Publications

15 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Connecting Goals and Go-To-Market Initiatives

and making alignment of strategy and sales difficult. Performance management practices. Performance management is not just performance measurement or compensation, although both are important. Performance management is a systemic process for moving from strategy to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

December 2003 (Revised October 2005)
Case

High-Definition TV: The Grand Alliance

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes political and economic forces that influenced the development of an all-digital, high-definition television (HDTV) standard in the United States between 1986 and 1996. Outlines the stakes for various government and industry participants in the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Policy; Management Practices and Processes; Emerging Markets; Standards; Business and Government Relations; Networks; Research and Development; Technology Adoption; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Technology Industry; Japan; Europe; United States

September 2004
Article

Trust in Agency

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Existing models of the principal-agent relationship assume the agent works only under extrinsic incentives. However, many observed agency contracts take the form of a fixed payment. For such contracts to succeed, the principal must trust the agent to work in the... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Agency Theory; Relationships; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Contracts; Business Model; Emotions; Forecasting and Prediction; Ethics; Standards; Risk and Uncertainty

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08 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 8, 2019

Standardized metrics of cath lab efficiency are proposed, which can be used in public reports on this topic moving forward. Attention is paid to understanding balance sheets to track the financial health of the cath lab. Specific... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

22 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Online Banks Fill Funding Needs for Small Business

and electronic payment technology to assess the health of a business. Traditional lenders generally focus on both the small business owners' personal credit history and key metrics about the borrower's business, such as industry-specific... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills; Banking; Financial Services

31 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

Why Competition May Not Improve Credit Rating Agencies

reserves when investing in bonds of lower ratings. Ratings are also used in private contracts, for example to define the investment objectives of bond mutual funds. Ratings are a concise and well-understood metric of credit quality.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

June 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Equator Principles, The: An Industry Approach to Managing Environmental and Social Risks

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Aldo Sesia

In June 2003, 10 leading international banks adopted new voluntary guidelines, called the Equator Principles, to promote sustainable development in project finance. In recent years, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) had raised issues about the lenders'... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Project Finance; Standards; Projects; Commercial Banking; Non-Governmental Organizations

17 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: January 17

Metrics Willy Shih and Margaret PiersonHarvard Business School Note 612-034 This note describes capital efficiency metrics including RONA, ROIC, and EVA. This note is intended to be used with the case... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Jan 2002
Research & Ideas

Read All About It! Newspapers Lose Web War

facing the Internet. Note that in the newspaper industry, digital content initially started with different advertising customers, a different business model, and a whole set of performance characteristics that made it appear unattractive on the View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (A1)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

First of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. Split from the original (A) case to give students an opportunity to suggest objectives and measures for the division's initial BSC, without... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Measurement and Metrics; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Marketing Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Mining Industry; Energy Industry; United States

24 Jul 2018
News

How Amy Hood Won Back Wall Street and Helped Reboot Microsoft

At an executive retreat in 2015, Hood lectured senior leaders on the need for more internal and external metrics to keep employees on a measurable path and communicate better to investors. Nadella and Hood hatched a plan to refocus... View Details

January 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

TotalEnergies’ Investment in Hyzon Motors

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and David Lane

In November 2021, Girish Nadkarni, the head of TotalEnergies’ corporate venture capital arm (TEV) was considering whether, and on what terms, to exit an investment in Hyzon Motors, a start-up supplier of hydrogen-powered trucks. TEV had invested $4 million in Hyzon,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Communication Intention and Meaning; Renewable Energy; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Design; Standards; Commercialization; Investment Portfolio; Market Transactions; Energy Industry; Financial Services Industry; Transportation Industry; Europe; New York (city, NY)

September 2023 (Revised September 2024)
Technical Note

Measuring and Managing Social Impact

By: Brian Trelstad, Gerald Chertavian and Susan Pinckney

A brief overview of how to measure social impact at nonprofits, social organizations, and impact investments. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Change; Transformation; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Public Sector; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Entrepreneurial Finance; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Policy; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Measurement and Metrics; Standards; Strength and Weakness; Mission and Purpose; Success; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Strategic Planning; Programs; Risk and Uncertainty; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Issues; United States

Article

Storytelling: A Method for Assessing Children's Creativity

By: B. A. Hennessey and T. M. Amabile

Keywords: Creativity; Measurement and Metrics; Early Childhood Education; Research; Performance Evaluation

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October 2022
Exercise

Shanty Real Estate: Confidential Information for iBuyer 1

By: Michael Luca, Jesse M. Shapiro and Nathan Sun

Shanty is a simulation in which students inhabit the role of either a traditional home buyer or an iBuyer, both bidding on the same condo. The traditional home buyer has access to a “comp sheet” of similar properties that have recently sold, and has done a walkthrough.... View Details

Keywords: Algorithm; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decision Making; Measurement and Metrics; Market Timing

October 2022
Exercise

Shanty Real Estate: Confidential Information for Homebuyer 3

By: Michael Luca, Jesse M. Shapiro and Nathan Sun

Shanty is a simulation in which students inhabit the role of either a traditional home buyer or an iBuyer, both bidding on the same condo. The traditional home buyer has access to a “comp sheet” of similar properties that have recently sold, and has done a walkthrough.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Decision Making; Measurement and Metrics; Market Timing

September 2008 (Revised March 2020)
Supplement

Medtronic: Patient Management Initiative (B)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

The (B) case provides the denouement to the (A) case about Medtronic's introduction of the Chronicle and remote monitoring business. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Measurement and Metrics; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry