Publications

September 1991 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Tombow Pencil Co. Ltd.

Tombow Pencil Co. Ltd., one of Japan's two premier pencil manufacturers, has been using a subcontractor network in order to respond to changing market conditions. The system currently faces a new challenge as Tombow moves to address a volatile business market for... View Details

Keywords: Production; Supply Chain Management; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

31 Aug 2021
Book

Feeling Powerless at Work? Time to Agitate, Innovate, and Orchestrate

the new book Power, for All: How It Really Works and Why It’s Everyone’s Business. Battilana co-wrote the book with Tiziana Casciaro, a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. “Cultivating humility and... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

13 Dec 2016
First Look

December 13, 2016

forthcoming Journal of Investment Consulting Cloaked Trading By: Cohen, Lauren, Dong Lou, and Christopher J. Malloy Abstract—Using a novel, proprietary database of micro-level trading activities by asset managers, we show strong evidence of asset View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

When Benchmarks Don’t Work

counterproductive. Companies should save the benchmarking surveys for commoditized processes or services. Benchmarking became popular several decades ago as part of the total quality management movement. An IBM executive defined it as... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan; Service

28 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Billions of Entrepreneurs in China and India

1990s and rejuvenating its reform process, and the wealth accumulating among the diaspora, were the supply and demand side for getting the diaspora together with its home country. Q: How does entrepreneurship affect the playing field in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 2016 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Indigo Agriculture

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and Christine Snively

Indigo Agriculture had successfully developed and launched its first commercial product, microbe-enhanced cotton seeds, on an accelerated product development timeline. In late 2016, as the company was about to launch its second product, winter wheat, the management... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Agribusiness; Science-Based Business; Operations; Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry

01 Feb 1999
News

Too Much of a Good Thing?

temporary glut, but one that is a result of progress, which is good for the overall economy. Furthermore, when overcapacity produces a drop in demand, production usually slackens, excess supply is gradually drawn down, and, over time,... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

March 1982 (Revised September 1985)
Case

Sealed Air Corporation

By: Robert J. Dolan

Market leadership and technological innovation have marked Sealed Air's participation in the U.S. protective packaging market. Several small regional producers have introduced products which are less effective than Sealed Air's but similar in appearance and cheaper.... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Product; Technological Innovation; Supply and Industry; Competitive Advantage; Consumer Products Industry; United States

December 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Nestle: Sustainable Agriculture Initiative

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Swiss food giant Nestle attempts to improve the performance of its suppliers of agricultural commodities to raise quality, lower costs, and contribute to sustainable development. Its initiatives focus first on coffee, cocoa, and milk. Nestle managers assert that the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Corporate Strategy; Agribusiness; Supply Chain Management; Marketing Strategy; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

July–August 2019
Article

Coupling Labor Codes of Conduct and Supplier Labor Practices: The Role of Internal Structural Conditions

By: Yanhua Bird, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel

Exploitive working conditions have spurred companies to pressure their suppliers to adopt labor codes of conduct and to conform their labor practices to the standards set forth in those codes. Yet little is known about whether organizational structures such as codes... View Details

Keywords: Organization Theory; Economic Sociology; Social Responsibility; Sustainability; Auditing; Process Improvement; Organizational Structure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Supply Chain; Labor; Working Conditions

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Read Now

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

No abstract is available at this time. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-057.pdf Managing Functional Biases in Organizational Forecasts: A Case Study of Consensus Forecasting in Supply... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Research - Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

credit extended to private sector firms. See Sam’s other research here , Jeremy’s other research here , Adi’s other research here , and Eric’s other research here . More Info Large banks and small firm lending By: Victoria Ivashina & Vitaly Bord OCT 2021 The... View Details

September 1993
Case

Manufacturing at ALZA: The Right Prescription? (A)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

ALZA, a company specializing in drug delivery systems such as transdermal patches, considers manufacturing its own products. Until now, the company has conducted research and development on its patented system but has then licensed the technology to client-partner... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Technological Innovation; Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Production; Research and Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

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April 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Raksul

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Masahiro Kotosaka, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

Raksul, 2018 Forbes Japan "Startup of the Year," ran an e-commerce platform drawing upon thousands of individual suppliers. Launched as a business-to-business printing services marketplace, Raksul had recently expanded to operate both a logistics/delivery marketplace... View Details

Keywords: Marketplace Design; B2B; Platform Strategy; Printing; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Logistics; Advertising; Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Structures; E-commerce; Web Services Industry; Japan

14 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Pay Attention To Your ‘Extreme Consumers’

typical consumers think. That's fine if you only want to keep making incremental improvements to your products, says Jill Avery, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a former brand manager at Gillette, Samuel Adams, and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

2009
Book

Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders: What the Airline Industry Can Teach Us About Leadership

By: Anthony J. Mayo, Nitin Nohria and Mark Rennella

'Entrepreneurs, Managers, and Leaders' examines the role that business leaders play in shaping industries and how the evolving context of industries shapes leaders in turn. This co-evolutionary process of leadership and industry development is told through the story of... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Managerial Roles; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Air Transportation Industry

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October 2018 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Beth Israel Deaconess: Consolidating to Strengthen, or to Stave Off, Competition?

By: Leemore Dafny

In July 2017, CEO Kevin Tabb of Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center announced his plan to consolidate 11 Massachusetts hospitals under a common management structure. These hospitals collectively generated $5 billion in patient revenue and 25% of... View Details

Keywords: Beth Israel Deaconess; Lahey; Partners; Health Care; Hospitals; Payers; Providers; Anti-trust; Health Care Regulation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Health Care and Treatment; Market Design; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Negotiation; Consolidation; Competition; Health Industry; Massachusetts; Boston