Publications

2018
Working Paper

Creativity Under Fire: The Effects of Competition on Creative Production

By: Daniel P. Gross

Though fundamental to innovation and essential to many industries and occupations, individual creativity has received limited attention as an economic behavior and has historically proven difficult to study. This paper studies the incentive effects of competition on... View Details

Keywords: Incentives; Tournaments; Radical Vs. Incremental Innovation; Motivation and Incentives; Competition; Creativity; Innovation and Invention

SSRN

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August 2014
Technical Note

Conjoint Analysis: A Do it Yourself Guide

By: Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia

Conjoint Analysis has become one of the most commonly used quantitative market research methods. It has been successfully employed across a wide variety of industries to quantify consumer preferences for products and services. This technical note is intended to provide... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Conjoint Analysis; Consumer Preferences; Segmentation; Product Development; Demand Measurement; Demand and Consumers; Analysis; Markets

January 2014
Article

The Consequences of Entrepreneurial Finance: Evidence from Angel Financings

By: William R. Kerr, Josh Lerner and Antoinette Schoar

This paper documents that ventures that are funded by two successful angel groups experience superior outcomes to rejected ventures: they have improved survival, exits, employment, patenting, web traffic, and financing. We use strong discontinuities in angel funding... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Financing and Loans; Interests; Employment; Patents; Internet and the Web; Operations; Entrepreneurship; Business Exit or Shutdown

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Program

Driving Corporate Performance

targets and measures Implement more effective performance measurement and management control systems Link a customized Balanced Scorecard (BSC) strategy map to a succinct, powerful strategy statement for your organization Balance... View Details

2025
Book

The World Is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity, and Innovation

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury

A research-based look at a growing phenomenon—companies allowing their employees to work from anywhere in the world—and how those who adopt this model can boost talent, innovation, and productivity.
In recent years, companies in a wide range of industries have... View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; Telecommuting; Employees; Business Offices; Organizational Culture; Retention; Recruitment; Policy; Competitive Advantage

Research Summary

Professor Pill's current research has two dimensions. On the one hand, he is investigating the formulation and conduct of monetary policy in advanced economies, with a focus on the implementation of the single monetary policy in the euro area. On the other hand, he is... View Details

2021
Chapter

Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Sales is a crucial test for organizational change, including productive use (or not) of new technologies. Changes in selling always have wider organizational implications, because so many other decisions and resource commitments in firms depend upon demand forecasts... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Salesforce Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Transformation

Article

The Rise of Synthetic Colors in the American Food Industry, 1870–1940

By: Ai Hisano

This article examines how, starting in the 1870s, food manufacturers in the United States began to use standardized color, achieved by synthetic dyes, as part of their marketing strategies. The emergence of the synthetic dye industry paralleled the growth of mass... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Food; Health; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

October 2016
Case

La-Z-Boy (A)

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Natalie Kindred

Kurt Darrow, CEO of La-Z-Boy furniture, must decide whether to continue an overhaul of the company's strategy in the face of a collapse in demand during the great recession. Having pared back La-Z-Boy's portfolio of brands and manufacturing network, he intends to... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Manufacturing; Organizational Transformations; Reorganization; Furniture Industry; Corporate Strategy; Home Fashion; Turnaround; Portfolio Rationalization; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Brand Repositioning; Business Growth and Maturation; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Vertical Integration; Retail Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

June 2002
Case

Oxfam America in 2002

Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America,a major international relief and development nongovernmental organization (NGO), is working with his staff to undertake a major strategic shift in the organization. The organization is placing a growing emphasis on... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business or Company Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Non-Governmental Organizations

September 2001 (Revised July 2002)
Case

Fraud Prevention at Omni Bank

By: Frances X. Frei and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

Omni Bank is undergoing a merger and has two important decisions ahead. First, should it enforce the use of its model-driven approach to interacting with customers at the recently acquired Friends Savings and Loan branches. Friends has a culture of personal touch with... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Crime and Corruption; Customer Relationship Management; Decisions; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

December 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

i2 Technologies, Inc.

By: Ananth Raman and Jasjit Singh

Describes the emergence and growth of i2 Technologies and the supply chain planning software industry. In December 1998, i2's market capitalization was in excess of $2 billion; the supply chain planning software industry had annual sales of approximately $1 billion and... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Applications and Software; Supply Chain Management; Production; Forecasting and Prediction; Information Technology Industry

2003
Article

Developing a Management Systems Approach to Sustainability at BMW Group

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney

This article describes how Designworks/USA, a subsidiary of BMW Group, developed a Sustainability Management System (SMS) by integrating the management of environmental, social, and traditional business issues. After several months of deploying the SMS throughout its... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Management Systems; Standards; Operations; Auto Industry

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14 Jul 2020
News

The Strategic Problem the Army Doesn’t Seem to Care About: African Americans Aren’t Branching Combat Arms

Teaching

Overview

By: Susanna Gallani

At HBS, Professor Gallani teaches in the Executive Education Program for Leadership Development and in focused Executive Education programs, including Managing Health Care Delivery, Driving Corporate Performance, and several programs focused on the implementation of... View Details

Program

Designing and Executing Corporate Revitalization

that will help you execute corporate transformation successfully. Details Set a new strategic direction for your organization Determine root causes of challenges Identify new opportunities Proactively evaluate the range of strategic options and choose the best path... View Details

31 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Checking Your Ethics: Would You Speak Up in These 3 Sticky Situations?

yourself, he says. They are best positioned to judge whether the behavior is outside the norms of the client organization and whether the behavior could impact that ability of the client to implement the recommendations you might be... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consulting

September 2022 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Esas Group: Investing Together, Staying Together

By: Christina R. Wing and Alpana Thapar

This case opens in June 2022, after Esas Group, one of Turkey’s largest family-owned investment firms, implements a series of changes to professionalize the business and help transition family members from operators to responsible investors. In December 2019, the Group... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transition; Business or Company Management; Organizational Structure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Governance; Financial Services Industry; Turkey