Large Firms - Publications - Faculty & Research

12 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

Crowded at the Top: The Rise of the Functional Manager

It's getting a little less lonely at the top. So says recent research that reports a dramatic change in the top management structure of large US firms. According to a survey of some 300 Fortune 500 companies, the number of managers... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

05 Nov 2007
What Do You Think?

Why Is Succession So Badly Managed?

Summing Up Should CEO succession processes be certified? Respondents to this month's column agree that CEO succession is badly managed, perhaps accounting in large part for the fact that few "inside outsiders" ever make it into... View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

Research Summary

Current Research

By: Leslie K. John

Professor John is a behavioral scientist who uses both laboratory and field experiments to investigate questions that are at the intersection of marketing, organizational behavior, and public policy.

Professor John’s work has been published in leading... View Details

Program

Aligning Strategy and Sales

marketing, HR, finance, service, or general management Executives in business-to-business product or service companies—or business units of large enterprises—that depend on a direct sales force for all or part of their revenue Executives... View Details

09 Jan 2024
In Practice

Harnessing AI: What Businesses Need to Know in ChatGPT’s Second Year

contexts demonstrated that generative AI has the potential to enhance productivity (speed and efficiency of task completion), quality (precision in execution), and creativity (albeit with limitations). Notably, the simulation of synthetic humans through View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology

20 Dec 2016
First Look

December 20, 2016

securities to retail investors. We focus on a large market of investment products targeted exclusively at households: retail-structured products in Europe. We hypothesize that banks strategically use product complexity to cater to... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

09 Nov 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Recognizing the New: A Multi-Agent Model of Analogy in Strategic Decision-Making

Keywords: by Giovanni M. Gavetti & Massimo Warglien

June 2014
Article

The Price of Wall Street's Power

By: Gautam Mukunda

Over and over again, executives make decisions that aren't in their companies' best interests, in response to pressure from Wall Street. Though many believe this happens because firms have a "fiduciary duty" to maximize shareholder returns, U.S. executives do not, as a... View Details

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March 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

The Market and the Mountain Kingdom: Change in Lesotho's Textile Industry

By: Rawi E. Abdelal, Regina M. Abrami, Noel Maurer and Aldo Musacchio

In Maseru, the capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the stirrings of industrialization and modernization were promising, and more than 50,000 workers, mostly women, were employed in the textile sector; the figure reflected more than a threefold increase in just a few... View Details

Keywords: History; Labor Unions; Trade; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Financial Crisis; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Decision Choices and Conditions; Foreign Direct Investment; Developing Countries and Economies; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Lesotho

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08 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 8, 2008

Financing Constraints, and Entrepreneurship Authors:William R. Kerr and Ramana Nanda Abstract We study how US branch-banking deregulations affected the entry and exit of firms in the non-financial sector using establishment-level data... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 2018
Case

Bata versus Relaxo—Analyzing Performance

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Iris Leung and Quinn Pitcher

Set in 2016, “Bata India versus Relaxo—Analyzing Performance” compares the strategies and financial performance of two Indian footwear companies. Bata India had long been the market leader in footwear in India, but its leading market position was being challenged by... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Strategy; Operations; Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Analysis; Apparel and Accessories Industry

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10 Feb 2016
HBS Seminar

Chris Blattman, Associate Professor, Columbia SIPA

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

Keywords: Cost; Service Operations; Distribution Channels; Consumer Behavior; Internet and the Web; Banks and Banking; Technology Adoption; Service Delivery; Market Transactions; Market Participation; Profit; Retail Industry; Banking Industry; United States

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January 2009
Article

From Regional Star to Global Leader

By: Nitin Nohria

Yang Jianguo was recently promoted from country manager for China to global head of product development at a staid French perfume maker. He was chosen for his technical smarts and his knowledge of emerging markets—a critical avenue for growth, given that sales in the... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Leadership Development; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Paris

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10 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 10

approaches to address the increasing demand from society for a deeper understanding of what causes even good people to cross ethical boundaries. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-054.pdf Management Practices Across View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Nov 2021
What Do You Think?

How Long Does It Take to Improve an Organization’s Culture?

its value. But only 16 percent felt that “their firm’s culture is exactly what it should be.” In other words, they’re telling us that it’s an important way to improve firm value, but 76 percent of them haven’t done as much as they could... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

firms face little competition, even after the end of formal periods of patent protection and market exclusivity. Additionally, the evolving technologies of drug development—in particular, the increasingly common use of auxiliary endpoints... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

30 Jul 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Fluid Teams and Fluid Tasks: The Impact of Team Familiarity and Variation in Experience

Keywords: by Robert S. Huckman & Bradley R. Staats; Video Game; Web Services

February 2024
Case

Innovation Strategy at Stanley Black & Decker: Setting the Direction for Growth

By: David L. Ager and Antonio Manuel Oftelie

On July 1, 2022, Don Allan was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Stanley Black & Decker (SBD). Although Allan had been with the firm for 23 years, most recently serving as President and Chief Financial Officer, he recognized that he was stepping into his new role as... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation Leadership; Growth Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations

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January 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

CrossBoundary Energy

By: John Macomber

Almost 500 million people are without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Governments and public utilities are challenged to bring generation and distribution to most of them. Considerable promise exists in “off-grid” or “mini-grid” technologies, notably using renewable... View Details