Publications

March 1974 (Revised June 1995)
Case

First National City Bank Operating Group (B)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Growth in demands on the bank's "back office" required a totally new approach to management. New stress on systems orientation, objectives, measurement, process design and control has resulted in lower costs, fewer people, and higher quality. Also resulted in fear,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transition; Banks and Banking; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Production; Outcome or Result; Banking Industry

September 1985
Background Note

Pre-Start Analysis: A Framework for Thinking About Business Ventures

By: Howard H. Stevenson and John R. Van Slyke

Describes the thought process an entrepreneur should undergo before committing to a course of action. Covers understanding the opportunity--assessing the critical skills, resources, relationships, and approvals--developing an action plan; forming a business entity;... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Entrepreneurship; Framework; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Skills; Resource Allocation

07 Apr 2011
News

Banks 'Too Big to Fail' Could Get Bigger

March 2000
Background Note

Venture Capitalist as Entrepreneur, The

By: Robert J. Robinson and Noam T. Wasserman

Introduces students to negotiations between venture capitalists (VCs) and the limited partners who provide the VCs' capital. Also discusses negotiations between VCs and other VCs, including those within a VC firm itself. Explores interests, sources of negotiating... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Venture Capital; Capital; Negotiation Tactics; Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry

01 Oct 2015
News

The Real Reason Men and Women Prefer Male Bosses

01 Mar 2018
News

Will corporate leaders taking a stand on guns have a contagious effect?

07 May 2016
News

Harvard’s Anita Elberse Teaches Entertainment Ropes To Execs (And Celebrities)

September 2017 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Adaptive Platform Trials: The Clinical Trial of the Future?

By: Ariel D. Stern and Sarah Mehta

In July 2017, Dr. Brian M. Alexander, president and CEO of the AGILE Research Foundation, was preparing to launch a new type of clinical trial—an adaptive platform trial—to study potential therapies for glioblastoma (GBM), an aggressive form of brain cancer.... View Details

Keywords: Clinical Trials; Cancer; Adaptive Platform Trials; Platform Trials; Adaptive Trials; Glioblastoma; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Business Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Health Industry; United States

January–February 2018
Article

Ads That Don't Overstep: How to Make Sure You Don't Take Personalization Too Far

By: Leslie John, Tami Kim and Kate Barasz

Data gathered on the web has vastly enhanced the capabilities of marketers. With people regularly sharing personal details online and internet cookies tracking every click, companies can now gain unprecedented insight into individual consumers and target them with... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Customization and Personalization; Information; Customers; Attitudes

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25 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

More Proof That Money Can Buy Happiness (or a Life with Less Stress)

matter their income, they recorded a similar number of daily frustrations. But those with higher incomes experienced less negative intensity from those events. More money brings greater control: Those with higher incomes felt they had more View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

Article

Moment-to-moment Optimal Branding in TV Commercials: Preventing Avoidance by Pulsing

By: Thales S. Teixeira, Michel Wedel and Rik Pieters

We develop a conceptual framework for understanding the impact that branding activity (the audio-visual representation of brands) and consumers' dispersion of attention have on their moment-to-moment avoidance decisions during television advertising. It formalizes this... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Decision Choices and Conditions; Television Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Mathematical Methods

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Fourth Quarter 2007
Article

Contingent Claims Approach to Measuring and Managing Sovereign Credit Risk

By: Dale . F. Gray, Robert C. Merton and Zvi Bodie

This paper proposes a new approach to measure, analyze, and manage sovereign risk based on the theory and practice of modern contingent claims analysis (CCA). The paper provides a new framework for adapting the CCA model to the sovereign balance sheet in a way that can... View Details

Keywords: Credit; Investment; Sovereign Finance; Risk Management; Emerging Markets; Market Transactions; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

October 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

The 2001 Crisis in Argentina: An IMF-Sponsored Default? (A)

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel

At the end of 2001, Argentina's economy and society both appeared on the verge of collapse. Furious about controls imposed on the convertibility of their bank deposits into cash (the "corralito") and huge proposed government spending cuts amidst high unemployment and... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Banks and Banking; Problems and Challenges; Decision Choices and Conditions; Currency Exchange Rate; Economy; Government Administration; Crime and Corruption; Argentina

February 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Olympia Machine Company, Inc.

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Benson P. Shapiro

The management team of an industrial equipment supplier is debating the company's method of compensating salespeople. Different executives have offered different alternatives to the current method of straight salary plus expenses. Each option has different implications... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Mission and Purpose; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Industrial Products Industry

Article

Can Wages Buy Honesty?: The Relationship Between Relative Wages and Employee Theft

By: C. X. Chen and Tatiana Sandino

In this study we examine whether, for a sample of retail chains, high levels of employee compensation can deter employee theft, an increasingly common type of fraudulent behavior. Specifically, we examine the extent to which relative wages (i.e., employee wages... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Behavior; Compensation and Benefits; Societal Protocols

SSRN

January 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region

By: Robert L. Simons

Recounts the financial difficulties and management changes experienced by American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region (NER) during the 1980s. After summarizing industry-wide changes in the collection, testing, and distribution of blood and blood products, the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Financial Management; Restructuring; Health; SWOT Analysis; Social Enterprise; Marketplace Matching; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; North and Central America

In this study we examine whether, for a sample of retail chains, high levels of employee compensation can deter employee theft, an increasingly common type of fraudulent behavior. Specifically, we examine the extent to which relative wages (i.e., employee wages... View Details

October 1990 (Revised March 1998)
Case

De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. (A)

Describes the problems facing De Beers at the start of 1983. De Beers had, since its formation in 1888, exercised a large measure of control over the world supply of diamonds. In 1983, the company itself mined over 40% of the world's natural diamonds and, through... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Crisis Management; Business Strategy; Mining; Mining Industry