Publications

October 1998 (Revised December 1999)
Case

Lockheed Martin IMS: Making a Contribution and a Profit

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Courtney Purrington

Examines Lockheed Martin's attempt to move from its traditional reliance on defense/aerospace contracts into providing outsourced government services in the social sector. The protagonist reflects on the past 24 years of rapid growth in the company and the myriad... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Partners and Partnerships; Diversification; Performance Effectiveness; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Welfare; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Privatization; Strategic Planning; United States

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08 Aug 2017
Working Paper Summaries

The Role of Taxes in the Disconnect Between Corporate Performance and Economic Growth

Keywords: by Urooj Khan, Suresh Nallareddy, and Ethan Rouen

Research Summary

Customer-Centricity as a Vehicle for Organic Growth

By: Ranjay Gulati

This body of work examines the mechanics of how firms grow profitably in commoditizing markets. Underlying the "customer-centricity" that many firms embrace today is a factor that will determine their success with this effort: enabling collaboration across... View Details

01 Jun 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Frenemies in Platform Markets: The Case of Apple’s iPad vs. Amazon’s Kindle

Keywords: by Ron Adner, Jianqing Chen & Feng Zhu; Technology

22 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Humans vs. Machines: Untangling the Tasks AI Can (and Can't) Handle

one to focus on for profit growth, and offer “tactical actions” to improve profit through that channel. They were then instructed to assess a company's three brands—men’s, women’s, or kids’—with an eye... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

13 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

How to Pick Managers for Disruptive Growth

our corporate parents will willingly continue to make the investments required to fuel our profitable growth. Now, as the second step, let's apply McCall's theory. List the courses that we would want members of Pandesic's management team... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Raynor

February 2020 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Wellthy: The Economics of Caring

By: Brian L. Trelstad and Joseph B. Fuller

In 2014, Lindsay Jurist-Rosner (MBA ’09) founded Wellthy, a B2C business that coordinates care for working professionals seeking help to support loved ones with chronic diseases or aging parents. With personal experience as a young professional providing care for her... View Details

Keywords: B2B Vs. B2C; Future Of Work; Health; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; United States

06 Oct 2003
What Do You Think?

Is “the Innovator’s Solution” to Sustained Corporate Growth an Unnatural Act?

Long-term growth and profitability are elusive targets for many organizations. The former often is more difficult to achieve than the latter, especially for companies competing in "mature" markets.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

July 2006
Article

Dynamic Mixed Duopoly: A Model Motivated by Linux vs. Windows

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pankaj Ghemawat

This paper analyzes a dynamic mixed duopoly in which a profit-maximizing competitor interacts with a competitor that prices at zero (or marginal cost), with the cumulation of output affecting their relative positions over time. The modeling effort is motivated by... View Details

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2013
Working Paper

FIN Around the World: The Contribution of Financing Activity to Profitability

By: Russell Lundholm, George Serafeim and Gwen Yu

We study how the availability of domestic credit influences the contribution that financing activities make to a firm's return on equity (ROE). Using a sample of 51,866 firms from 69 countries, we find that financing activities contribute more to a firm's ROE in... View Details

Keywords: Domestic Credit; Return Of Equity; Corporate Performance; Financial Statement Analysis; Financial Statements; Valuation; Cost of Capital; Asset Pricing; Economic Growth

SSRN

January–February 2013
Article

Golfing Alone? Corporations, Elites and Nonprofit Growth in 100 American Communities

By: Christopher Marquis, Gerald F. Davis and Mary Ann Glynn

We examine the link between corporations and community by showing how corporate density interacts with the local social and cultural infrastructure to affect the growth and decline of the number of local nonprofits between 1987 and 2002. We focus on two sub-populations... View Details

Keywords: Business and Community Relations; Civil Society or Community; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Business Growth and Maturation; Profit; Local Range; Welfare or Wellbeing; Business Processes; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Trends; Management Practices and Processes; United States

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Read Now

August 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 1: Managing Organizational Tensions

By: Robert Simons

This module reading lays the foundation for executing strategy using performance measurement and control systems. Properly applied, these systems can overcome the organizational blocks that impede the potential of all people who work in modern organizations. This... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Performance Measurement; Profit Planning; Organization Design; Profitable Growth; Management Attention; Organizational Conflict; Human Behavior; Strategy; Ethics; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Design; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Performance; Measurement and Metrics

December 4, 2012
Article

Business Leaders Are More Than Profiteers, as They Deliver Growth in an Efficient, Fair Manner

By: Karthik Ramanna

The legitimacy of market capitalism rests on its ability to deliver freedom, prosperity, and growth in a manner that is efficient and fair. The pursuit of profit is a central but not the only element of capitalism. There are many circumstances, such as when lobbying... View Details

Keywords: Capitalism; Leadership; India

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September 2015 (Revised July 2016)
Case

Turkish Airlines: Widen Your World

By: Juan Alcácer and Esel Çekin

This case tracks Turkish Airlines' transition from regional player to global powerhouse. With an order for 212 aircraft in the first half of 2013, the airline had moved to double its size and become one of the industry's top-ten players. Growing its fleet would allow... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Operational Complexity; Capacity Constraints; Profitable Growth; Subsidiary Management; Externalities; Emerging Market; Globalized Firms and Management; Competition; Air Transportation; Alliances; Corporate Strategy; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development Strategy; Air Transportation Industry; Turkey

January 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Ford Motor Company: Quality of Earnings Growth Analysis (A)

By: David F. Hawkins and Jacob Cohen

Even though Ford Motor Co. reports improved profitability, an equity analyst issues a sell recommendation and Standard & Poor's downgrades long-term debt. View Details

Keywords: Quality; Business Earnings; Valuation; Investment Return; Profit; Financial Statements; Revenue; Auto Industry; Consulting Industry

July 2022
Teaching Plan

Wellthy: The Economics of Caring

By: Brian Trelstad

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 320-028. In 2014, Lindsay Jurist-Rosner (MBA ’09) founded Wellthy, a B2C business that coordinates care for working professionals seeking help to support loved ones with chronic diseases or aging parents. With personal experience as a... View Details

Keywords: B2B Vs. B2C; Future Of Work; Health; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Recruitment; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Industry; United States

2019
Working Paper

The Customer May Not Always Be Right: Customer Compatibility and Service Performance

By: Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This paper investigates the impact of customer compatibility – the degree of fit between the needs of customers and the capabilities of the operations serving them – on customer experiences and firm performance. We use a variance decomposition analysis to quantify the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Compatibility; Satisfaction; Profitability; Customer Relationship Management; Service Operations; Customer Satisfaction; Banking Industry; Retail Industry