Double Bottom Line - Publications - Faculty & Research

09 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 9

Christopher Marquis and Laura Velez VillaHarvard Business School Case 413-051 In its third year of existence and poised to double its workforce, Warby Parker attributed its success to an innovative approach in the eyewear industry and to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How To Reach It)

customers themselves are not aware? Zaltman: There are several helpful approaches. One is to double check stated beliefs with actual behavior. For example, many consumers report handling competing brands and comparing prices at the point... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

01 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 1

old lines of business and, if economies of scope are unavailable, to simply reproduce entrant behavior by creating a "firm within a firm." There are two broad streams of explanation for incumbent failure in these circumstances.... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

11 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

The First 90 Hours: What New CEOs Should—and Shouldn't—Do to Set the Right Tone

The fawning executives lined up outside your office on Day One to tell you how fortunate the organization is to have you and to offer to help you succeed are often fakes. The people you need to impress and enlist as supporters are not... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

double sales. Should he focus on direct sales or add more channel partners? Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/817001-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 516-023 Managing Marketing Data at Allstate No abstract... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jun 2022
HBS Case

Peloton Changed the Exercise Game. Can the Company Push Through the Pain?

treadmills, both of which had touchscreens for Peloton-produced digital workout videos featuring glamorous trainers with loyal followings. Growth was brisk: Revenue in 2019 was some $915 million, doubling that of 2018. The pandemic... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Media & Broadcasting; Health; Bicycle

07 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

must constantly attend to both top and bottom lines by launching new products, services, and experiences consistently. Leaders from software-as-a-service (SaaS) business models, for example, described how... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

03 Oct 2023
Research Event

Build the Life You Want: Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey Share Happiness Tips

challenging to maintain a level of satisfaction, enjoyment, and meaning thinking you're the center of it all. So knowing that there's something bigger than you, whatever you call that something. Brooks: Right. You need you need peace and perspective in your life is the... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Staff

04 Apr 2023
What Do You Think?

How Does Remote Work Affect Innovation?

the most money possible is the real objective.” Thoughtful responses suggested more useful ways of examining the question as well as measuring and taking advantage of the relationship. Dan Wallace asked, “why you feel it’s so important to ‘measure the View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

17 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

Women Receive Harsher Punishment at Work Than Men

bottom line by punishing them. The researchers did find some slight evidence for that; however, even controlling for productivity, women were still more severely punished for the same offenses. Inescapable... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

At the end of 2020—seven months after COVID-19 had sent the airline industry into a tailspin and five months after George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police provoked nationwide protests for racial justice—Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

18 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

What Is an "Essential" Purchase for a Low-Income Family?

Do lower-income families need and deserve access to fewer things than everyone else? As a society, we seem to think so, revealing a "grim double standard," finds a study published this month, Inequality in Socially Permissible... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

11 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

been the attitude toward artificial intelligence within institutional investing? Are investors embracing it? Is there skepticism? Awada: I can tell you from my previous work [as a hedge fund manager] I think that we’re always on the cutting edge when it comes to using... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consumer Products; Real Estate; Financial Services; Retail

18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

side, but many more can be swayed. “There’s the mass in the middle where people are on the margin, and given the right nudges they will go for good or evil. So what those levers are and how to manage those, I definitely hope to learn more about,” Minor says. The View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

10 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Technology and COVID Upended Tipping Norms. Will Consumers Keep Paying?

they loved dining out and eating in restaurants and how much pleasure it brought them,” she says. Thus, an era of “over-tipping” or tipping in more atypical settings like takeout, began to emerge. “That was seen as a gesture to thank waitstaff for risking their health... View Details

Keywords: by Anna Lamb, Harvard Gazette

14 Mar 2023
In Practice

What Does the Failure of Silicon Valley Bank Say About the State of Finance?

bank was different, and it is highlighted in its name and in the history of its public statement. "The bottom line: The art is not to predict whether a run might take place, but when." For example, it is very clear that there is no other... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

06 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Cut Salaries or Cut People? The Best Way to Survive a Downturn

could get up to speed quickly elsewhere. The bottom line So is it wise in a downturn to save expenses by slashing commissions? Depends, Stanton says. If the workers leave during down months, then cutting... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

20 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com

line of research “technology reemergence.” It began with his study of the Swiss watch industry, which collectively reinvented itself (and thus survived) in the wake of digital watches. Five years ago, he set out to discover how... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel (with video by Amelia Kunhardt); Retail

27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

entrepreneurs when his firm invests in their companies. He tells them, “If I ever come into your office and find you looking out the window with your feet up on the desk, I’m going to double your salary.” The CEO was sending two messages,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

12 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

How Scale Changes a Manager's Responsibilities

more time obtaining customer feedback and downloading it to your team, and brainstorming and selling ideas. It’s OK to stay close to a passion area, but the bottom line is, let your team execute. Process As... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

Publications