Publications

August 1986 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores' Discount Operations

Facilitates a discussion of the sources of Wal-Mart Stores' competitive advantage in discount retailing, and the future sustainability of that advantage. Also profiles the company's major diversification move in the early 1980s. View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States

19 Jun 2015
News

When a sudden boost in status at work isn't all good

11 Oct 2016
News

Is Samsung Innovating Too Much, Too Fast?

Video

Rakhshan Zahid - Making A Difference

January 2018
Case

Under Armour

By: Rory McDonald, Clayton M. Christensen, Daniel West and Jonathan E. Palmer

After 20 years of growth unprecedented in the sports apparel industry, Under Armour finds itself with a new record to beat: making the leap from $5 to $10 billion in sales—a feat only accomplished to date by competitors Nike and Adidas. At the heart of this challenge... View Details

Joseph Fuller is a Professor of Management Practice in General Management and Entrepreneurship. He founded and co-leads the school’s project, Managing the Future of Work, as well as the Harvard Project on the Workforce. He currently leads the FIELD Global Capstone... View Details

September 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Adventurous Computer Games, Inc. (Abridged)

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A new company that manufactures computer games must begin to capitalize computer software development costs. Issues that must be addressed include the effects of capitalization and decisions about how to match costs with future revenues. View Details

Keywords: Cost; Applications and Software; Accounting; Revenue

October 1999
Case

CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (C): 1997-1999

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Raynor

By 1997 the turnaround of CIBC's troubled investment bank, Wood Gundy, and its integration with corporate banking activities was complete. Marketplace results were encouraging, but scuttled mergers and tumultuous succession issues made the future uncertain. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Investment Banking; Success; Risk and Uncertainty; Management Succession; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Services Industry

January–February 2019
Article

Corporate Purpose and Financial Performance

By: Claudine Gartenberg, Andrea Prat and George Serafeim

We construct a measure of corporate purpose within a sample of U.S. companies based on approximately 500,000 survey responses of worker perceptions about their employers. We find that this measure of purpose is not related to financial performance. However, high... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Purpose; Employee Motivation; Belief Systems; Corporate Performance; Human Capital; Middle Management; Culture; Corporate Culture; Meaning; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Employees; Perception; Values and Beliefs; Performance Effectiveness

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01 Dec 2003
What Do You Think?

Is This the Twilight Era for the Managed Mutual Fund?

representing groups of investors, and from those in the U.S. and other countries—if at all representative—provide what is for me a rather sobering assessment of the future of these funds. At one end of the spectrum are the feelings... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 15, 2017

Science The Belief in a Favorable Future By: Rogers, Todd, Don A. Moore, and Michael I. Norton Abstract—People believe that future others’ preferences and beliefs will change to align with their own. People... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2009 (Revised January 2025)
Background Note

A Strait of Uncertainty: Taiwan's Development in the Shadow of China

By: William C. Kirby, J. Megan Greene, Tracy Yuen Manty, Daniel Fu, Yuanzhuo Wang, Noah B. Truwit and Aqib Zakaria

Relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on the Chinese Mainland, and the Republic of China (ROC), on Taiwan, had improved significantly since 2008. Taiwan investment in China had played a major role in China’s economic boom in recent decades. ... View Details

Keywords: History; Development Economics; Investment; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Financial Crisis; China; Taiwan

14 Dec 2018
News

Most Popular Podcast Episodes of 2018

05 Oct 2015
News

What Companies Should Not Do in the Next Banking Crisis

08 Jun 2022
News

Want a Part-Time Job? Here’s Why Corporate America Won’t Hire You.

12 Apr 2021
News

BMW’s Virtual Factory Uses AI to Hone the Assembly Line

December 2003 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Irving Tanning

By: Paul W. Marshall and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall

Irving Tanning, one of the few remaining U.S. leather tanneries, has successfully emerged from bankruptcy. The CEO is now looking at strategic options for the future of Irving. View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; United States

January 2022
Article

Rational Habit Formation: Experimental Evidence from Handwashing in India

By: Reshmaan Hussam, Atonu Rabbani, Giovanni Reggiani and Natalia Rigol

We test the predictions of the rational addiction model, reconceptualized as rational habit formation, in the context of handwashing in rural India. To track handwashing, we design soap dispensers with timed sensors. We test for rational habit formation by informing... View Details

Keywords: Handwashing; Habit; Monitoring; Behavior; Health; Motivation and Incentives

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Article

Can Analysts Assess Fundamental Risk and Valuation Uncertainty? An Empirical Analysis of Scenario-Based Value Estimates

By: Peter R. Joos, Joseph D. Piotroski and Suraj Srinivasan

We use a dataset of sell-side analysts' scenario-based valuation estimates to examine whether analysts reliably assess the risk surrounding a firm's fundamental value. We find that the spread in analysts' state-side contingent valuations captures the riskiness of... View Details

Keywords: Analyst Forecasts; Scenarios; Uncertainty; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Forecasting and Prediction