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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(35,618)
- People (85)
- News (12,003)
- Research (14,910)
- Events (472)
- Multimedia (1,589)
- Faculty Publications (12,316)
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- June 2017 (Revised September 2021)
- Case
Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank
Set in early 2017, this case examines widespread sales misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank. Wells Fargo's governance and controls are described in the lead up to the September 2016 announcement that Wells Fargo had settled with regulators for $185 million in... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Crisis Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Design; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Crime and Corruption; Business Organization; Business Model; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Governance Compliance; Policy; Compensation and Benefits; Resignation and Termination; Laws and Statutes; Legal Liability; Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Failure; Agency Theory; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Salesforce Management; Public Opinion; Banking Industry; North and Central America
Srinivasan, Suraj, Dennis W. Campbell, Susanna Gallani, and Amram Migdal. "Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank." Harvard Business School Case 118-009, June 2017. (Revised September 2021.)
- May 1997 (Revised October 2005)
- Supplement
Ecolab, Inc. (G): Institutional Sales Conference
By: Ashish Nanda
Supplements the (A) case. Includes excerpts from speeches by Ecolab president Al Schuman, CEO Sandy Grieve, and three senior sales executives, and highlights the camaraderie and goodwill among senior executives of Ecolab's Institutional Division. May be used in place... View Details
Nanda, Ashish. "Ecolab, Inc. (G): Institutional Sales Conference." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 397-105, May 1997. (Revised October 2005.)
- November 1994 (Revised May 1998)
- Background Note
Strategic Sales Management: A Boardroom Issue
By: Benson P. Shapiro, Stephen X. Doyle and Adrian J. Slywotsky
Explains why sales management has become an increasingly important and complex topic for top managers. Demonstrates the financial impact of a superior salesforce and then describes a way to gain superiority. The focus is on a salesforce that is responsive to customer... View Details
Shapiro, Benson P., Stephen X. Doyle, and Adrian J. Slywotsky. "Strategic Sales Management: A Boardroom Issue." Harvard Business School Background Note 595-018, November 1994. (Revised May 1998.)
- 2014
- Book
Business History
By: Walter A. Friedman and Geoffrey Jones
This volume contains a selection of 42 foundational articles on the discipline of business history written between 1934 and the present day by scholars based in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. A wide-ranging editorial introduction describes the... View Details
Friedman, Walter A. and Geoffrey Jones, eds. Business History. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2014.
- August 9, 2022
- Article
Preparing Sales for a Changing Economy: Part 1
Companies spend more per capita on sales training than any other function, but the return on investment is disappointing. One recent estimate indicates “that 85-90% of sales training fails to translate into a lasting improvement in productivity.” A major reason is... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Preparing Sales for a Changing Economy: Part 1." TrainingIndustry.com (August 9, 2022).
- November 2021
- Article
The Comprehensive Effects of Sales Force Management: A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Selection, Compensation, and Training
By: Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim and Byoung G. Park
This study provides a comprehensive model of an agent’s behavior in response to multiple sales management instruments, including compensation, recruiting/termination, and training. The model on agents’ behavior takes into account many of the key elements that... View Details
Keywords: Salesforce Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Compensation and Benefits; Resignation and Termination; Training; Behavior; Analysis
Chung, Doug J., Byungyeon Kim, and Byoung G. Park. "The Comprehensive Effects of Sales Force Management: A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Selection, Compensation, and Training." Management Science 67, no. 11 (November 2021): 7046–7074.
- 1984
- Chapter
Structural Determinants of Ratios of Promotion and Advertising to Sales
By: John A. Quelch, Cheri T. Marshall and Dae R. Chang
Quelch, John A., Cheri T. Marshall, and Dae R. Chang. "Structural Determinants of Ratios of Promotion and Advertising to Sales." In Research on Sales Promotion: Collected Papers. no. 84-104, edited by Katherine E. Jocz, 83–105. Marketing Science Institute Report. Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute, 1984.
- March 1998 (Revised June 1999)
- Case
DigitalThink: Building a Sales Force
By: Michael J. Roberts, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Christina L. Darwall
A broad set of issues faces a young company in the Internet-based training business as it begins to sell its product to corporate customers. Issues include: profile of attractive candidates, compensation, definition of territory, definition of quotas, and role of... View Details
Roberts, Michael J., Joseph B. Lassiter III, and Christina L. Darwall. "DigitalThink: Building a Sales Force." Harvard Business School Case 898-193, March 1998. (Revised June 1999.)
