Publications

July 1981
Background Note

Competitive Status of the U.S. Automobile Industry--1981: Crisis and Transition

By: Kim B. Clark

Examines the competitive status of the U.S. auto industry in 1979-80. Provides information on the historical background of the current crisis using data on the United States and Japan. Discusses the competitive position of the U.S. industry in terms of productivity,... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Auto Industry

14 Aug 2012
News

New Medical Devices Get Smart

14 Nov 2012
News

Wonks dust off radical revenue-raising ideas

Article

Third-party Punishment as a Costly Signal of Trustworthiness

By: Jillian J. Jordan, Moshe Hoffman, Paul Bloom and David G. Rand

Third-party punishment (TPP), in which unaffected observers punish selfishness, promotes cooperation by deterring defection. But why should individuals choose to bear the costs of punishing? We present a game theoretic model of TPP as a costly signal of... View Details

Keywords: Third-party Punishment; Trustworthiness; Behavior; Trust; Game Theory

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June 2007
Article

Does Employment Protection Reduce Productivity? Evidence from U.S. States

By: David H Autor, William R. Kerr and Adriana D. Kugler

Theory predicts that mandated employment protections may reduce productivity by distorting production choices. Firms facing (non-Coasean) worker dismissal costs will curtail hiring below efficient levels and retain unproductive workers, both of which should affect... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Production; Selection and Staffing; Cost; Employment; Capital; Performance Productivity; United States

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March 2022
Case

In Data We Trust: Be Mobile Africa and Furthering Financial Inclusion Across the African Continent

By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Pierre Marchesseault

To Cédric Jeannot, leveraging technology to promote financial inclusion was personal. After no established financial institution would accept his technology platform to lower transaction costs for free, Jeannot launched FinTech company Be Mobile Africa in May 2020.... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Fintech; Emerging Market; Fundraising; Financial Inclusion; Strategy; Expansion; Management; Entrepreneurship; Personal Finance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Africa; Togo; Nigeria; Ghana

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Runa

By: Paul Gompers and Carla Larangeira

In early 2022, Courtney McColgan, founder and CEO of Runa, a human resources and payroll Software-as-a-Service platform, faced an unexpected tech market downturn. Founded in 2018, Runa catered to small and medium-sized businesses in Mexico, offering an affordable and... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Volatility; Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Leadership; Management; Venture Capital; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Growth and Maturation; Latin America

January 1989 (Revised October 1993)
Background Note

Note: Valuing a Business Acquisition Opportunity

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Describes how to value an acquisition opportunity as a capital budgeting problem. Cash flows are discounted at the cost of capital and debt is deducted to value the equity capital of the target company. A key contribution of the note is the discussion of five methods... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Acquisition; Opportunities

April 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Exercise

Starlite Corporation: General Information

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Julia Morgan

A multiparty, intraorganizational negotiation exercise involving five vice presidents of human resources at $17.5 billion photography products company. In the midst of reengineering, the five VPs have been told to negotiate the possible alignment of resources in ways... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Types

12 Apr 2022
News

We Need Better Carbon Accounting. Here’s How to Get There.

04 Feb 2020
Video

Francis Okomo-Okello

Francis Okomo-Okello, Chair of a leading Kenyan luxury hotel group and of the subsidiary of a major foreign bank, observes the eco-system of corruption in Africa, which adds greatly to the cost of doing... View Details

16 Jul 2019
News

Space case: Why reaching for the stars could soon be a $1 trillion industry

May–June 2021
Article

Eliminate Strategic Overload

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

As companies respond to intensifying competitive pressures and challenges, they ask more and more of their employees. But organizations often have very little to show for the efforts of their talented and engaged workers. By selecting fewer initiatives with greater... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Initiatives; Value-based Strategy; Organizational Effectiveness; Strategy; Value Creation

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05 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Impacts of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Donald Ngwe, Kris J. Ferreira, and Thales Teixeira; Retail; Apparel & Accessories; Consumer Products

February 2016
Case

Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (A)

By: John Beshears, Patrick Rooney and Jenny Sanford

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. This case follows Bob Nease, Chief Scientist at Express Scripts, as he considers methods to promote home... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Care and Treatment; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Compensation and Benefits; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 1975 (Revised June 1984)
Case

Southwest Airlines (D)

After 18 months of deficit operations, Southwest Airlines stands on the brink of profitability. Selective application of discount fares has contributed to a rapid growth in market share. Then, in February 1973, its major competitor halves all fares on Southwest's... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; United States