Publications

11 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 11

firm profits. Publisher's link: http://www.benedelman.org/publications/groupon-2014-03-01.pdf August 2013 Organizations in Time: History, Theory, Methods Schumpeter's Plea: Historical Reasoning in Entrepreneurial Theory and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2002
News

The Mind Speaks, Marketers Listen

word — to grill them about their tastes, buying habits, and favorite brands — [Zaltman] seeks to converse directly with their brains instead,” the Times observed (February 23, 2002). The Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), the first patented marketing View Details

01 Mar 2012
News

FIELD 2: Global Intelligence

Watch the thinking that underpins HBS’s new field method of study Investing in HBS Great Expectations Model Teamwork Donor Spotlight Balanced Scorecard and Beer Game Go High-Tech FAQ For the second module of FIELD (Field Immersion... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

July 1996 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Atlantic Corporation-Abridged

By: Thomas R. Piper

A major paper company is considering acquiring the assets of a company that is threatened by a hostile takeover. The acquisition can be evaluated in terms of industry attractiveness, comparative advantage, and cash-flow analysis. View Details

Keywords: Projects; Cash Flow; Interest Rates; Valuation; Mathematical Methods; Horizontal Integration; Acquisition; Competitive Advantage; Aerospace Industry

November 1999 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Seitel, Inc.

By: David F. Hawkins

The company's accounting for its seismic data library is questioned. Teaching Purpose: Inventory accounting. View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Financial Statements; Business Earnings; Financial Reporting; Stock Options; Mathematical Methods; Accounting Industry

November 1992
Case

Process Control at Polaroid (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Steven C. Wheelwright

The plant manager of a film production operation wants to create and implement a new approach to quality within the next 12 months. Issues of personnel (and their roles), production processes (and their control), and quality standards must be addressed. View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Job Design and Levels; Management Practices and Processes; Production; Quality; Mathematical Methods

2010
Working Paper

Medium Term Business Cycles in Developing Countries

By: Diego A. Comin, Norman Loayza, Farooq Pasha and Luis Serven

We build a two-country asymmetric DSGE model with two features: (i) endogenous and slow diffusion of technologies from the developed to the developing country, and (ii) adjustment costs to investment flows. We calibrate the model to match the Mexico-U.S. trade and FDI... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Developing Countries and Economies; Trade; International Finance; Foreign Direct Investment; Mathematical Methods; Mexico; United States

July 1987
Case

Altoona Corp.: Computer Products Division

By: Roger E. Bohn and Robert H. Hayes

A relatively small manufacturer of computer memory disks has achieved a major market position through the use of its statistical quality control (SQC) program. It is now expanding the production of a new line of disks and is encountering problems getting the process... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Volatility; Performance Consistency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Quality; Mathematical Methods; Hardware; Manufacturing Industry

May 1988
Background Note

Roles and Relationships of Business and Government

By: George C. Lodge

Synthesizes a wide range of literature and experience concerning comparative government-business relations, focusing especially on Japan, Europe, and the United States with some references to Brazil and Mexico. Designed for discussion in two consecutive class sessions.... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; Framework; Government and Politics; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Business and Government Relations; Mathematical Methods; System; Japan; Europe; Mexico; United States; Brazil

19 Oct 2012
News

Past and Present

Sullivan: Fulfilling an age-old human curiosity. Photo courtesy Ancestry.com For Tim Sullivan (MBA 1991), the case method was the perfect way to learn. Sullivan, who is president and CEO of Ancestry.com—the world’s largest online... View Details

Keywords: genealogy; Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services; Information

September 2010
Article

Do Inventory and Gross Margin Data Improve Sales Forecasts for U.S. Public Retailers?

By: Saravanan Kesavan, Vishal Gaur and Ananth Raman

Firm-level sales forecasts for retailers can be improved if we incorporate cost of goods sold, inventory, and gross margin (defined here as the ratio of sales to cost of goods sold) as three endogenous variables. We construct a simultaneous equations model, estimated... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Forecasting and Prediction; Distribution; Goods and Commodities; Cost; Public Sector; Profit; Mathematical Methods; Analytics and Data Science; Retail Industry; United States

14 May 2009
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Teams

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered How does a team leader win the confidence of the group? What's the best View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

Article

Reputation When Threats and Transfers Are Available

By: Ernesto Dal Bo, Pedro Dal Bo and Rafael Di Tella

We present a model where a long-run player is allowed to use both money transfers and threats to influence the decisions of a sequence of short-run players. We show that threats might be used credibly (even in arbitrarily short repeated games) by a long-lived player... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decision Choices and Conditions; Game Theory; Mathematical Methods; Interests; Power and Influence; Reputation

Profile

Thomas Grenier

case method is something of a shock," Thomas admits. "I thought I'd learn a lot of content — formulas and models. Here, the emphasis is on skills, which is great, because you can read content on your own. But the section... View Details

01 Dec 2011
News

Reimagining the MBA

Issue Focus: Leadership Illustration by Craig Frazier What HBS Learned from West Point The Evolving Case Method Issue Focus Li & Fung's Global Footprint Making the Leadership Case Related Faculty Research... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; FIELD program; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

2011
Working Paper

Free to Punish? The American Dream and the Harsh Treatment of Criminals

By: Rafael Di Tella and Juan Dubra

We describe the evolution of selective aspects of punishment in the U.S. over the period 1980-2004. We note that imprisonment increased around 1980, a period that coincides with the "Reagan revolution" in economic matters. We build an economic model where beliefs about... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economy; Moral Sensibility; Mathematical Methods; Opportunities; Behavior; United States

January 2008
Background Note

Valuing Risky Debt

By: Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford

This lesson develops the classical structural approach to pricing and hedging credit risk: Merton's (1974) contingent claims model of debt and equity claims. This model is used to make investment and risk management decisions in an over-the-counter (OTC) market for... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Investment; Price; Risk Management; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

December 2001 (Revised May 2003)
Background Note

Queueing Theory

By: V.G. Narayanan and George Batta

Explains the assumptions behind and the insights from a simple queueing model. View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Theory; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Motivation and Incentives; Service Delivery

October 2007
Article

The Effectiveness of Pre-Release Advertising for Motion Pictures: An Empirical Investigation Using a Simulated Market

By: Anita Elberse and Bharat N. Anand

One of the most visible and publicized trends in the movie industry is the escalation in movie advertising expenditures over time. Yet, the returns to movie advertising are poorly understood. The main reason is that disentangling the causal effect of advertising on... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Stocks; Investment Return; Price; Revenue; Quality; Mathematical Methods; Motion Pictures and Video Industry