Publications

2021
Working Paper

The Business of K-12 Education in China

By: Geoffrey Jones and Yuhai Wu

This working paper examines the evolution of K-12 education in China, especially between 1985 and the present day, drawing extensive interviews with participants in the educational sector. China has been hugely successful in reaching almost 100 percent literacy,... View Details

Keywords: K-12 Education; China; Real Estate; Early Childhood Education; Performance Evaluation; Teaching; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Personal Development and Career; Social Issues; Nonprofit Organizations; Private Sector; Education Industry; Real Estate Industry; China

July 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Progressive Insurance: Disclosure Strategy

By: Amy P. Hutton and James Weber

Progressive Insurance had refused to play Wall Street's earning game. Progressive didn't manage reported earnings nor did management give guidance to analysts. Management then considered taking their unique disclosure strategy one step further to become the first to... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Stocks; Corporate Disclosure; Insurance; Volatility; Insurance Industry; United States

Educators

30 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 30, 2015

strongly anti-inflationary monetary policy, while the decrease in bond risks after 2000 is attributed to a renewed focus on output fluctuations and a shift from transitory to persistent monetary policy shocks. Endogenous responses of bond... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2022
Teaching Note

Farfetch: Digital Transformation for Luxury Brands

By: Jill Avery and Sunil Gupta

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 522-051. Farfetch, a global luxury technology platform and digital marketplace had been surfing the wave of digital transformation in the luxury fashion industry since 2008. While the company’s stock price and market valuation had... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Retailing; Two Sided Markets; SaaS; Online Marketing; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Digital Transformation; E-commerce; Digital Marketing; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; London; United Kingdom; Portugal

2013
Working Paper

Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities

By: Andras Tilcsik and Christopher Marquis

This article focuses on geographic communities as fields in which human-made and natural events occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop an institutional perspective to unpack how and why major events within communities affect organizations in the... View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Situation or Environment; Balance and Stability; Organizations; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

SSRN

February 2010 (Revised June 2012)
Case

"Plugging In" the Consumer: The Adoption of Electrically Powered Vehicles in the U.S.

By: Elie Ofek and Polly Ribatt

How will U.S. consumers respond to the proliferation of alternative-fuel vehicles, such as cars powered partially or completely by electricity, in the coming decade? After a century in which fossil fuel-powered vehicles dominated the market, it appeared consumers would... View Details

Keywords: Energy Sources; Policy; Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Adoption; Auto Industry; United States

Educators

February 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Amway Japan Limited

In April 1997, the president of Amway Japan (AJL, Tokyo, Japan), pondered how to reverse the first performance decline the company has experienced since entering the Japanese direct selling market in 1979. Established as the tenth overseas subsidiary of Amway Corp. of... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Business Subsidiaries; Distribution Channels; Customer Satisfaction; Consumer Products Industry; Michigan; Tokyo

Educators

28 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 28, 2015

management literature. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=47633 Concentrated Capital Losses and the Pricing of Corporate Credit Risk By: Siriwardane, Emil N. Abstract—Using proprietary credit default swap (CDS) data from 2010 to... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Changan Automobile Co., Ltd.

By: Dennis Campbell and Donglin Xia

Chairman Yin Jiaxu must communicate that the company's extraordinary reported performance in 2002 reflects Changan's unique strategy within the competitive dynamics of China's automobile industry. Changan's 2002 annual report demonstrated an extraordinary level of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Media; Business and Shareholder Relations; Auto Industry; China

Find at Harvard

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

philanthropic spending fluctuated dramatically as mega-events generally led to a punctuated increase in otherwise relatively stable patterns of giving by local corporations. The impact of natural disasters depended on the severity of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

21 Jan 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The Supply Side of Innovation: H-1B Visa Reforms and US Ethnic Invention

Keywords: by William R. Kerr & William F. Lincoln

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 5 Complementarity By: Baldwin, Carliss Y. Abstract—The purpose of this chapter is to relate the theory of task networks and technology set forth in previous chapters to theories of firm boundaries... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

13 Jan 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Private Equity and Industry Performance

Keywords: by Shai Bernstein, Josh Lerner, Morten Sørensen & Per Strömberg

22 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Student Loan Debt Leads to Better Jobs, Stronger Consumers

careful about which loans you take on. Federal student loans are directly funded by the government and offer a variety of consumer protections to help those who are struggling, such as repayment options that fluctuate based on a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

02 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

Employees Out Sick? Inside One Company's Creative Approach to Staying Productive

importance of the rapport between the manager and worker to enable managers to make the staffing adjustments that are often necessary to meet fluctuating demand or convince workers to be trained in skills the firm requires. You Might Also... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Fashion

Web

Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

do—with either regulatory tools or monetary policy—to help moderate credit-driven fluctuations in real activity. See Jeremy’s other research here . More Info Real Credit Cycles By: Pedro Bordalo , Nicola Gennaioli , Andrei Shleifer &... View Details

2023
Working Paper

The Effects of Inconsistent Work Schedules on Employee Lateness and Absenteeism

By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman

Problem Definition: Employee lateness and absenteeism pose challenges for businesses, particularly in the retail industry, where punctuality is vital for optimal store operations and customer service. This paper relates employee lateness and absenteeism with... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Employees; Human Capital; Retail Industry

SSRN