- September–October 2016
- Article
What Senior Executives Should Know About Sales
Business is more complex, data more abundant, and more specialists are needed to stay up-to-date with functional best practices. As a senior executive, you can worry all you want about disruption, but you need a salesforce aligned with strategy to do something about... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "What Senior Executives Should Know About Sales." European Business Review (September–October 2016): 10–13.
- November 2005
- Background Note
Note on Personal Selling and Sales Management
By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Das Narayandas
Provides the background materials for the Sales Module in the first-year marketing course taught at HBS. View Details
- 08 Sep 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team
Too often, there's a huge gap between a company's overall business strategy and the way its salesforce operates in the field. In fact, says Frank V. Cespedes, articles and books about strategy rarely take View Details
Keywords: by Carmen Nobel
- December 2014 (Revised January 2015)
- Supplement
Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group (B)
By: Asli M. Colpan and Geoffrey Jones
The case builds on the earlier (A) case, which described the origins of the Turkish business group established by Vehbi Koç before 1988. This case takes the story forward to 2012 as the Koç group was led by Vehbi's son Rahmi followed by his grandson Mustafa. It... View Details
Keywords: Business Groups; Turkey; Entrepreneurship; Management; Manufacturing Industry; Transportation Industry; Auto Industry; Central Asia; Middle East
Colpan, Asli M., and Geoffrey Jones. "Vehbi Koç and the Making of Turkey's Largest Business Group (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 815-078, December 2014. (Revised January 2015.)
- 01 Nov 1999
- Research & Ideas
John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922
John H. Patterson created an intricate system of management to monitor and train company salesman. He gave them scripts to memorize and assigned them territory to cover. He held conventions and thematic View Details
Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman
- September 12, 2017
- Article
What's the Right Kind of Bonus to Motivate Your Sales Force?
By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas
Companies typically compensate their sales force by using some combination of salary, commission, and bonuses, but executives are often unsure which incentives provide the best motivation. Should bonuses be tied to quotas or should they be given unconditionally? Is it... View Details
Chung, Doug J., and Das Narayandas. "What's the Right Kind of Bonus to Motivate Your Sales Force?" Harvard Business Review (website) (September 12, 2017).
- November 1986 (Revised June 1987)
- Case
Fieldcrest Division of Fieldcrest Mills, Inc.: Compensation System for Field Sales Representatives
Focuses on the compensation plan for Fieldcrest sales representatives. Management is reviewing the structure of the plan and must decide how to establish compensation goals and guidelines for the following year so that sales efforts are allocated among products and/or... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Fieldcrest Division of Fieldcrest Mills, Inc.: Compensation System for Field Sales Representatives." Harvard Business School Case 587-097, November 1986. (Revised June 1987.)
- June 2002
- Article
Control Implications of Worker Identification with Firm Sales Success
By: M. G. Alles and S. Datar
Alles, M. G., and S. Datar. "Control Implications of Worker Identification with Firm Sales Success." Management Accounting Research 13, no. 2 (June 2002): 173–190.
- 25 Jan 2017
- Working Paper Summaries
The Effects of Quota Frequency on Sales Force Performance: Evidence from a Field Experiment
Keywords: by Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas
- March 1990 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
Describes the incentive system by which Mary Kay Cosmetics motivates the sales force of 200,000 independent agents who comprise the firm's only distribution channel. Illustrates the powerful effect on sales-force behavior that results when creative types of employee... View Details
Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Cost Management; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States
Simons, Robert L., and Hilary Weston. "Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A)." Harvard Business School Case 190-103, March 1990. (Revised October 1999.)
- Article
The Emergence of Mafia-like Business Systems in China
By: Meg Rithmire and Hao Chen
A large body of literature on state–business relations in China has examined the political role of capitalists and collusion between the state and the private sector. This paper contributes to that literature and understanding of the internal differentiation among... View Details
Keywords: China's Political Economy; State-business Relations; Business Groups; Financial System; Business and Government Relations; Finance; Economic Systems; China
Rithmire, Meg, and Hao Chen. "The Emergence of Mafia-like Business Systems in China." China Quarterly 248 (December 2021): 1037–1058.
- 22 Oct 2019
- Research & Ideas
Use Artificial Intelligence to Set Sales Targets That Motivate
is no chance of meeting it,” says Doug J. Chung, MBA Class of 1962 Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing unit at... View Details
Keywords: by Michael Blanding