Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(3,909)
- Faculty Publications (978)
- November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
- Case
WESCO Distribution, Inc.
By: Das Narayandas
In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program... View Details
- October 1997 (Revised July 1999)
- Case
Best Buy
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Balaji Chakravarthy
Documents the evolution of Best Buy, an electronics retailer, from its founding in 1966 to its very successful "Concept 2" strategy in 1996, boosting its sales ($7.2 billion) past industry #1 Circuit City. Its CEO Richard Schulze offers a new vision (Concept 3) to... View Details
- October 1997 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
C-Car
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell
C-Car was the first automobile retailer in the United States to go public. Subsequently the owner, Mr. Gilliland, must decide how to invest the capital raised from the public ownership. This case describes in detail C-Car's highly profitable strategy of managing its... View Details
- October 1997
- Article
Does Competition Kill Corruption?
By: Christopher Bliss and Rafael Di Tella
Corrupt agents (officials or gangsters) exact money from firms. Corruption affects the number of firms in a free-entry equilibrium. The degree of deep competition in the economy increases with lower overhead costs relative to profits and with a tendency toward similar... View Details
- September 1997
- Case
Tri Valley Growers: A New Age Co-op
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mollie H. Carter
Tri Valley Growers is a dominant co-operative in its industry and, yet, still suffers from poor returns. The board of directors worked with the new CEO to change the product, market, and financing focus of the co-op to assure a long and profitable future for its... View Details
- July 1997 (Revised June 2001)
- Case
H.E. Butt Grocery Company: A Leader in ECR Implementation (B) (Abridged)
By: Robert D. Austin and F. Warren McFarlan
H.E. Butt Grocery Co. led the grocery industry in adopting many innovations, including category management, electronic data interchange, and continuous replenishment. They have also moved aggressively and profitably into newer applications such as Scanner-based payment... View Details
Keywords: Information Management; Independent Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Invention; Business Organization; Risk and Uncertainty; Science-Based Business; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Risk Management; Electronics Industry; Computer Industry
- July 1997 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
Chase Manhattan Corporation: The Making of America's Largest Bank
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Cedric Escalle
Chase Bank and Chemical Bank intend to merge, producing the largest commercial bank in the United States, the fourth largest in the world. Projected financial benefits under the merger reflect significant planned reduction in operating costs, including 17,000 employee... View Details
- summer 1997
- Article
Which Takeovers are Profitable: Strategic or Financial?
- June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
- Case
Mobil USM&R (A1)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
First of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. Split from the original (A) case to give students an opportunity to suggest objectives and measures for the division's initial BSC, without... View Details
- June 1997 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Walker and Company: Profit Plan Decisions
By: Robert L. Simons and Ramsey Walker
Ramsey Walker, a second-year MBA student, must decide how to control a family business as an absentee owner. After providing background details on the publishing industry, the case requires the reader to: 1) make a product segmentation decision; 2) prepare a profit... View Details
- June 1997 (Revised September 2000)
- Teaching Note
Lynton V. Harris & Madison "Scare" Garden (A), (B) TN
By: Michael A. Wheeler and Georgia Levenson
Teaching Note for (9-897-143) and (9-897-144). View Details
- Article
How Much Does Industry Matter, Really?
By: A. M. McGahan and M. E. Porter
In this paper, we examine the importance of year, industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific effects on the profitability of U.S. public corporations within specific 4-digit SIC categories. Our results indicate that year, industry, corporate-parent, and... View Details
- 1997
- Working Paper
The Emergence and Sustainability of Abnormal Profits
By: Anita M. McGahan and Michael E. Porter
- April 1997
- Background Note
Note on Value Drivers
By: Benjamin C. Esty
Presents a framework for analyzing strategic decisions. Takes as given the practice of value-based management whereby managers use value as a primary criterion when making financial, strategic, or investment decisions. Through a simple valuation model, it shows how... View Details
Keywords: Decisions; Equity; Financial Strategy; Investment; Profit; Framework; Growth Management; Value Creation
- March 1997 (Revised March 1997)
- Case
Business Teams at Rubbermaid, Inc.
By: Teresa M. Amabile and Dean Whitney
Rubbermaid, a consumer-products company widely praised for its innovation, has instituted a company-wide experiment to stimulate innovation even further. The experiment consists of creating small cross-functional business teams within each division, with each team... View Details
- February 1997 (Revised June 1999)
- Background Note
Committed and Flexible Resources
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Stresses the difference between costs committed in advance of knowing actual demand (committed costs) and cost incurred proportional to demand. Committed costs appear fixed since their supply is independent of the amount actually used. Flexible resources are supplied... View Details
Keywords: Cost
- February 1997 (Revised April 1997)
- Case
Harrington Financial Group
By: Robert C. Merton and Alberto Moel
In early 1997, Harrington Bank, a small Indiana savings and loan (thrift) wondered what its next move should be. Harrington was acquired in 1988 by the principals of Smith Breeden Associates, a money-management and consulting firm specializing in the application of... View Details
- February 1997
- Case
Transportation Displays, Incorporated (D): Exiting from a Successful Restructuring
By: Stuart C. Gilson, Vincent Hemmer, Eric Rahe, David Shorrock and Stephen Voorhis
Following a successful corporate turnaround and, more recently, a leveraged recapitalization, management of a highly profitable, fast--growing outdoor advertising company must consider alternative ways to harvest cash flow from the company without jeopardizing the... View Details