Publications

June 2018
Article

The Fed, the Bond Market, and Gradualism in Monetary Policy

By: Jeremy C. Stein and Adi Sunderam

We develop a model of monetary policy with two key features: (i) the central bank has some private information about its long-run target for the policy rate, and (ii) the central bank is averse to bond-market volatility. In this setting, discretionary monetary policy... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Interest Rates; Policy; Bonds; Financial Markets

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November 2003 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Atlas Electrica: International Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter and Arturo Condo

Atlas must decide whether to acquire La Indeca, increasing its Central American presence, or to focus on larger Latin American markets where higher growth is possible. In the year 2000, Jorge Rodriguez was in charge of Atlas Electrica, the largest home appliance firm... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Expansion; Latin America; Central America

27 Apr 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi: Transforming Lives with Access to Credit

Keywords: Re: Caroline M. Elkins; Banking; Financial Services

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

together at every level—from the core central concepts of the strategy to the minute details of execution. New World, New Roles When companies generally made their money in a large number of mid-sized accounts, marketing was typically... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

November 2005 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Leading Change at Simmons (A)

By: Tiziana E. Casciaro, Amy C. Edmondson, Stacy McManus and Kate Roloff

Explores the challenge of managing large-scale organizational change at Simmons, an old and established company that manufactures and distributes mattresses. The new CEO, Charlie Eitel, hired to turn the organization's performance around, considers whether to implement... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Leading Change; Employee Relationship Management; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

December 2014 (Revised March 2018)
Case

John D. Rockefeller: The Richest Man in the World

By: Tom Nicholas and Vasiliki Fouka

By the late nineteenth century scale and managerial hierarchies had extended to several major industrial sectors of the U.S. economy. Although the precise mechanisms often varied, this process mainly involved horizontal integration, some form of legal or administrative... View Details

Keywords: Horizontal Integration; Wealth; Business History; Vertical Integration; Consolidation; Personal Development and Career; Energy Industry; United States

Research Summary

Trust

By: Sandra J. Sucher

In this research, I aim to provide a practical orientation to trust—how to build it, how it can be damaged, how it might be repaired—grounded in my experience as an executive and in the research on organizational trust and moral philosophy. As a case researcher, I... View Details

May 2001 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Compagnie Lyonnaise de Transport (A)

By: Michael Tushman and Michael J. Roberts

Describes the issues surrounding the funding of a centralized research service that supports two related divisions. The company has a very decentralized and financially driven culture, and the centralized service is used unequally, setting up a conflict. View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Organizational Culture; Relationships; Conflict Management; Balance and Stability; Transportation Industry; France

July 2012
Case

LEGO

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Stefan Thomke and Daniela Beyersdorfer

LEGO has emerged as one of the most successful companies in the toy industry. The case describes LEGO's gradual rise, rapid decline, and recent revitalization as it is keeping up with a changing market place. Central to LEGO's management model is the ability to find... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Management; Innovation; Operations Management; Organizational Change And Transformation; Operations; Competitive Strategy; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

06 Nov 2018
Research & Ideas

8 Ways to Make Olympic Stadiums Useful After the Games End

Beijing National Stadium, also called the "Bird's Nest," has been in use since the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. (bingdian) Few sporting events can equal the pageantry, scale, and drama of the Olympic Games. When an Olympic host city is announced, champagne... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Sports

Fanele Mashwama

Fanele is a doctoral student in the Business Economics program. His research interests are in empirical finance in low-income countries. Prior to graduate school he worked at McKinsey & Company, as a research assistant for Michael Kremer and Shawn Cole and at... View Details

September 1984 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Nestle S.A.: International Marketing (A)

By: John A. Quelch

A senior manager at Nestle's headquarters is reviewing the role of the central marketing staff with respect to Nestle's operating companies around the world. Two specific examples of the role of the central staff in guiding the advertising and packaging decisions of... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Marketing; Operations; Advertising; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; Switzerland

2022
Working Paper

The Limits of Decentralized Administrative Data Collection: Experimental Evidence from Colombia

By: Natalia Garbiras-Diaz and Tara Slough

States collect vast amounts of data for use in policymaking and public administration. To do so, central governments frequently solicit data from decentralized bureaucrats. Because central governments use these data in policymaking, decentralized bureaucrats may face... View Details

Keywords: Decentralization; Policy-making; Policy/economics; Policy Evaluation; Governance; Government Administration; Government and Politics; Government Legislation; Policy; Public Opinion; Analytics and Data Science; Latin America; South America; Colombia

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January 1997 (Revised March 1997)
Background Note

Note on Money and Monetary Policy

By: David A. Moss and Wyatt C. Wells

Offers a brief overview of economic thinking about the nature of money and about how the central bank can affect the economy through monetary policy. View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Government Administration; Policy; Central Banking; Money; Inflation and Deflation; Financial Crisis

August 2020
Case

Zoom Video Communications: Eric Yuan's Leadership During COVID-19

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Christopher Stanton, Andy Wu and George Gonzalez

In the first half of 2020, worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought explosive growth to the Zoom Video Communications platform, as people replaced in-person work and social events with videoconferencing. Months into the pandemic, CEO Eric Yuan... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Communication Technology; Customer Value and Value Chain; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Health Pandemics; Technology Industry; United States; California

06 Dec 2011
Op-Ed

Greater Fiscal Integration Best Solution for Euro Crisis

The European Central Bank (ECB) is probably the only institution that has the power to do so in the short term. The new president of the ECB, Mario Draghi, has announced very significant further support measures for the battered European... View Details

Keywords: by Dante Roscini

15 Apr 2020
Video

Rootine: Finalist in 2020 New Venture Competition Alumni Track

August 2001 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Guinness PLC: Managing Negotiations

By: Michael A. Wheeler

Describes an initiative by Guinness, LLP to revise the process by which it centrally authorizes, supports, and reviews negotiations that are undertaken worldwide on its behalf. Senior managers wished to give regional officers enough discretion to respond to local... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Negotiation; Acquisition