Publications

19 Dec 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 19, 2017

working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53636 Scale versus Scope in the Diffusion of New Technology: Evidence from the Farm Tractor By: Gross, Daniel P. Abstract—Using the farm tractor as a case study, I show that... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

13 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

Does Business Get Done the Same Way in Emerging and Developed Countries?

televisions. But Koç expanded the scope of the brand to include white goods also. That’s an attempt to break into markets that are firmly dominated by companies that have good reputations. Why would a Turkish business (Yildiz Holding) buy... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Apr 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: The Trouble with Tariffs

likely get more serious. Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker that has effectively been barred from selling into US markets, is now a leading innovator, and through sheer scale and scope of its engineering, is making... View Details

Keywords: by Willy C. Shih; Manufacturing; Auto; Steel; Air Transportation; Technology; Telecommunications

25 Oct 2006
Op-Ed

Fixing Executive Options: The Veil of Ignorance

The latest corporate governance crisis is buried in the details of executive compensation contracts. Don't like the timing of the stock option grant you got or the strike price of the contract? No worries! It turns out that this is nothing an eraser can't fix. While... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai & Joshua Margolis

March 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Can Papaya Global Keep Scaling Fast?

By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr

Companies that employ people all around the world also need to pay those people. That can be an exceedingly complex task, though - defining terms of employment, complying with global regulations, and working with huge quantities of data, among other obstacles,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Scaling And Growth; Job Design and Levels; Compensation and Benefits; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Global Range

February 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Lilium: Preparing for Takeoff

By: Navid Mojir, Vincent Dessain, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

Lilium is a German company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) that can be used to offer air taxi services. The company went public in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal, raising more than... View Details

October 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Supplement

Bally Total Fitness (B): The Fall, 2005–2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

By many measures the largest health-club chain in the United States in the early 2000s, Bally Total Fitness sold most of its remaining fitness clubs to 24 Hour Fitness in 2014 and disappeared from the industry top 100 rankings. After Bally was bedeviled by accounting... View Details

June 2011 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Wal-Mart Update, 2011

By: David B. Yoffie and Renee Kim

In 2011, Wal-Mart was the world's largest company with $420 billion in sales and operations in 14 countries. Yet it found itself searching for the right growth strategy moving forward. U.S. same-store sales had declined for eight consecutive quarters and Wal-Mart was... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Global Range; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

12 Mar 2012
Research & Ideas

Crowded at the Top: The Rise of the Functional Manager

to become less diversified. The paper notes that many US firms have narrowed the scope of their operations since the 1980s, in efforts to compete better in the global economy-winnowing their product portfolio and focusing on a particular... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

January 2023
Case

The END Fund: To Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

Founded in 2012, the END fund focused on eliminating five Neglected Tropical Diseases that accounted for 80% of the tropical diseases affecting nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide. Its roughly $25 million/year annual budget was fully committed when it got news that the... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Health Disorders; Health Care and Treatment; Resource Allocation; Global Range; Decisions; Investment Funds

15 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 15

destruction. Dominant incumbent firms, long successful in an existing technology, are often much less successful in new technological eras. This is puzzling, since a cursory analysis would suggest that incumbent firms have the potential to take advantage of economies... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Corporate Responsibility and the Environment: What is the Right Thing To Do?

It's a question often debated, but seldom answered authoritatively: Do companies have a social responsibility to protect the environment beyond legal requirements? Specifically, may companies do so within the scope of their fiduciary... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

14 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 14, 2015

https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/PEL073-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 515-102 AIP Healthcare Japan: Investing in Japan's Retirement Home Market The CEO of a health-care based REIT is considering alternative nursing home investment strategies. Students... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

China’s 60-Year Road from Revolution to World Power

yet the traditions and memories of preeminence remained, and today's educational leaders have used these lessons to fuel the more recent, dramatic growth in scope and excellence of Chinese universities. The early PRC was widely believed... View Details

Keywords: by William C. Kirby

June 1986 (Revised July 1990)
Case

OTISLINE (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Donna B. Stoddard

Describes the company's use of information technology to strengthen its position in the elevator sales and service market. Also demonstrates how information technology can be used to better manage and control a large geographically dispersed service organization. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Sales; Marketing; Rank and Position; Salesforce Management; Service Operations; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Global Range; Accounting; Business Ventures; Industry Growth

January 2013 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Royal DSM: Fighting Hidden Hunger

By: Rebecca Henderson, Noah Fisher and Mary Shelman

In 2007 Royal DSM, a leading life science and materials company, entered a partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) to combat hidden hunger around the world by providing micronutrient solutions. The case investigates the unexpectedly large impact the partnership... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Human Needs; Partners and Partnerships; Global Range; Nutrition; Science-Based Business; Non-Governmental Organizations; Service Industry; Health Industry