Publications

September 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 4: Organizing for Performance

By: Robert Simons

This module reading explores the implications of different business models on organization design. After discussing the distinction between units focused on work processes and those devoted to markets, the analysis provides insight as to when to organize businesses by... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Customer Focused Organization; Specialization; Span Of Control; Span Of Accountability; Span Of Attention; Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure

Article

A Better Way to Assess Managerial Performance

By: Mihir Desai, Mark Egan and Scott Mayfield

Total shareholder return (TSR) has become the definitive metric for gauging performance. Unlike accounting measures such as revenue growth or earnings per share that reflect the past, TSR is based on share price and thus captures investor expectations of what will... View Details

Keywords: Total Shareholder Return; Buybacks; Core Operating Shareholder Return; Management; Operations; Performance; Measurement and Metrics

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June 2024
Article

Going Digital: Implications for Firm Value and Performance

By: Wilbur Chen and Suraj Srinivasan

We examine firm value and performance implications of the growing trend of non-technology companies engaging in digital transformation. We measure digital activities in firms based on the disclosure of digital words in the business description section of 10-Ks. Digital... View Details

Keywords: Digital Technologies; Valuation; Return Predictability; Financial Statement Analysis; Performance; Value; Information Technology

June 2000
Article

On the Regulatory Application of Efficiency Measures

The last decade has witnessed a change to more powerful incentive schemes and the adoption by a large number of regulators of some form of price cap regimes. The efficiency frontiers literature tackles the problem of measuring the X factor in a price cap regime... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Mathematical Methods; Performance Efficiency

August 2012 (Revised July 2017)
Case

Netflix: Valuing a New Business Model

By: Francois Brochet, Suraj Srinivasan and Michael Norris

In autumn 2011, Netflix was working to right the ship after publicly stumbling through a price hike and strategic shift and then retreat. The company was changing its business model to focus on streaming video service rather than the DVDs by mail that had brought the... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Online Business; Asset Recognition; Accounting; Performance Evaluation; Online Technology; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States; Canada; Latin America; West Indies

1986
Chapter

Doing Well While Doing Good: Dilemmas of Performance Measurement in Nonprofit Organizations and the Need for a Multiple Constituency Approach

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Performance Evaluation; Performance Productivity

January 2017 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Vox Capital: Pioneering Impact Investing in Brazil

By: Julie Battilana, Marissa Kimsey, Falko Paetzold and Priscilla Zogbi

Vox Capital was the first certified impact investing fund in Brazil. Founded in 2009, it provides early-stage capital for companies offering innovative and scalable solutions to enhance the lives of low-income Brazilians, while aiming to simultaneously generate... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Social Performance Measurement; Social Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Social Enterprise; Brazil

January–February 2021
Article

Compensation Packages That Actually Drive Performance

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah Abbott, Michael R. Marino and Metin Aksoy

By aligning executives’ financial incentives with company strategy, a firm can inspire its management to deliver superior results. But it can be hard to get pay packages right. In this article four experts break down the key elements of compensation and explain how to... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy; Performance

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April 2006
Case

Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness

Nutricia's Middle East and African region is transitioning from a trading to a customer focus. CEO Ernest Vandenbussche must decide how to market infant milk formula most effectively in a region where the information environment is much less rich than in other... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Salesforce Management; Customer Relationship Management; Emerging Markets; Nutrition; Performance Effectiveness; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Health Industry; Middle East; Africa

August 2013
Teaching Note

Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness

By: F. Asis Martinez-Jerez

Nutricia's Middle East and African region is transitioning from a trading to a customer focus. CEO Ernest Vandenbussche must decide how to market infant milk formula most effectively in a region where the information environment is much less rich than in other... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Customer Relationship Management; Commercialization; Management Practices and Processes; Salesforce Management; Nutrition; Performance Evaluation; Information Management; Health Industry; Africa; Middle East

18 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting It Done: Improving Nonprofit Performance

making sure that these donations actually make a difference in alleviating some of the major ills and inequities of society. What, many ask, are the measures of effectiveness in these operations? Where is the accountability? Would there... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

09 Apr 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

The Dark Side of Performance Bonuses

where they stand relative to their coworkers. Does telling an employee that her job performance falls in the bottom of her group better her performance? CEO Bonus Plans: And How to Fix Them While compensation committees know how much they... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

May 2017
Supplement

Buffer.com (B)

By: Susanna Gallani, Tiffany Y. Chang, Brian J. Hall and Jee Eun Shin

Buffer decided to release its salaries and compensation calculation formula to the public, and the public reaction was greater and more positive than they would have imagined. The company experienced both an increase in volume and a change in the kinds of inbound... View Details

Keywords: Compensation; Compensation Design; Company Values; Culture; Transparency; Attraction; Selection; Performance Measurement; Performance Measures; Performance Metrics; Startup Management; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics

We contribute to the growing literature on the effectiveness of corporate boards by examining the effect of two insights that have been largely unexplored in prior studies that use public data. First, since boards’ responsibilities are wide-ranging, more holistic... View Details

October 1993 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Measure of Delight: The Pursuit of Quality at AT&T Universal Card Services (A)

By: Roy D. Shapiro and Michael D. Watkins

AT&T's Universal Card Services (UCS) has been extremely successful during its short lifetime. Dedicated to improving service quality and customer satisfaction, chief quality officer Rob Davis and his quality team have designed and put into place an unusual measurement... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Policy; Compensation and Benefits; Performance Evaluation; Quality; System; Telecommunications Industry

1981
Article

Organizational Performance: Recent Developments in Measurement

By: R. M. Kanter and D. Brinkerhoff

Keywords: Organizations; Performance; Measurement and Metrics

October 2019 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Gupta Media: Performance Marketing in the Digital Age

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

Gupta Media is a Digital Marketing firm started in 2005 that places advertisements and marketing promotions for its clients in digital media, mainly social media such as Facebook and Google. Over the years it had built its expertise in promoting music labels, artists... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Digital Marketing; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Social Media; Advertising Industry