Publications

Find at Harvard

08 Mar 2016
First Look

March 8, 2016

sensitive customers in markets where it has supplied relatively high (low) levels of service quality in the past. Furthermore, we show that it is the high quality incumbent’s most profitable customers who are the most attracted by... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 2

Lead Times Authors:Santiago Kraiselburd, Richard Pibernik, and Ananth Raman Publication:Production and Operations Management (forthcoming) Abstract It is generally a well acknowledged fact that, ceteris paribus, reducing the lead times between downstream and upstream... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Business and the Global Poor

have several great examples of that. First of all, Nestlé. Since World War II, Nestlé's milk has by and large been produced by thousands of small farmers in developing countries. And their supply chain... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 19, 2019

impact of immigration on native men’s employment and occupational standing, which increased the supply of “marriageable men.” We explore alternative mechanisms—changes in sex ratios, natives’ cultural responses, and displacement effects... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Article

The New Face of Chinese Industrial Policy: Making Sense of Anti-Dumping Cases in the Petrochemical and Steel Industries.

Why have China's petrochemical and steel industries behaved so differently in seeking trade protection through anti-dumping measures, especially given that both industries face the full force of the global economy? We argue that the patterning of anti-dumping actions... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Trade; Economy; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Motivation and Incentives; Marketing Channels; Industry Structures; System Shocks; Price; Restructuring; Interests; Energy Industry; Steel Industry; China

Find at Harvard

January 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region

By: Robert L. Simons

Recounts the financial difficulties and management changes experienced by American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region (NER) during the 1980s. After summarizing industry-wide changes in the collection, testing, and distribution of blood and blood products, the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Financial Management; Restructuring; Health; SWOT Analysis; Social Enterprise; Marketplace Matching; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; North and Central America

07 Nov 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Less Becoming More?

Amazon stimulates sales by its listing of thousands of books that would otherwise be out of print, given their meager sales through traditional channels. Internet technology and supply chain efficiencies... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Consumer Products

20 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 20, 2008

full-service bank; describes the competitive context of low-income sector of financing in Mexico; and reviews the decisions leading to the IPO in the Mexican Stock Exchange. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 1980 (Revised December 1984)
Case

Hudepohl Brewing Co.

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Presents the problem of how an established regional brewer can survive the onslaught of national breweries, some of which are being cross-subsidized by diversified parent companies. Requires detailed analysis of what operations are profitable and unprofitable for... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Profit; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Industry Growth; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Diversification

30 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Tuning Jobs to Fit Your Company

customize products and respond to customers. Regional managers take responsibility for sales, product development, distribution, and manufacturing. As a consequence, the spans of control for managers back at the head office are relatively narrow, covering only... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

01 Nov 1999
Lessons from the Classroom

What’s Next & So What? Leading in the 21st Century

Indeed, many of the leaders we've celebrated over the last decade or two made their organizations competitive by instituting fairly linear improvements, such as reengineering, supply chain management,... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

30 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 30

Baldwin, and Christopher L. Magee Abstract Hierarchy is a generic structure in which levels are asymmetrically ordered. In an industry setting, classic supply chains display strict hierarchy, whereas... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 May 2002
Op-Ed

A Cure for Enron-Style Audit Failures

past five decades, accountants have changed from watchdogs to advocates and salespersons. Auditing has become one of a number of services, including consulting and tax advice, in which accountants "sell" creative tax avoidance and View Details

Keywords: by Jay Lorsch; Accounting

July 2005 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Understanding Customer Profitability at Charles Schwab

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez

Charles Schwab is transforming into a customer-centric organization. Central to this cultural and organizational change is the utilization of customer profitability at different decision-making levels. Examines several technical aspects of the ABC cost system, as well... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Activity Based Costing and Management; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Profit; Performance Evaluation; Budgets and Budgeting

15 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 15

response to changes in global supply and to better meet the needs of a new multi-channel retail environment. The case, set in late 2013, covers the development of Tesco Group Food and identifies future opportunities and challenges.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2008 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Cook Composites and Polymers Co.

By: Deishin Lee, Michael W. Toffel and Rachel Gordon

This case describes how a company improves resource efficiency and process quality in its manufacturing process by developing a waste by-product into a new product. The case describes how CCP cleans production equipment between batches using styrene, which becomes a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Business Processes; Performance Efficiency; Natural Environment; Wastes and Waste Processing; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry

June 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Seeking to go beyond global best practices in reducing environmental impacts, FIJI Water, a premium artesian bottled water company in the United States, launched a Carbon Negative campaign that would offset more greenhouse gas emissions than were released by the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Footprint; Carbon Offsetting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Brands and Branding; Negotiation Tactics; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Fiji