Publications

2010
Working Paper

Growth through Heterogeneous Innovations

By: Ufuk Akcigit and William R. Kerr

We study how exploration versus exploitation innovations impact economic growth through a tractable endogenous growth framework that contains multiple innovation sizes, multi-product firms, and entry/exit. Firms invest in exploration R&D to acquire new product lines... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Decision Choices and Conditions; Economic Growth; Investment; Innovation and Invention; Patents; Size; Research and Development; United States

Research Summary

General research interests

Effects of marketing actions on food choices, energy intake, and obesity.
Psychophysics of package and portion size perception and preferences.
Mere-measurement and self-generated validity effects in survey research.
Attention and choice... View Details

September 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Auto Collection: Ford's Better Idea for Selling Cars and Trucks

Ford encourages its independent dealers to consolidate, showing them the benefits size can bring both to themselves and their customers. Now, consolidated dealerships improve customer service and reduce costs. View Details

Keywords: Consolidation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Sales; Auto Industry; Retail Industry

22 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 22

Working PapersInternational Differences in the Size and Roles of Corporate Headquarters: An Empirical Examination Authors:David Collis, David Young, and Michael Goold Abstract This paper examines differences in the View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

31 May 2018
Cold Call Podcast

Careem: Riding the First Unicorn in the Middle East

Keywords: Re: Shikhar Ghosh; Transportation

June 1999
Case

PDQ Manufacturing, Inc.

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A small manufacturer of car wash facilities has been unable to develop management systems because of rapid growth. Now size dictates the need for such systems because the current personal management style is proving inadequate. View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Personal Development and Career; Growth Management; Manufacturing Industry

17 Dec 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Under Pressure, Oxxo Rethinks the Convenience Store

Keywords: Re: Tatiana Sandino; Retail

December 2014 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Group Functions at the Maersk Group

By: David Collis and Matthew Shaffer

In 2014, seven years after he was appointed CEO of the Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Møller Maersk (the Maersk Group), Nils Andersen was reexamining the size and role of corporate headquarters in the company he had reshaped as a "premium conglomerate."... View Details

Keywords: Maersk; Business Units; Conglomerates; Decentralization; Core Business; Value Added; Synergy; Headquarters; Shipping; Petroleum; Oil And Gas; Drilling; Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Denmark

19 Mar 2021
Working Paper Summaries

Assessing the Strength of Network Effects in Social Network Platforms

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti

December 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Camber Creek & Measurabl Inc.

By: Marco Di Maggio and Lauren G. Pickle

In late 2017, Camber Creek, a real estate technology focused venture capital firm, had to evaluate a potential investment in Measurabl Inc. which provides real estate companies of all sized with a full SaaS solution for sustainability data. View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Venture Capital; Investment; Decision Making; Applications and Software; Environmental Sustainability

March 2022 (Revised April 2022)
Teaching Note

Group Functions at the Maersk Group

By: David J. Collis

In 2014, seven years after he was appointed CEO of the Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Møller Maersk (the Maersk Group), Nils Andersen was reexamining the size and role of corporate headquarters in the company he had reshaped as a "premium conglomerate."... View Details

Keywords: Maersk; Business Units; Conglomerates; Decentralization; Core Business; Value Added; Synergy; Headquarters; Shipping; Petroleum; Oil And Gas; Drilling; Corporate Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Transportation Industry; Shipping Industry; Denmark

April 2014
Case

Don Valentine and Sequoia Capital

By: Felda Hardymon, Tom Nicholas and Liz Kind

Don Valentine participated in the beginnings of two significant milestones: the birth of the silicon chip and the development of the venture capital industry. From humble beginnings, Valentine became a legendary salesman at Fairchild Semiconductor and National... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Personal Development and Career; Semiconductor Industry

May 1981 (Revised May 1985)
Case

MEM Co., Inc.

By: John A. Quelch

The President of MEM Co., Inc. is assessing the proposed introduction of a new line of men's toiletries. He also must determine the best distribution channels and the size of the product's advertising budget. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Distribution Channels; Budgets and Budgeting; Product Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

October 2019
Article

Returns to Talent and the Finance Wage Premium

By: Boris Vallée and Claire Célérier

To study the role of talent in finance workers' pay, we exploit a special feature of the French higher education system. Wage returns to talent have been significantly higher and have risen faster in finance since the 1980s than in other sectors. Both wage returns to... View Details

Keywords: Compensation; Finance; Compensation and Benefits; Wages; Banking Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

2011
Working Paper

When Smaller Menus Are Better: Variability in Menu-Setting Ability

Are large menus better than small menus? Recent literature argues that individuals' apparent preference for smaller menus can be explained by choosers' behavioral biases or informational limitations. These explanations imply that absent behavioral or informational... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Size; Quality

Read Now

01 Aug 2005
What Do You Think?

Is There an “Efficient Market” in CEO Compensation?

efficient markets might argue that these are merely a reflection of the scarcity of supply among those thought to be able to lead large organizations. And yet there is evidence of little or no relationship between the size of CEO... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 1990 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Cambridge Software Corporation

Cambridge Software Corp. must decide whether or not to offer multiple versions of a new software product. The firm has identified five market segments for the software and is deciding which, if any, of three product versions (a high end "industrial" version, a... View Details

Keywords: Software; Decision Making; Product Marketing; Information Technology Industry

March 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Exercise

Ginny's Restaurant: An Introduction to Capital Investment Valuation

An individual is considering the development of a new restaurant. To make the decision, she uses NPV analysis to determine whether she should undertake the investment, and, if so, the optimal size of the investment. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Decision Making; Business Startups

December 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Module Note

What Is the Game? Understanding the Environment

By: Maria P. Roche

As a strategist, one of your main tasks is to size up the external environment of your organization in its entirety. In this module, you will learn basic concepts and tools that will allow you to better understand the environment in which your organization operates. View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure