Publications

September 1991 (Revised January 2017)
Teaching Note

Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A) and (B)

By: Robert Simons

Teaching Note for Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks, Case A (191-002) and Case B (192-027) View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Control Systems; Performance Goals; Incentives; Span Of Control; Span Of Accountability; Problems and Challenges; Retail Industry

23 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 23, 2007

misconceptions distort the popular understanding of U.S. multinationals in China. In this paper, we seek to correct four common misunderstandings by providing a statistical portrait of several aspects of U.S. affiliate activity in the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 9, 2019

capital and demonstrates how technology—novel data sources, artificial intelligence, machine learning—will transform the small business lending market. This market has been plagued by frictions: it is hard for a lender to determine which... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

28 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 28

Link between Non-financial and Financial Performance in One Space Authors: Robert G. Eccles, Jess Schulschenk, and George Serafeim Publication: In Making Investment Grade: The Future of Corporate Reporting, edited View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2012
Case

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (Abridged)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Robert S. Huckman, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Matthew Preble

Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok—a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique... View Details

Keywords: Production; Competitive Strategy; Supply Chain; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Retail Industry; Asia; United States

2017
Other Article

Designing an Agile Software Portfolio Architecture: The Impact of Coupling on Performance

By: Alan MacCormack and Robert Lagerstrom

The modern industrial corporation encompasses a myriad of different software applications, each of which must work in concert to deliver functionality to end-users. However, the increasingly complex and dynamic nature of competition in today’s product-markets dictates... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Effectiveness

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June 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

The Expansion of Ping An

By: Robert C. Pozen and Nina Yang

In June 2010, Mingzhe Ma, chairman and chief executive officer of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China ("Ping An" or "the Company"), sat down with Sun Jianyi, vice chief executive officer and executive vice president at Ping An, to discuss the future direction of... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Conglomerates; Conferences; Banks and Banking; Financial Strategy; Insurance; Global Strategy; Leadership Style; Strategic Planning; Opportunities; Diversification; Expansion; China

2019
Working Paper

Intelligent Design of Inclusive Growth Strategies

By: Robert S. Kaplan, George Serafeim and Eduardo Tugendhat

Improving corporate engagement with society, as advocated in the Business Roundtable’s 2019 statement, should not be viewed as a zero-sum proposition where attention to new stakeholders detracts from delivering shareholder value. Corporate programs for sustainable and... View Details

Keywords: Inclusion; Sustainability; Performance Measures; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Strategy; Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations

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12 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 12

capture of accounting regulation by segments of the financial-services industry. Paper: http://hbr.org/2013/03/why-fair-value-is-the-rule/ar/1 Working PapersCarry Trade and Exchange-Rate Regimes Authors:Alfaro, Laura, and Fabio Kanczuk... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2019
Supplement

Final Words of Advice

April 2019
Supplement

Building Accountability for Results

April 2019
Supplement

Selecting the Right Type of Employees

November 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri (Condensed)

The merger of Asea AB and BBC Brown Boveri required a restructuring of operations and a change in organizational cultures. Competitive success also necessitated the benefits of scale while remaining "local" for political and customer-responsiveness reasons. The case... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Cost vs Benefits; Competitive Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development; Performance Effectiveness; Consumer Products Industry

April 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Supplement

Cafes Monte Bianco - Fixed Interest Solution

This is the fixed interest solution to the analysis required in the case Cafes Monte Bianco (HBS No. 198-088) View Details

31 Oct 2013
Conference Presentation

Designing Competitive Organizations

01 Mar 2011
Conference Presentation

Seven Strategy Questions

Keywords: Strategy

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Asea Brown Boveri: The ABACUS System

Describes the computer-based information system (ABACUS) used to monitor and control business operations in a complex, global company. Describes the technical attributes of the database system, financial reporting requirements, target setting and profit calculations on... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Profit; Business Growth and Maturation; Analytics and Data Science; Design; Accounting Audits; Growth and Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Complexity; Technology Industry

March 1990 (Revised June 1991)
Case

IBM Corp.: ""Make It Your Business"" (A)