Publications

Educators

11 Jun 2021
News

The Power of Resilience

what my priorities are. I actually didn't know what that mission-driven work would be at the time. But I came across a company whose mission it was to democratize access to genetic testing for hereditary cancers. It was that power of... View Details

2024
Working Paper

The Fading Light of Democratic Capitalism: How Pervasive Cronyism and Restricted Suffrage Are Destroying Democratic Capitalism as a National Ideal…and What to Do about It

By: Malcolm S. Salter

What are we to do about declining public trust and confidence in democratic capitalism, which many citizens consider a cornerstone of our national ideology and identity? While the answer is not entirely clear, I argue in this essay that any effort aimed at restoring... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Economic Systems; Trust; United States

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Entering the Age of Alliances

outfitter Timberland, begun in 1989 when City Year requested from Timberland fifty pairs of boots for its urban youth service corps, founded the previous year. The service corps program organizes youths from diverse ethnic, racial, and... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin

01 Jun 1996
News

Keepers of the Flame

replies, "When I see the film clip of gymnast Mary Lou Retton at the 1984 Games receiving her gold medal, I think: 'The flowers left the refrigerator 20 minutes before she got them; the medal left the vault 45 minutes ago and was carried... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

30 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

The Role of Emotions in Effective Negotiations

ever work.'" On the flipside, research has found that entering negotiations with a positive attitude tends to lead to better outcomes—when both sides are agreeable and conciliatory, it builds a level of trust that can lead to View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation; Sports

September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Mrs. Fields Cookies

By: James I. Cash Jr.

Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Information Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Relationship Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Networks; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

Educators

13 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

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

ineffectiveness of focus groups. What techniques should managers be employing to elicit information from customers? A: Many researchers tell us that one-on-one interviews are superior to focus groups. That... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

2012
Working Paper

The Impact of Modularity on Intellectual Property and Value Appropriation

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and Joachim Henkel

Modularity is a means of partitioning technical knowledge about a product or process. When state-sanctioned intellectual property rights are ineffective or costly to enforce, modularity can be used to hide information and thus protect intellectual property (IP). We... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Open Source Distribution; Value; Complexity; Intellectual Property

SSRN

08 May 2015
News

A new view of the cost of equity and capital requirements for banks

lending rates and economic activity. Prevailing economic theory holds that the cost-of-capital effect is negligible in an ideal market. Malcolm P. Baker, the Robert G. Kirby Professor View Details

07 Jun 2023
Blog Post

My One Case: MBA Class of 2023 Looks Back

proof of business viability before raising capital. The scrappiness and resilience displayed by the protagonists resonated deeply with me. Their focus on achieving product-market fit and establishing sound unit View Details

12 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

The Promise of Channel Stewardship

personal relationships and the preferences of a few key decision makers. Informal rules get made on how the system operates. Then one day when a firm has grown enough, it... View Details

Keywords: by V. Kasturi Rangan & Marie Bell; Consumer Products

19 Dec 2024
News

The Musts of 2024

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. I love these end-of-the-year lists where you can get recommendations from smart people about things that are worth your time and money. It always sets me up really... View Details

30 Nov 2021
In Practice

What's the Role of Business in Confronting Climate Change?

The 26th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also known as COP26, ended with a hard-fought pact that called on businesses and governments to meet their climate change goals faster. The event followed an August report by the Intergovernmental... View Details

Keywords: by Lynn Schenk and Dina Gerdeman

2024
Working Paper

Transitory and Permanent Cash Flow Shocks in Debt Contract Design

By: Le Ma, Anywhere Sikochi and Yajun Xiao

We examine how lenders design contracts to account for transitory and permanent cash flow shocks facing borrowers. We find that volatile transitory cash flow shocks are associated with fewer liquidity covenants, indicating financial flexibility that enables firms to... View Details

Keywords: Debt Covenants; Cash Flow Shocks; Debt Contracting; Likelihood Of Default; Cash Flow; System Shocks

SSRN

2012
Working Paper

The Spatial Diffusion of Technology

By: Diego A. Comin, Mikhail Dmitriev and Esteban Rossi-Hansberg

We empirically study technology diffusion across countries and over time. We find significant evidence that technology diffuses slower to locations that are farther away from adoption leaders. This effect is stronger across rich countries and also when measuring... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Knowledge Dissemination; Technology Adoption

2007
Working Paper

The Impact of Component Modularity on Design Evolution: Evidence from the Software Industry

By: Alan MacCormack, John Rusnak and Carliss Y. Baldwin

Much academic work asserts a relationship between the design of a complex system and the manner in which this system evolves over time. In particular, designs which are modular in nature are argued to be more "evolvable," in that these designs facilitate making... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Adaptation; Software; Information Technology Industry

December 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Nestlé: Agricultural Material Sourcing Within the Concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV)

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Lorin A. Fries

Corporate Head of Agriculture Hans Jöhr's mind raced in anticipation of the executive board meeting that afternoon. Jöhr recognized the meeting as a key opportunity to strategize far into the future, reexamining how his team's efforts in sustainable agricultural... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Value Creation; Quality; Supply Chain Management; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Health Industry

Educators

November 2004
Tutorial

Principles of Microeconomics for Strategists

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Pai-Ling Yin and Elizabeth Raabe

Reviews microeconomic principles from a business strategy perspective, using the digital music industry as context. Contains three modules: demand, supply, and equilibrium. The demand module discusses the willingness to pay, market demand, price elasticity, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Supply and Industry; Demand and Consumers; Microeconomics; Balance and Stability; Price; Cost; Revenue; Music Industry

October 1994 (Revised November 1995)
Case

N.V. Philips Electronics - Currency Hedging Policies

By: Richard F. Meyer

Describes Philips Electronics' policies and problems relating to foreign exchange risk and hedging. Explains centralization versus decentralization of currency hedging, economic role versus transaction role, the difficulties of capturing the necessary information... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Currency Exchange Rate; International Finance; Globalization; Policy; Information Management; Management; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty