Publications

April 2018
Supplement

Breakfast at the Paramount

By: Ryan W. Buell

The Paramount is a 44-seat diner on Charles Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. A frequent "Best of Boston" award winner, the restaurant is a perennial favorite among locals and tourists, particularly for brunch on the weekends, when lines often stretch... View Details

Keywords: Food; Management Practices and Processes; Service Delivery; Service Industry; Service Industry; Boston

12 May 2011
Research & Ideas

The Difficult Transition from For-Profit to Nonprofit Boards

similarities and differences between the different types of boards and what newcomers to nonprofit governance can expect. Comparing Nonprofits And For-profits There are a number of important similarities and differences between the View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

RealNetworks Rhapsody

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Steven Carpenter

Examines RealNetwork's (Real's) strategy for the rapidly emerging online music market. In contrast to rivals who sell individual copies of songs, Real offers online music on a subscription basis. For a $10 monthly fee, subscribers to Real's Rhapsody service have... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Advantage; Distribution Channels; Music Entertainment; Ownership; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry

September–October 2018
Article

Online MAP Enforcement: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment

By: Ayelet Israeli

This paper investigates a manufacturer’s ability to influence compliance rates among its authorized online retailers by exploiting changes in the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy and in dealer agreements. MAP is a pricing policy widely used by manufacturers to... View Details

Keywords: Pricing Policies; Pricing; Channel Management; Legal Aspects Of Business; Retail; Price; Policy; Governance Compliance; Distribution Channels; Management; Retail Industry

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May 2016 (Revised August 2022)
Case

RegionFly: Cutting Costs in the Airline Industry

By: Susanna Gallani and Eva Labro

RegionFly is a small, private airline specializing in ultra-premium services. Founded shortly after the "Golden Age of airline travel," RegionFly's financial performance had been strong for several decades. More recently, however, the results have taken a downward... View Details

Keywords: Recession; Downsizing; Profitability; Cost Management; Profit; Luxury; Competitive Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Divisions; Logistics; Decision Making; Strategic Planning; Air Transportation Industry

05 Nov 2024
Book

Building the Road to 'Small Business Utopia' with AI and Fintech

But what if technology had the power to make a small business owner significantly wiser about their cash flow, and a lender wiser as well? What if new loan products and services made it easier to create what one investor calls a “truth... View Details

Keywords: by Karen G. Mills; Financial Services

January 2011
Case

Aardvark

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Lauren Barley

Aardvark is an online social search service that allows users to pose questions and receive answers from other users in their extended social network. The case explores the process that Aardvark's founders used to design and develop their product based on intensive... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entrepreneurship; Product Design; Product Development; Social and Collaborative Networks; Internet and the Web

2012
Other Unpublished Work

Towards Efficiencies in Canadian Internet Traffic Exchange

By: Benjamin Edelman and Bill Woodcock

Canadian Internet access is heavily and unnecessarily dependent upon foreign infrastructure, especially U.S. infrastructure. This dependence imposes significant burdens upon Canadian Internet users:

* Service prices are higher than would be the case if... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Canada; Privacy; Technology Networks; Rights; Communication Technology; Internet; Ethics; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

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18 Apr 2013
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Pooling on Throughput Time in Discretionary Work Settings: An Empirical Investigation of Emergency Department Length of Stay

Keywords: by Hummy Song, Anita L. Tucker & Karen L. Murrell; Health

November 2022
Supplement

Arcos Dorados’ Quest for the Digitalization of Last-Mile Delivery in Colombia (B)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

In 2020, Francisco Staton, president of Arcos Dorados’ Caribbean Division, and Héctor Orozco, Managing Director of Arcos Dorados Colombia, were looking into Arcos Dorados’ options to consolidate its food delivery service in Colombia. This time the matter at hand hinged... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Decision Making; Decision Choices and Conditions; Global Strategy; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics; Logistics; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Partners and Partnerships; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; South America; Colombia

September 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Bill Connors and The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown)

By: Linda A. Hill and Eric Mankin

In 2017, Bill Connors, the President of Comcast’s Central Division, launched a startup accelerator in Comcast’s new Atlanta Regional headquarters. Comcast was America's largest cable and internet service provider, having built a profitable business bundling television... View Details

April 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Voatz

By: Mitchell Weiss and Maddy Halyard

Nimit Sawhney scrolled through the tweet stream on his phone, unsure of what to make of it on August 6, 2018 or how to respond. Voatz, the Boston-based startup he co-founded and led, provided a mobile-voting platform. In March of 2018, had successfully piloted the new... View Details

Keywords: Mobile App; Business Startups; Voting; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Safety; Cybersecurity

18 May 2020
Working Paper Summaries

No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm

Keywords: by Achyuta Adhvaryu, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo; Fashion

12 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 12, 2006

people) or not served at all. Third, the products and services they offer are simpler and cheaper than alternatives, but recipients view them as good enough. Fourth, they bring in resources in ways that initially seem unattractive to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2017
Case

Breakfast at the Paramount

By: Ryan W. Buell

The Paramount is a 44-seat diner on Charles Street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. A frequent "Best of Boston" award winner, the restaurant is a perennial favorite among locals and tourists, particularly for brunch on the weekends, when lines often stretch... View Details

Keywords: Food; Management Practices and Processes; Service Delivery; Service Industry; Service Industry; Boston

September–October 2021
Article

Internalization of Advertising Services: Testing a Theory of the Firm

By: Alvin J. Silk, Birger Wernerfelt and Shuyi Yu

In 1956, a group of trade associations representing publishers and independent advertising agencies signed a consent decree aimed at ending a set of trade practices that for half a century effectively precluded advertisers from owning and operating in-house agencies.... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Specialization; Theory Of The Firm; Advertising Agencies; Advertising; Organizational Structure; Theory

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December 2007
Case

Akshaya Patra: Feeding India's Schoolchildren

By: David M. Upton, Christine Ellis, Sarah Lucas and Amy Yamner

Describes a highly successful effort by an Indian Charity to feed poor schoolchildren at lunchtime. This provides two significant benefits. It improves nutrition for the children, and helps keep them in school since the provided meal is occasionally the only meal they... View Details

Keywords: Food; Service Operations; Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Food and Beverage Industry; India

April 2002 (Revised March 2006)
Background Note

Economics of Retail Banking Note

By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell

Explains the financial operations of retail banking, highlighting profitability challenges facing the industry. For U.S. banks, it is quite common for more than half of the customer base to be unprofitable and to have relatively few customers make up the vast majority... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Economics; Cost; Banks and Banking; Profit; Revenue; Service Operations; Banking Industry; United States