Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,250)
- Faculty Publications (156)
- May 2013
- Supplement
Transport Corporation of India (D): Business Development across Divisions
By: V.G. Narayanan and Saloni Chaturvedi
Transport Corporation of India was a logistics company that provided multi-modal transport solutions to its customers. Set up in 1958, TCI had grown from a 'one man, one truck, one office' set-up to a company with revenues of $400 million in half a century. TCI's... View Details
- March 2013
- Teaching Note
Nestlé: Agricultural Material Sourcing Within the Concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV) (TN)
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Matthew Preble
In December 2012, Hans Jöhr, Nestlé's head of corporate agriculture, was preparing to meet with the company's board of directors to discuss its vision for the future related to sustainable agriculture. Nestlé's continued success depended on its ability to access the... View Details
- 2013
- Article
Achievement Motivation, Strategic Orientations and Business Performance in Entrepreneurial Firms: How Different are Japanese and American Founders?
By: Rohit Deshpandé, Amir Grinstein, Elie Ofek and Sang-Hoon Kim
Purpose: There is lack of research on the link between the personal disposition of an entrepreneurial firm's founder, the firm's strategic orientation, and its performance outcomes. Also, there is lack of cross-national research on entrepreneurial firms' strategic... View Details
Keywords: Motivation; Entrepreneurs; Japan; Motivation and Incentives; Entrepreneurship; Japan; United States
- 2012
- Chapter
Firing Your Best Customers: How Smart Firms Destroy Relationships Using CRM
By: Jill Avery and Susan Fournier
With incidences in the 20%–25% range, the practice of firing customers has become increasingly attractive as firms try to maximize the lifetime value of their customer portfolios. This chapter traces the relationship trajectory of a 30-year customer of Filene's... View Details
- January 2013 (Revised August 2013)
- Case
First Solar: CFRA's Accounting Quality Concerns
By: Suraj Srinivasan and Ian McKown Cornell
The case relates to accounting quality analysis conducted by the leading research firm Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA) on companies in the solar industry with a focus on First Solar Inc. In 2009, CFRA was concerned that First Solar, like much of the... View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Accounting Quality; Financial Accounting; Financial Statement Analysis; Accounting Fraud; Accounting Red Flags; Accounting Scandal; Risk and Uncertainty; Quality; Earnings Management; Valuation; Crime and Corruption; Financial Statements; Energy Sources; Green Technology Industry; Accounting Industry; Energy Industry
- April 2012
- Article
Bouncing Out of the Banking System: An Empirical Analysis of Involuntary Bank Account Closures
By: Dennis Campbell, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez and Peter Tufano
Using a new database, we document the factors that relate to the extent of involuntary consumer bank account closure resulting from excessive overdraft activity. Consumers who have accounts involuntarily closed for overdraft activity may have limited or no access to... View Details
- 2012
- Chapter
The Relational Roles of Brands
By: Jill Avery
In contemporary culture, brands play important relational roles, linking consumers to others and serving as relational partners. This chapter provides an understanding of the relational roles of brands to illuminate why and how consumers connect with brands and how... View Details
- 2012
- Case
Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (B)
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Hong Zhang
The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the... View Details
Keywords: Computer Software; Entrepreneurship; Outsourcing; Strategy; China; Information Technology; China
- 2012
- Teaching Note
Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (B) (TN)
By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Hong Zhang
The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the... View Details
- November 2011
- Case
WrapItUp: Developing a New Compensation Plan
By: W. Earl Sasser Jr. and Rachel Shelton
A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details
Keywords: Empowerment; Middle Management; Human Resource Management; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Motivation and Incentives; Change Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Service Delivery; Entrepreneurship; Employees; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; California
- 2011
- Case
Wrapitup
By: W. Earl Sasser
A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details
- 2011
- Other Unpublished Work
Popularity Profiles: How Customers' Use of a Long-Tail Assortment Relates to their Service Retention
By: Anita Elberse and David A. Schweidel
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management
- November 2010
- Article
Stress-Test Your Strategy: The 7 Questions to Ask
By: Robert Simons
An economic downturn can quickly expose the shortcomings of your business strategy. But can you identify its weak points in good times as well? And can you focus on those weak points that really matter? I identify seven questions all executives should ask in order to... View Details
- October 2010
- Article
Unleashing the Power of Marketing
By: Beth Comstock, Ranjay Gulati and Stephen A Liguori
The article examines marketing management at General Electric Co. (GE). The transformation of the company's marketing department into an integral part of product development, product management, and strategic planning after years of relative neglect is considered.... View Details
- July 2010
- Supplement
Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Customer Lifetime Value Analysis (CW)
By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery
Customers are increasingly being viewed as assets that bring value to the firm. Customer lifetime value is a metric which allows managers to understand the overall value of their customer base and relate it to three customer strategies firms employ: asset acquisition -... View Details
- July 2010 (Revised January 2017)
- Background Note
Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Customer Lifetime Value Analysis (2024)
By: Thomas Steenburgh and Jill Avery
Customers are increasingly being viewed as assets that bring value to the firm. Customer lifetime value is a metric that allows managers to understand the overall value of their customer base and relate it to three customer strategies firms employ: asset... View Details
Keywords: Customer Lifetime Value; Return On Investment; Customer Acquisition; Customer Retention; Customer Churn; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Measurement and Metrics; Strategic Planning; Value
- April 2010
- Supplement
Bill Nichol Negotiates with Walmart: Hard Bargains over Soft Goods (B)
By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel
This case describes the multi-prong negotiating approach that Bill Nichol, Kentucky Derby Hosiery Co. CEO, took to deal with an ultimatum from his largest customer, as well as the outcome of this process. It concludes with a number of Nichol's observations about... View Details
- November 2009 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
PureCircle
By: David E. Bell and Aldo Sesia
In December 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that high-purity Rebaudioside A (Reb A), a natural and calorie-free product that a young company named PureCircle manufactured from the Stevia plant, could be used in beverages, foods, and as a... View Details
- November 2009
- Article
Organizational Design and Control across Multiple Markets: The Case of Franchising in the Convenience Store Industry
Many companies operate units that are dispersed across different types of markets, and thus serve significantly diverging customer bases. Such market-type dispersion is likely to compromise the headquarter's ability to control its local managers' behavior and satisfy... View Details
- September 2009
- Article
Are You Having Trouble Keeping Your Operations Focused?
As a business broadens over time, it can lose the operational edge that led to its original success. Core strengths atrophy, efficiency or quality suffers, and sharper rivals close in to take advantage of the loss of focus. In his classic article "The Focused Factory"... View Details