Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,065)
- Faculty Publications (155)
- 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
- January 1998 (Revised April 1998)
- Case
Lincoln Electric: Venturing Abroad
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Jamie O'Connell
Lincoln Electric, a 100-year-old manufacturer of welding equipment and consumables based in Cleveland, Ohio, motivates its U.S. employees through a culture of cooperation between management and labor and an unusual compensation system based on piecework and a large... View Details
- June 1997 (Revised May 1998)
- Case
Mobil USM&R (A2)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Second of a two-part case on the development and use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) at Mobil's US Marketing and Refining Division. This case describes the completed BSC, and how this was linked to the BSCs of the independent business units and the internal service... View Details
- March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Purity Steel Corporation, 2012
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details
- August 1996
- Case
Howard, Shea & Chan Asset Management (B); The Partnership Meeting
Continues the plot about growth and sales strategies, and adds interesting pricing and sales compensation elements. The partners' meeting sharpens the disagreements among the five partners, and forces Anne Howard, the managing partner, to develop a clear action plan. View Details
- August 1996 (Revised October 1996)
- Case
Howard, Shea & Chan Asset Management(C): Recruiting and Selecting a Salesperson
Goes to the heart of the sales strategy issues by asking discussion participants to: 1) develop a salesperson recruiting process, 2) choose among four resumes, and 3) develop a sales compensation approach. View Details
- July 1995 (Revised April 1996)
- Case
Cambridge Technology Partners (A)
By: Teresa M. Amabile, George P. Baker III and Michael Beer
Cambridge Technology Partners uses a highly innovative product strategy, supported by a human resources strategy, that has been very successful. However, high growth rates jeopardize product quality while tension about relative compensation levels between sales and... View Details
- January 1994
- Case
ABC Sales and Service Division: A Case Study of Personal and Organizational Transformation
By: D. Quinn Mills, Brock W. Orwig, Janet M. Pumo, Todd C. Stilson and Richard C. Wei
In the midst of dramatic changes in the information systems industry and declining profits at the ABC Co., the vice president in charge of the sales and service division, Jeff, and his managers attempt to transform their division. The transformation gets off to a good... View Details
- December 1993 (Revised November 1995)
- Case
Wetherill Associates, Inc.
By: Lynn S. Paine
Top managers of Wetherill Associates, Inc., a small, privately held distributor of electrical parts to the automotive aftermarket, are considering whether to modify the company's compensation system for its salesforce. The management wants a compensation system that... View Details
- September 1993
- Supplement
Manufacturing at ALZA: The Right Prescription? (C)
ALZA, a drug delivery company, considers marketing its own and other companies' products. The primary issue is whether to build an internal sales force focused on a few niche markets, to finance a sales force through alliances, or to acquire a marketing company. View Details
- April 1993 (Revised July 1994)
- Case
MathSoft, Inc. (A)
MathSoft's VP of sales has doubled the size of the company's direct field sales force to support the launch of a new, high-end workstation software product priced at almost $9,000. However, sales of the new product are far below plan. At the same time, the VP of... View Details
- February 1993 (Revised September 1994)
- Case
Hewlett-Packard Imaging Systems Division: Sonos 100 C/F Introduction
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Marie Bell
The marketing manager for the Imaging Systems business unit (ISY) at Hewlett-Packard Medical Products Group is considering channel strategy and channel management issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new cardiac imaging product. Product marketing's plans... View Details
- January 1993 (Revised August 2003)
- Case
Sally Jameson: Valuing Stock Options in a Compensation Package
By: Peter Tufano
Details a thinly disguised situation faced by a recent Harvard MBA graduate who was forced by a prospective employer to place a dollar value on a grant of stock options. There are two objectives: 1) Serves as an introduction to option valuation, in which students have... View Details
- October 1992 (Revised October 1993)
- Case
MCI Communications Corporation: National Accounts Program (Condensed)
Concerns the early stages of a major-account program at MCI, a telecommunications firm seeking to penetrate the corporate-account market. Among the issues are: 1) coordination of field sales efforts with national account selling efforts; 2) sales strategy for major... View Details
- September 1992 (Revised July 1994)
- Case
MEM Company, Inc.: English Leather
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Laura Goode
In 1992, the president of MEM (a producer of personal care products, including men's fragrances) considered a redeployment of field sales efforts and changes in sales compensation policies. Any changes, moreover, must consider the context of strategic decisions... View Details
- January 1992
- Background Note
Managing Sales Interfaces: An Introduction
Concerns issues involved in coordinating sales efforts with product management and customer service activities. First, discusses environmental factors that increase integration requirements among these groups, and why these factors make the field sales force a crucial... View Details
- April 1991 (Revised March 2017)
- Teaching Note
Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A) and (B)
By: Robert Simons
Teaching Note for (9-190-103) and (9-190-122). View Details
- September 1990 (Revised January 1992)
- Case
Procter & Gamble Japan (A)
Ten years after entering Japan, P&G had accumulated over $250 million in operating losses on declining annual sales of $120 million by 1983. The decision facing the president of P&G International: exit, retrench or rebuild the operation? Ironically, the initial entry... View Details
- fall 1990
- Article
A Preface to Payment: Designing a Sales Compensation Plan
- July 1990 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
In 1989, the performance measurement systems and compensation policies of Nordstrom Department Stores unexpectedly came under attack by employees, unions, and government regulators. The case describes the "sales-per-hour" monitoring and compensation system that many... View Details