Publications

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02 Sep 2015
What Do You Think?

What's Wrong With Amazon’s Low-Retention HR Strategy?

service for customers and long-term profits to patient investors but disappointment for some people who have gone to work there. (In parlance that my co-authors and I used in a recent book that discusses Amazon, it still falls short of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Web Services; Web Services; Web Services; Web Services; Web Services

November 2022
Article

A Language-Based Method for Assessing Symbolic Boundary Maintenance between Social Groups

By: Anjali M. Bhatt, Amir Goldberg and Sameer B. Srivastava

When the social boundaries between groups are breached, the tendency for people to erect and maintain symbolic boundaries intensifies. Drawing on extant perspectives on boundary maintenance, we distinguish between two strategies that people pursue in maintaining... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Machine Learning; Natural Language Processing; Symbolic Boundaries; Organizations; Boundaries; Social Psychology; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Culture

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December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (B): Confronting New Digital Formats

Investigates how the rise of digital video formats threatens to make videocassette technology obsolete; how this technological substitution might alter the economics and structure of the video rental and retail industries; and how Blockbuster Inc., the industry leader,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Service Industry; Service Industry

November 2006
Case

Santander's Acquisition of Abbey: Banking across Borders

Banco Santander, Spain's largest commercial bank, announced in July 2004 the acquisition of Abbey National Bank, the fifth largest U.K. commercial bank. This transaction was the largest ever cross-border acquisition in European banking and would result in the... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Value Creation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Globalization; Commercial Banking; Banking Industry; United Kingdom; European Union; Spain

Career Coach

Meredith Hamilton

Meredith [she/her] has served as a mentor and coach to innumerable mid-career staff as well as several CEOs in the social sector. She is committed to creating a safe space for students and alumni to explore questions of professional identity and career progression... View Details

Keywords: Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All)

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

responded in a 2002 press release. "We have not seen a business model that is financially viable in the long term in this arena. Online rental services are 'serving a niche market.' " Netflix, on... View Details

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: financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services

2010
Chapter

Cost Structure Patterns in the Asset Management Industry

By: Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei

This chapter examines patterns in the cost structure of asset management firms and establishes two important trends in cost behavior. First, when revenues are growing, "indirect" costs related to sales, distribution, marketing, personnel, technology, and occupancy are... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Cost Management; Financial Services Industry

Program

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

platform, if you are a traditional product or service business Reinvigorate a struggling platform Explore options for responding to platform competitors Know the steps to take to "buy" a platform to accelerate time to market Expand your... View Details

May 1994 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Concord Center

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

A major shopping center developer and an insurance company form a joint venture to develop a 900,000 square foot super-regional shopping center. Describes the nine-year struggle to deal with market, regulatory, and financial issues to get the project ready for... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Design; Joint Ventures; Construction; Partners and Partnerships; Governance Controls; Market Entry and Exit; Projects; Equity; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

competitive dynamics in 644 geographically isolated markets in which a nationwide retail bank conducted business over a five-year period. We find that customers defect at a higher rate from the incumbent following increased View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 19, 2006

transactions within a network of customers, such as financial services and telecommunications, currently face tough challenges. The factors determining success in their industries are changing rapidly and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2009
Case

Nomura's Global Growth: Picking Up Pieces of Lehman

By: C. Fritz Foley and Linnea Meyer

What issues commonly arise in international financial management? Kenichi Watanabe and Takumi Shibata, CEO and COO of Nomura Holdings Inc., one of the leading investment banks in Asia, have the opportunity to expand their firm internationally through the acquisition of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment Banking; International Finance; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Expansion; Financial Services Industry; Japan

19 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 19

retailers to determine shelf space and promotional activity. The new metric, cash flow productivity, captured the value of Pepsi's Direct-Store-Distribution (DSD) service and the strong attraction of its... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

The Upside to Large Competitors

By: Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Jill Avery

Large companies are often viewed as a major threat for startups and small companies; big companies have more financial resources and greater scale, market power, and brand awareness than small ones. However, our research finds that a smaller brand can actually benefit... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Competition; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

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24 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 24

and in contrast, such indirect costs appear relatively fixed in the face of sales declines in this industry. We discuss potential sources of these cost-structure patterns and their implications for cost management efforts as asset management firms move forward from the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Citigroup: Re-Branding in 2007 (A)

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Carin-Isabel Knoop

With its history of growth through acquisition, Citigroup has a conglomeration of sub-brands that need to be integrated and rationalized. Ajay Banga, CEO of Citi's Global Consumer Group International, chairs a task force to work through the process of re-branding the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Customer Focus and Relationships; Globalization; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry