps in CEO Appointments and Executive Pay

By: Matti Keloharju, Samuli Knüpfer and Joacim Tåg

This paper uses exceptionally rich data on Swedish corporate executives and their personal characteristics to study gender gaps in CEO appointments and pay. Both gaps are sizeable: 18% for CEO appointments and 27% for pay. At most one-eighth of the gaps can be... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Executive Compensation; Gender; Sweden

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2005
Book

A Portrait of the Visual Arts: Meeting the Challenges of a New Era

By: Kevin F. McCarthy, Elizabeth A. Ondaatje, Arthur C. Brooks and András Szántó

Providing information about developments in the visual arts world, this book provides an analysis of the sector, describing the characteristics of visual arts consumers, artists, finances, and organization. View Details

Keywords: Visual Arts; Arts; Policy; United States

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Third Quarter 2015
Article

Should Boards Mentor Their CEOs?: It Is a Complex Question. Here Are the Significant Considerations.

By: Jay W. Lorsch

It's a complex question with significant considerations, including how open the CEO is likely to be to such advice, the company's situation, and the characteristics of the board. View Details

Keywords: Directors; CEO Mentoring; Governing and Advisory Boards; Rank and Position; Management Teams

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September 2015 (Revised July 2016)
Case

Unidentified Industries: Australia 2014

By: Benjamin Esty and William E. Fruhan, Jr.

Helps students to understand how the characteristics of a business are reflected in the firm's financial statements. In this exercise, students are given balance sheet data in percentage form (common-size balance sheets) and other selected financial ratios for a set of... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Finance; Financial Management; Australia

2017
Working Paper

Rainy Day Stocks

By: Niels Gormsen and Robin Greenwood

We study the good- and bad-times performance of equity portfolios formed on characteristics. Many characteristics associated with good performance during bad times – value, profitability, small size, safety, and total volatility – also perform well during good times.... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Stocks; Situation or Environment