Publications

October 2006
Article

Location Choices across the Value Chain: How Activity and Capability Influence Collocation

By: Juan Alcacer

There has been a recent revival of interest in the geographic component of firm strategy. Recent research suggests that two opposing forces—competition costs and agglomeration benefits—determine whether firms collocate in a given geographic market. Unexplored is (1)... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Sales; Research and Development; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Markets; Production; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Distribution; Cost vs Benefits; SWOT Analysis; Telecommunications Industry

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May 1998
Teaching Note

Development Relationships TN

By: David A. Thomas and Emily Heaphy

The final class of the Career Development module of the Self-Assessment and Career Development course (SACD) uses the topic of mentoring and developmental relationships to encourage students to think beyond the point of finding and accepting a suitable job offer. The... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Curriculum and Courses; Job Offer; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Strategy

Research Summary

Knowledge Spillovers and Growth

Professor King and colleagues investigate the role of knowledge spillovers and externalities in the dramatic disagglomeration and growth of the advertising agency industry following World War II. High demand, low wages, and externalities associated with clusters of... View Details

4 May 2013
Keynote Speech

Opening Keynote

By: Euvin Naidoo

Towards a 21st Century African Renaissance: Sowing the seeds of success. The conference, in recognition of Africa's emerging outlook as a promising hub for growth, will include diverse speakers like Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth,... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Corporate Leadership and Creditor Recovery Rates: Evidence from Executive Gender

By: Clarissa Hauptmann, Syrena Shirley and Anywhere Sikochi

We examine the relationship between the gender of executives and corporate creditor recovery rates. Using 2,288 defaulted debt instruments, we find that female executives are associated with higher creditor recovery rates. Our findings are robust to tests that correct... View Details

Keywords: Executive Gender; Default; Recovery Rates; Debt; Corporate Bonds; Conservatism; Leadership; Gender; Borrowing and Debt; Bonds; Risk Management

March 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Technical Note

Control or Flexibility? Structured Empowerment Offers Both — Lessons from Retail & Service Chains

By: Tatiana Sandino

This note explains how several retail and service organizations use a practice described here as “structured empowerment” to balance control and flexibility as they grow. I define structured empowerment as a practice that grants employees both (a) the power to make... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Standards; Employees; Service Delivery; Decision Making; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; Service Industry

March 2016
Technical Note

Lighting the Fire: Crafting and Delivering Broadly Inspiring Messages

By: Tsedal Neeley and Tom Ryder

Communicating persuasively is a critical skill for leaders of any team or organization. Yet, connecting and resonating with an audience can nevertheless be a challenging task. We outline how to effectively mobilize groups through the power of communication. This note... View Details

Keywords: Messaging; Communication; Leading; Public Speaking; Persuasion; Rhetorical Devices; Communication Intention and Meaning; Forms of Communication; Communication Strategy

Article

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Bruno Jullien

We analyze the incentives to divert search for an information intermediary who enables buyers (consumers) to search affiliated sellers (stores). We identify two original motives for diverting search (i.e., inducing consumers to search more than they would like): 1)... View Details

Keywords: Market Intermediation; Search; Two-Sided Markets; Platform Design; Demand and Consumers; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

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26 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

STEM Needs More Women. Recruiters Often Keep Them Out

the design of your partnership,” Lane says. “And if diversity is something you want to promote, then you want to make sure that every party or partner working on this is aligned.” For recruiters: Examine how you direct outreach efforts,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

Web

Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

highlights the diversity of players in the region including social enterprise organizations (in their many forms) and supporting agencies, funders, and regulators. The note also dives briefly into the demographics of social entrepreneurs... View Details

November 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Pacesetters

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Mel Martin

City Sealcoating CEO Keith Chaney had just publicly called out the Boston Chamber of Commerce for their slow progress on their supplier diversity program, Pacesetters. Established in 2018 by regional business leaders, Pacesetters was supposed to facilitate... View Details

Keywords: Racial Wealth Gap; Procurement; Suppliers; Diversity; Programs; Small Business; Restructuring; Contracts; United States; Boston

8 AM – 8 PM EDT, 26 Apr 2025
Industry Events

Real Estate Symposium at Harvard 2025

The Real Estate Club, a student club at Harvard Business School, and the Harvard GSD Real Estate Club are excited to announce the Real Estate Symposium at Harvard 2025. Join our diverse audience of over 500 attendees, including industry professionals, alumni,... View Details

2015
Chapter

The Role of Multiplier Firms and Megaprojects in Leading Change for Sustainability

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Martine Haas, John D. Macomber and Tiona Zuzul

In both the private and public sectors, organizations around the world face increasingly pressing questions about how to stimulate and manage change for long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the roles... View Details

Keywords: Blueprint Logic; Learning Logic; Megaprojects; Multiplier Firms; Leading Change; Environmental Sustainability

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September 2009 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Elkay Plumbing Products Division

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The vice president of sales learns that the most profitable 1% of the division's customers generate 100% of profits, and that two of the division's largest customers lose 50% of profits. The division has just finished a project to install a time-driven activity-based... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Management Systems; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry