Publications

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June 2019
Case

Mercedes and the Relaunch of Maybach: Reviving a Heritage Automobile Brand

By: Anat Keinan, Klaus Heine, Marie-Cecile Cervellon and Sandrine Crener

The case traces the growth of Maybach from its origins as a pioneer in car manufacturing to its relaunch by parent company Mercedes Benz AG (now Daimler AG). It covers the relaunch strategy implemented by the German car manufacturer and examines the challenges of... View Details

Keywords: Heritage Brand; Relaunch; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Product Launch; Strategy; Auto Industry

24 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Tax Reform is on the Front Burner Again. Here’s Why You Should Care

things have gotten better. Primarily due to the 1986 Act, we have lower rates and larger bases. At the first approximation that's a good thing. That's the one thing that we've learned over the last 100 years about how to design these tax... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Heineken NV: Workplace HIV/AIDS Programs in Africa (A)

This case is the first in a three-part series that explores the multifaceted organizational and strategic choices that companies now face as a result of the global AIDS epidemic. Heineken is considering becoming one of the first companies to offer AIDS drugs... View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa

2006
Working Paper

The Limits of Authority: Motivation versus Coordination

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper studies the effects of open disagreement on motivation and coordination. It shows how, in the presence of differing priors, motivation and coordination impose conflicting demands on the allocation of authority, leading to a trade-off between the... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Governance Controls; Organizational Culture; Agency Theory; Conflict and Resolution; Motivation and Incentives

SSRN

29 Mar 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurs, Firms, and Global Wealth since 1850

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

January 2009 (Revised March 2010)
Case

LeBron James

By: Anita Elberse and Jeff McCall

In 2005, to the astonishment of many sports industry insiders, superstar basketball player LeBron James fired his agent and established his own firm, LRMR, to handle all aspects of his business ventures and marketing activities and named his childhood friend Maverick... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry

September 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Sanford C. Bernstein: Growing Pains

By: Boris Groysberg and Anahita Hashemi

To remain competitive, Sallie Krawcheck and Lisa Shalett, Sanford C. Bernstein's director of research and associate director of research, respectively, were examining the need to expand the research department's size, not only domestically but also internationally.... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Selection and Staffing; Management Teams; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion

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March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

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Faculty & Advisors | MBA

venture investor. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Arkitekt Ventures, an early stage Health + Bio investment firm with the mission to improve and advance human health. Recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top Ten... View Details

September 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

STARZPLAY: Shooting for the Stars

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini and Alpana Thapar

In mid-2021, Maaz Sheikh, cofounder and CEO of STARZPLAY, a Dubai-based subscription video on demand (SVOD) provider that catered to the Middle East and North Africa region, was wrestling with how to find the right balance between continued subscriber growth and... View Details

03 Jan 2018
What Do You Think?

In the Wake of #MeToo, Should Corporate Boards Hire Compliance Officers?

the entity and even then questions about who they report to, how they are appraised/evaluated, what powers and decision rights they have and how trust and functionality can be cultivated with such a reporting line sounds... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Howard H. Stevenson

Howard H. Stevenson is Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor emeritus, former Senior Associate Dean, Director of Publishing, and Chair of the Harvard Business Publishing Company board. The Sarofim-Rock Chair was established in 1982 to provide a continuing base for... View Details

Keywords: broadcasting; communications; computer; construction; financial services; forest products; health care; high technology; industrial goods; insurance industry; investment banking industry; manufacturing; paper; professional services; real estate; service industry; software; venture capital industry

02 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Digital Initiative Summit: Companies Must Forget—and Borrow

that's been going for a while and a new business trying to shake that up?" asked Winsor, who is Chief Innovation Officer at Havas. He said striking the right balance between established practices and new ideas remains an ongoing... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Education; Advertising

17 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

Can China Maintain Its Economic Power?

economic growth.” Blagg: What were your first impressions of China in the late 1970s? McFarlan: We were seeing a country that had missed the industrial revolution that happened in many other countries in the nineteenth century, and then... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg

2022
Working Paper

The Effect of Employee Lateness and Absenteeism on Store Performance

By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman

We empirically analyze the effects of employee lateness and absenteeism on store performance by examining 25.5 million employee shift timecards covering more than 100,000 employees across more than 500 U.S. retail grocery store locations over a four year time period.... View Details

Keywords: Absenteeism; Lateness; Scheduling; Performance Productivity; Employees; Retail Industry

SSRN

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November 2005
Case

Michael Ovitz and The Walt Disney Company (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak

Faced with the need to hire a new president, The Walt Disney Co. pursued Michael Ovitz, a founder of the Creative Artist Agency. Although initially disinterested, Ovitz engaged in negotiations with Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Co., in the summer of 1995... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Management Teams; Selection and Staffing; Negotiation; Organizational Culture

June 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Kit Hinrichs at Pentagram (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

This case focuses on Kit Hinrichs, a 65-year-old partner at Pentagram, a privately owned multidisciplinary design firm. One of the world's most prestigious design firms, Pentagram was founded by five designers from different disciplines in London in the 1970s. By 2008,... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Offices; Customer Relationship Management; Design; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Creativity; Service Industry; San Francisco