Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,002)
- Faculty Publications (105)
- September 2013
- Case
United Rentals (A)
By: Jay W. Lorsch, Kathleen Durante and Emily McTague
In December 1997 United Rentals (URI) went public on the NYSE. Ten years later, during the peak of the economic meltdown, the company's performance was in decline. United Rentals had experienced its share of problems in the prior years and was still struggling to... View Details
- Fall 2013
- Article
Engaging Supply Chains in Climate Change
By: Chonnikarn Fern Jira and Michael W. Toffel
Suppliers are increasingly being asked to share information about their vulnerability to climate change and their strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their responses vary widely. We theorize and empirically identify several factors associated with suppliers... View Details
- 2013
- Tool
Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Pricing for Profit
By: Thomas Steenburgh and Jill Avery
What price is right? Figuring out the best price for your product or service can be nerve-wracking. Your new product launch or marketing campaign's success—perhaps even your career advancement—may hinge on the price you choose. So how do you select a price that's... View Details
- 14 Jun 2013
- Talk
Why Business Can Be Good at Solving Social Problems
Why do we turn to nonprofits, NGOs and governments to solve society's biggest problems? Michael Porter admits he's biased, as a business school professor, but he wants you to hear his case for letting business try to solve massive problems like climate change and... View Details
- 2013
- Dissertation
Designing Freemium: A Model of Consumer Usage, Upgrade, and Referral Dynamics
By: Clarence Lee, Vineet Kumar and Sunil Gupta
Abstract. Over the past decade "freemium" (free + premium) has become the dominant business model among internet start-ups for its ability to acquire and monetize a large install-base with limited marketing resources. Freemium is a hybrid strategy where a firm offers... View Details
- July 2012
- Supplement
How Much? (C)
By: Clayton Rose
The leader of a small business team must deal with an employee who is unwilling to reveal to him the profitability of a transaction for the firm and client. View Details
- May 2012 (Revised August 2012)
- Case
Apple Inc. in 2012
By: David B. Yoffie and Penelope Rossano
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs tragically died of cancer. The recently retired CEO of Apple Inc. was a legend: he had changed Apple from a company near bankruptcy to one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. Moreover, he had revolutionized several... View Details
Keywords: Competition; Market Positioning; Strategic Planning; Technology; Computer Industry; Strategy Implementation; Consumer Electronics; Telecommunications; Information Infrastructure; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Leadership; Product Positioning; Telecommunications Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry
- April 2012
- Article
Share Issuance and Factor Timing
By: Robin Greenwood and Samuel G. Hanson
We show that characteristics of stock issuers can be used to forecast important common factors in stocks' returns such as those associated with book-to-market, size, and industry. Specifically, we use differences between the attributes of stock issuers and repurchasers... View Details
- 2012
- Working Paper
Why Every Company Needs a CSR Strategy and How to Build It
By: Kash Rangan, Lisa Chase and Sohel Karim
The authors argue for a strategic and pragmatic, rather than ideological, approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that contrasts sharply with the prevailing Shared Value framework offered by Porter and Kramer (HBR; Jan.-Feb. 2011). We assert that, despite... View Details
- November 2011
- Case
Pacific Grove Spice Company
By: William E. Fruhan and Craig Stephenson
Pacific Grove Spice Company is a profitable, rapidly growing manufacturer, marketer, and distributor of quality spices and seasonings. The company's business model requires significant investment in accounts receivable, inventory, and fixed assets to support sales.... View Details
- March 2011
- Article
To Join or Not to Join: Examining Patent Pool Participation and Rent Sharing Rules
By: Josh Lerner and Anne Layne-Farrar
In recognition that participation in modern patent pools is voluntary, we present empirical evidence on participation rates and the factors that drive the decision to join a pool, including the profit sharing rules adopted by the pool's founders. In most participation... View Details
- 2011
- Case
Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes: Transforming the Management Control System in Time of Crisis
By: Ning Jia, F. Warren McFarlan and Xiaohui Li
Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) that manufactures cast pipe products and steel products. The company had grown to become a dominant player in the ductile iron pipe industry, holding more than 40% domestic market share and nearly... View Details
- 2011
- Teaching Note
Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes: Transforming the Management Control System in Time of Crisis (TN)
By: Ning Jia, F. Warren McFarlan and Xiaohui Li
Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) that manufactures cast pipe products and steel products. The company had grown to become a dominant player in the ductile iron pipe industry, holding more than 40% domestic market share and nearly... View Details
- Article
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and the Market for Digital Information Goods
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Andres Hervas-Drane
We study competitive interaction between two alternative models of digital content distribution over the Internet: peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing and centralized client-server distribution. We present microfoundations for a stylized model of p2p file sharing where all... View Details
- 2010
- Book
The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics Are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance
By: Marshall Fisher and Ananth Raman
Retailers today are drowning in data but lacking in insight: They have huge volumes of information at their disposal. But they're unsure of how to sort through it and use it to make smart decisions. The result? They're struggling with profit-sapping supply chain... View Details
- 2009
- Book
Reorganize for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Organization
By: Ranjay Gulati
In an era of raging commoditization and eroding profit margins, survival depends on resilience: staying one step ahead of your customers. Sure, most companies say they're "customer focused," but they don't deliver solutions to customers' thorniest problems. Why?... View Details
- Article
The Cost Structure, Customer Profitability, and Retention Implications of Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel
By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei
This paper uses the context of online banking to investigate the consequences of employing self-service distribution channels to alter customer interactions with the firm. Using a sample of retail banking customers observed over a 30-month period at a large U.S. bank,... View Details
- 2009
- Working Paper
India Transformed: Insights from the Firm Level 1988-2005
By: Laura Alfaro and Anusha Chari
Using firm-level data this paper analyzes, the transformation of India's economic structure following the implementation of economic reforms. The focus of the study is on publicly-listed and unlisted firms from across a wide spectrum of manufacturing and services... View Details
- 2009
- Article
India Transformed: Insights from the Firm Level 1988–2007
By: Laura Alfaro and Anusha Chari
Using firm-level data, this paper analyzes the transformation of India's economic structure following the implementation of economic reforms. The focus of the study is on publicly listed and unlisted firms from across a wide spectrum of manufacturing and services... View Details
- March 2008
- Article
Market Reactions to Export Subsidies
By: M. A. Desai and James R. Hines Jr.
This paper analyzes the economic impact of export subsidies by investigating stock price reactions to a critical event in 1997. On November 18, 1997, the European Union announced its intention to file a complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO), arguing that... View Details