Publications

2020
Working Paper

Are ISS Recommendations Informative? Evidence from Assessments of Compensation Practices

By: Ana Albuquerque, Mary Ellen Carter and Susanna Gallani

Using detailed information from the largest proxy advisor in the U.S., Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), we examine whether proxy advisors’ assessments of firms’ compensation practices are able to identify poor compensation practices as measured by subsequent... View Details

Keywords: Proxy Advisors; CEO Compensation; Say-on-Pay; Institutional Shareholder Voting; Executive Compensation; Performance

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August 2015
Article

Price Coherence and Excessive Intermediation

By: Benjamin Edelman and Julian Wright

Suppose an intermediary provides a benefit to buyers when they purchase from sellers using the intermediary's technology. We develop a model to show that the intermediary would want to restrict sellers from charging buyers more for transactions it intermediates. With... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Two-Sided Markets; Vertical Restraints; Two-Sided Platforms

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July 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Branding Citigroup's Consumer Business

By: Rohit Deshpande and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In Spring 1998, Citicorp and Travelers merged to create a financial powerhouse that united the bank with Travelers' consumer finance and brokerage businesses, including Salomon Smith Barney and Primerica. It was the first U.S. financial services company to combine... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Decisions; Asset Management; Investment Banking; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Relationships; Business and Shareholder Relations; Banking Industry; United States

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Culture; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Performance Productivity; Problems and Challenges; Management Practices and Processes; Business Divisions; Information Management; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

February 1991 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Appex Corp.

By: Nitin Nohria

1990 Business Week named Appex Corp. the fastest growing high-technology company in the United States. Appex provided management information systems and intercarrier network services to cellular telephone companies. During its rapid growth, the company went through... View Details

May 2014
Case

Building a High Performance Culture at IDFC

By: V.G. Narayanan and Vidhya Muthuram

IDFC was set up in 1997 to direct private finance to infrastructure projects in India. Over the years, it expanded its capabilities to become a 'complete solutions provider' offering financing solutions including debt and equity, investment banking, brokerage and asset... View Details

February 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

HealthPartners

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Nancy Dean Beaulieu

Presents the efforts by HealthPartners to create competition among health care providers in Minnesota on the basis of both quality and price. Also provides some insight into the strategies for changing physician behavior. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Behavior; Competition; Health Industry; Minnesota

June 2016
Article

Understanding Online Hotel Reviews Through Automated Text Analysis

By: Shawn Mankad, Hyunjeong "Spring" Han, Joel Goh and Srinagesh Gavirneni

Customer reviews submitted at Internet travel portals are an important yet underexplored new resource in obtaining feedback on customer experience for the hospitality industry. These data are often voluminous and unstructured, presenting analytical challenges for... View Details

Keywords: Hotel Reviews; Natural Language Processing; Information Technology; Service Operations; Accommodations Industry; Moscow

June 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Supplement

Vanguard Retail Operations (B)

By: Willy C. Shih and Antonio Moreno

The first two cases in this series are set in the financial services industry, and explore whether it is better for back-office workers to be generalists who provide the flexibility of being able to handle the complete range of transactions that the company faces or... View Details

Keywords: Pooling; Generalist Model; Specialist Model; Service Operations; Management; Financial Services Industry; United States

19 Apr 2017
Blog Post

7 Ways MBA Students Use Baker Library

As members of the Curriculum & Learning Services (CLS) team at Baker Library, we have the opportunity to work closely with MBA students: in the library, online, and in the classroom. In a typical year we answer over 2,000 research... View Details

October 2015
Article

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

The evolution of products into intelligent, connected devices is revolutionizing business. In a November 2014 article, "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition," Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and PTC president and CEO James... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Operations; Business Strategy

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30 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

Use the Psychology of Pricing To Keep Customers Returning

the idea that people will use a product or service more right after they pay for it. How can companies make this work for them? A: Sunk costs are a curious bit of psychology. Economists say that attending to sunk costs is not... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

March 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

RealNetworks Rhapsody

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Steven Carpenter

Examines RealNetwork's (Real's) strategy for the rapidly emerging online music market. In contrast to rivals who sell individual copies of songs, Real offers online music on a subscription basis. For a $10 monthly fee, subscribers to Real's Rhapsody service have... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Advantage; Distribution Channels; Music Entertainment; Ownership; Service Industry; Service Industry; Service Industry

17 Dec 2007
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Medical Tourism

States. Public interest in Britain is in the context of the National Health Service and its constraints. Initially the rules required that patients be treated only in the United Kingdom. I believe there has been a gradual relaxation in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

February 2016 (Revised June 2016)
Case

Janalakshmi Financial Services' HR Dilemma

By: Doug J. Chung and Radhika Kak

Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), an Indian microfinance institution, had grown rapidly by providing financial products to its main customer base, the urban poor. However, the company was facing several challenges. JFS’s productivity was declining, and it was... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

September–October 2018
Article

Online MAP Enforcement: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment

By: Ayelet Israeli

This paper investigates a manufacturer’s ability to influence compliance rates among its authorized online retailers by exploiting changes in the Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy and in dealer agreements. MAP is a pricing policy widely used by manufacturers to... View Details

Keywords: Pricing Policies; Pricing; Channel Management; Legal Aspects Of Business; Retail; Price; Policy; Governance Compliance; Distribution Channels; Management; Retail Industry