Publications

SSRN

16 Mar 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What To Do About It

Keywords: by Benjamin Edelman; Computer; Communications; Telecommunications

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

that, relative to offering free shipping, offering contingent free shipping increases basket sizes by encouraging consumers to meet the minimum order threshold. Consumers incur search costs to meet this... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2009 (Revised May 2011)
Case

China Mobile's Rural Communications Strategy

By: William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, G.A. Donovan and Tracy Manty

China Mobile was the world's leading mobile communications service provider with over 400 million customers. In some cities, its penetration rate was over 100%. With such huge successes, Chairman Wang Jianzhou was exploring ways to expand its customer base. Nearly... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Investment; Rural Scope; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Telecommunications Industry; China

28 Jan 2014
First Look

First Look: January 28

heterogeneous telecommunication costs arising from different regulatory regimes) strengthens our results. Publisher's link: http://www.people.hbs.edu/rsadun/Distinct_Effects_11-023.pdf August 2013 Cambridge Handbook of Institutional... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 1987 (Revised August 1988)
Case

American Bank

By: Robert S. Kaplan

American Bank is developing a new system to compute product costs. The deregulated, more competitive environment for commercial banks has created both problems and opportunities for banking operations. In order to price existing products and assess the desirability of... View Details

Keywords: System; Consolidation; Commercial Banking; SWOT Analysis; Fair Value Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Banking Industry; North and Central America; United States

15 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 15, 2007

that a monopolistic market maker is able to extract from impatient investors. The mechanism for trade is a limit order, and immediacy is supplied when the limit order is executed. We show that limit orders... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Sep 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Bruno Jullien

03 Nov 2003
What Do You Think?

Can Investors Have Too Much Accounting Transparency?

it, "We cannot look at investor losses as the only benchmark to evaluate the costs of Sarbanes-Oxley. One must also consider the cost of capital if confidence in the markets does not... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2010
Simulation

Marketing Simulation: Managing Segments and Customers

By: Das Narayandas

In this single-player simulation, students assume the position of CEO of a medical motor manufacturer and are tasked with executing a successful business-to-business marketing strategy over a period of twelve fiscal quarters. Students determine all aspects of the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Price; Product Positioning; Customer Relationship Management; Profit; Revenue; Cost vs Benefits; Policy; Manufacturing Industry

Research Summary

The Role of IT in Firm Scope Choice: Diversification or Specialization?

The use of IT can have two, actually opposing, effects on product diversification depending on how technologies are used by the firm. On the one hand, some uses of IT can increase specialization because they allow customers to research and order products remotely,... View Details

March–April 2013
Article

Vaporware, Suddenware and Trueware: New Product Preannouncements under Market Uncertainty

By: Elie Ofek and Ozge Turut

A firm may want to preannounce its plans to develop a new product in order to stimulate future demand. But given that such communications can affect rivals' incentives to develop the same new product, a firm may decide to preannounce untruthfully in order to deter... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Announcements; Competition; Product Launch; Product Development

Find at Harvard

January 1997 (Revised December 1999)
Case

OXO International

By: H. Kent Bowen, Marilyn Matis and Sylvie Ryckebusch

OXO, a kitchen tools and gadgets company, was started by a businessman who had 30 years of experience in the housewares industry. With his wife and son as founders, he creates a new niche in the gadgets industry for high-end gourmet stores. The company has headquarters... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Supply Chain Management; Production; Design; Ownership; Business Startups; Acquisition; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; New York (city, NY); Connecticut

24 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Individual Rationality and Participation in Large Scale, Multi-Hospital Kidney Exchanges

Keywords: by Itai Ashlagi & Alvin E. Roth; Health

23 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

It’s Called ‘Price Coherence,’ and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers

Consumers often have the following choice: Either buy something directly from a retailer, or buy it indirectly through an intermediary, which partners with the retailer to attract more buyers. Think purchasing a plane ticket straight from the airline versus on... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Air Transportation; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation

22 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Control Your Inventory in a World of Lean Retailing

with high variance. (See the exhibit "A Better Way to Manage Inventory.") The first test shows a scenario in which a manufacturer is most concerned about keeping its big retail customers happy by maintaining very high order... View Details

Keywords: by Frederick H. Abernathy, John T. Dunlop, Janice H. Hammond & David Weil; Consumer Products

18 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 18

these two relationships may operate in a circular fashion. Second, we consider whether advertising these benefits of charitable giving—asking people to give in order to be happy—may have the perverse consequence of decreasing charitable... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Dec 2003
What Do You Think?

Is This the Twilight Era for the Managed Mutual Fund?

effect of much of this alleged activity is to tax long-term investors in order to reward short-term investors. In a two-year-old paper, "Who Cares About Shareholders? Arbitrage-Proofing Mutual Funds," Eric Zitzewitz, assistant... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

23 Aug 2016
First Look

August 23, 2016

companies has become available in the past 10 years. Myth Number 5: ESG adds value almost entirely by limiting risks. Reality: Along with lower risk and a lower cost of capital, companies with high ESG scores have also experienced... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 1999
Case

Volant Skis

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden

Volant brought innovation to the ski equipment industry in 1989 by developing a stainless steel ski. He claimed the skis could turn more easily, could hold an edge in icy conditions, and were more stable than aluminum or fiberglass skis. The company's "soft-flex"... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Quality; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation