Publications

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This paper argues that learning in cross-race interactions is critical for work teams to realize performance benefits from racial diversity but that diversity is a liability when society's negative stereotypes about racial minorities' competence inhibit such... View Details

19 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 19

Becker, Zoran Ivkovic, and Scott Weisbenner Publication:Journal of Finance 66, no. 2 (April 2011) Abstract : We exploit demographic variation to identify the effect of dividend demand on corporate payout policy. Retail investors tend to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Eva Ascarza

Eva Ascarza is the Jakurski Family Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit. She is the co-founder of the Customer Intelligence Lab at the D^3 institute at Harvard Business School. She teaches the Marketing core in the MBA required... View Details

Keywords: retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing

19 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 19, 2006

Working PapersSuperstars and Underdogs: An Examination of the Long Tail Phenomenon in Video Authors:Anita Elberse and Felix Oberholzer-Gee Abstract The rise of online channels facilitates the distribution of a wide range of products and services. Academics and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Other Article

The Market That Wasn't: The Non-emergence of the Online Grocery Category

By: Chad Navis, Greg Fisher, Ryan Raffaelli and Mary Ann Glynn

We examine the non-emergence of a potential new market category. In the late 1990s the entrepreneurial firms that attempted to sell groceries online attracted significant resources, made meaningful technological advancements and generated immense publicity, yet online... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Food; Emerging Markets; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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Article

Can Wages Buy Honesty?: The Relationship Between Relative Wages and Employee Theft

By: C. X. Chen and Tatiana Sandino

In this study we examine whether, for a sample of retail chains, high levels of employee compensation can deter employee theft, an increasingly common type of fraudulent behavior. Specifically, we examine the extent to which relative wages (i.e., employee wages... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Behavior; Compensation and Benefits; Societal Protocols

SSRN

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February 2011 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Sarvajal: Water for All

By: John D. Macomber and Mona Sinha

Entrepreneur wrestles with business model using SMS and RFID technology, franchising, and leasing to rapidly grow off-the-grid water purification business without subsidies. The company seeks to provide potable water services to rural and urban India where the public... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Model; Communication Technology; Private Sector; Social Entrepreneurship; Cost Management; Rural Scope; Emerging Markets; Infrastructure; Problems and Challenges; Information Infrastructure; India

In this study we examine whether, for a sample of retail chains, high levels of employee compensation can deter employee theft, an increasingly common type of fraudulent behavior. Specifically, we examine the extent to which relative wages (i.e., employee wages... View Details

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

Inflation remains front and center for consumers and businesses, which continue to reel from the double-digit rise in prices during the COVID-19 pandemic and the interest rate hikes designed to cool them. While price increases for goods have slowed, the climate remains... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Retail

Web

Marketing Faculty - Faculty & Research

Marketing Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students Unit Heads Rajiv Lal Stanley Roth, Sr. Professor of Retailing Co-Unit Head, Marketing Elie Ofek Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing... View Details

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Inditex: 2000

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2000, Inditex was one of the largest specialty apparel retailers in the world, with $2.4 billion in sales from 1,080 stores across 33 countries. Zara, Inditex's main brand, produced popular designer items at a fraction of design-house prices and could push an item... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Fashion Industry; Succession; IPO; Competition; Initial Public Offering; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Succession; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

Research Summary

Innovations in Logistics: The Impact of Channel Coordination

By: Janice H. Hammond

Roy D. Shapiro (with Janice H. Hammond and Marshall L. Fisher) is studying innovative systems and management approaches that integrate and coordinate material and information flows through the supply chain so as to reduce or eliminate the redundant activities that tend... View Details

January 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Creating Value by Splitting Aster: Can One Minus One Equal Two?

By: V.G. Narayanan and Kairavi Dey

Aster DM Healthcare (Aster), founded by Dr. Azad Moopen in 1987, is a prominent healthcare conglomerate with operations spanning hospitals, clinics, retail pharmacies, and diagnostic centers across India and the GCC. After its 2018 listing on India’s National Stock... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Leadership; Change Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Negotiation; Valuation; Health Industry; Asia; India; Middle East; United Arab Emirates

March 1996
Case

Erox Corporation: Leverage Marketing

Erox Corp. is a biotechnology start-up that creates products containing synthetic human pheromones. It was founded in 1989, went public in 1993, and brought in a turnaround team in 1994. Sales ramped from $110,000 in 1993 to over $1 million in 1994, with prospects for... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Entrepreneurship; Biotechnology Industry

Ryan W. Buell is a Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches View Details

Keywords: retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

animal feeds. In Europe, its food business spanned all stages of the industry, from fishing fleets to retail shops. Among its range of ancillary services were shipping, paper, packaging, plastics, and advertising and market research.... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail

Research Summary

Utilizing Display, Feature and Price Promotions: Getting the Biggest Bang for the Buck

Firms are continuously looking for more efficient ways to influence consumers to purchase their brand. Professor Lemon is conducting research to understand what motivates consumers' purchases of products and services. Her research suggests new strategies for category... View Details

2014
Working Paper

Price Coherence and Adverse Intermediation

By: Benjamin Edelman and Julian Wright

Suppose an intermediary provides a benefit to buyers when they purchase from sellers using the intermediary's technology. We develop a model to show that the intermediary will want to restrict sellers from charging buyers more for transactions it intermediates. We show... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Two-Sided Markets; Price Coherence; Price; Two-Sided Platforms; Distribution Channels

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March 2023
Teaching Note

Sustainability Reporting at Dollar Tree, Inc.

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 122-044. The case discusses the ESG strategy of Dollar Tree Inc., a U.S. Fortune 500 company in the deep discount retail industry and the shareholder pressure faced by the company. In 2022, the company faced a shareholder resolution from... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Sustainability; Shareholder Activism; Dollar Tree; Sustainability Reporting; ESG Reporting; Board Of Directors; Shareholder Engagement; GHG; Environmental Accounting; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Trends; Communication; Announcements; Voting; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Reports; Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Strategic Planning; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Strategy; Adaptation; Alignment; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Value Creation; Retail Industry; United States; Virginia