Publications

08 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 8

decisions to employees further down the managerial hierarchy. Economists have developed a range of theories to account for delegation, but there is less empirical evidence, especially across countries. This has limited the ability to... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Kimball International, Inc. (KII), led by CEO Kristie Juster, and its board of directors, chaired by Kim Ryan, faced critical questions about KII’s future in the spring of 2021. Two years earlier, the board had appointed Juster as the new CEO of KII, a publicly traded,... View Details

January 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

ProntoWash: Washing the World's Cars to a Tango Beat

ProntoWash management considers whether franchising and the Balanced Scorecard could be combined to help customer-facing employees provide consistent service across the world and capture relevant management information. In 2007, ProntoWash, an international car-wash... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Franchise Ownership; Performance Consistency; Argentina

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

buy or sell stock. Read the article: http://hbr.org/2012/07/what-good-are-shareholders/ar/1 Clear and Present Danger: Planning and New Venture Survival amid Political and Civil Violence Authors:Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 May 2015
Research & Ideas

Corporate Field Researchers Share Tricks of the Trade

e-mailed flu-shot reminder e-mails. The catch: Some of them received a standard reminder, with information about when and where the shots would be offered, while others received an additional prompt—suggesting that the employees write... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

20 Aug 2013
First Look

First Look: August 20

Publications August 2013 Marketing Science Do Bonuses Enhance Sales Productivity? A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Bonus-Based Compensation Plans By: Chung, Doug J., Thomas Steenburgh, and K. Sudhir Abstract—We estimate a dynamic... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

W. Carl Kester

Carl Kester is a Baker Foundation Professor and the George Fisher Baker Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Finance Unit. He served as Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs (2006-2010), Chairman of the... View Details

Keywords: asset management; banking; education industry; financial services; investment banking industry; pharmaceuticals; private equity (LBO funds)

10 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

High Commitment, High Performance Management

With many companies battered by the economy, commitment from leaders and employees might seem like increasingly precious resources. Yet commitment and performance are essential elements of any successful firm no matter the health of the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

28 Oct 2020
Blog Post

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged

We recently asked 600 CEOs: What is keeping you awake at night during this global pandemic? A major and multifaceted concern that emerged is how to keep employees motivated when their world is crashing around them. The circumstances of... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

08 Dec 2020
Blog Post

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged

We recently asked 600 CEOs: What is keeping you awake at night during this global pandemic? A major and multifaceted concern that emerged is how to keep employees motivated when their world is crashing around them. The circumstances of... View Details

April 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Fermenting Accounting Problems at Vermont Kombucha Corp.

By: Tatiana Sandino and Marshal Herrmann

Founded in 2005, Vermont Kombucha Corp. (V-Ko) was an early mover in the fledgling U.S. market for kombucha, a drink brewed for its health benefits. Early on, the company captured more than 90% of market share. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Joe Williams,... View Details

Keywords: Going Public; Business Model; Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Stock Shares; Food and Beverage Industry

May 2016
Case

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988—2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In October 2015, Walmart surprised investors by announcing that it expected flat sales growth for 2015 and growth of only 3% to 4% over the coming three years. Profits would also fall due to significant investments in people and technology. The company’s stock price... View Details

Keywords: Asda; Costco; David Glass; Convenience Stores; Discount Retailing; Dollar Stores; Doug McMillon; E-commerce; Online Retail; General Merchandise; Grocery; Lee Scott; Mike Duke; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Neighborhood Market; Sam Walton; Sam's Club; Store Formats; Supercenter; Supermarket; Warehouse Clubs; Merchandising; Walmart; Wal-Mart; Globalized Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Units; Business Divisions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Banks and Banking; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Global Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Business History; Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Human Capital; Labor Unions; Wages; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Web; Web Sites; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; Banking Industry; United States; Arkansas; Bentonville

31 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

You’re Wasting Your Employees! What You Can Do About It

operations of any company that wishes to flourish in the new age. And yet, a decade of organizational delayering, destaffing, restructuring, and reengineering has produced employees who are more exhausted than empowered, more cynical than... View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

November 2007
Article

Innovation and Incentives: Evidence from Corporate R&D

By: Josh Lerner and Julie Wulf

Beginning in the late 1980s, American corporations began increasingly linking the compensation of central research personnel to the economic objectives of the corporation. This paper examines the impact of the shifting compensation of the heads of corporate research... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Research and Development; Patents; Employee Stock Ownership Plan

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16 May 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Managed Risk (and Even Benefitted) in World War Internment Camps

An internment camp for German citizens in England. Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo Global enterprises that do business in emerging economies face significant political risks—in extreme cases, imprisonment of their civilian View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Manufacturing

April 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Executive Compensation at General Electric (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Michele Jurgens

Faced with falling share prices and the critical eye of the media focused on Jack Welch's retirement plan, newly appointed CEO Jeff Immelt had the challenge of reassessing GE as a leader of corporate integrity and good governance. Presents the changes Immelt initiated... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Governing and Advisory Boards; Media; Governance; Corporate Accountability