Publications

December 2014
Article

Second Thoughts About a Strategy Shift

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

A retail guru attempts to reposition an established brand and introduce an entirely new pricing scheme. Early financial results from the strategic shift are not favorable. Based on the experience of U.S. retailer J.C. Penney, the piece raises fundamental questions... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Pricing Strategy; Retailing; Leadership; Price; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry

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June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Marketing Capabilities

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

P&G had become known and recognized as a marketing machine. It was the largest advertiser in the world, with 2010 spending of $8.68 billion. From the company's early exploitation of broadcast media (radio and television) for its soap products to more recent experiments... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry

January 2007
Case

Robert E. Rubin (A)

By: Nitin Nohria, Robert Steven Kaplan and Nicole Davison

Bob Rubin was a businessman given the task of setting up and running the National Economic Council for the Clinton Administration. Unfamiliar with management in a political climate, Rubin worked hard to design, staff, and position the Council to make better economic... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Government and Politics; Managerial Roles; Macroeconomics; Organizational Design; Economy

17 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Tales of the Newly-minted MBA

How do real-world conditions and shifting personal priorities influence a young MBA's early career path—those first five to ten years that executives remember as being of such critical importance? To find... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

31 Jan 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Peer Effects and Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Ramana Nanda & Jesper B. Sørensen

April 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Amazon in China and India

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Kairavi Dey

Amazon has been unsuccessful in its efforts to develop a business in China. Even though Amazon was an early entrant into China’s e-commerce space, its domestic rivals, especially Alibaba, created innovative business models uniquely suited for the conditions in China. ... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Retail Industry; China; India; United States

Teaching Interest

Advanced Management Program: Transforming Proven Leaders into Global Executives

By: Guhan Subramanian

As the world economy continues to evolve, so do the requirements for global leadership. The Advanced Management Program (AMP) is a powerful, transformational, and personalized learning experience that explores the best management practices... View Details

December 1994 (Revised February 1995)
Case

Anne Livingston and Power Max Systems (A): Interviewing with the PowerPlayer Software Engineering Team

Follows the entry and early experiences of engineer Anne Livingston, an African American woman, as she joins Power Max Systems in 1991 as software engineering manager for the new product development group. Power Max is facing stiff competition and wants to be first to... View Details

Keywords: Race; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Gender; Information Technology Industry

06 Aug 2021
Book

Steve Jobs and the Rise of the Celebrity CEO

careers of Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, and Jobs, who used their charisma to champion their ambitious vision, create revolutionary new products and services, and attain power and influence. In this excerpt from the book, Tedlow discusses how... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

23 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

Sam Walton: Great From the Start

States in 1945. Why wouldn't this one be among the many that didn't make it? Surely, any analyst of the situation in 1945 would have found in Walton a good candidate for failure. As he himself put it, "For all of my confidence I hadn't had a day's View Details

Keywords: by Richard S. Tedlow; Retail

26 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

Unpacking That Icky Feeling of 'Shopping' for Diverse Job Candidates

advocates who feel responsible for and try to personally overcome the credibility deficit they have with historically marginalized communities. For the best chance at DEI success, Jackson advises that companies start emphasizing the value of diversity as View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

April 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Stalin’s Capitalists: American Business and Soviet Industrialization

By: Jeremy Friedman, Jingyu Liu and Christine Riggle

In the late 1920s and early 1930s when Joseph Stalin, leader of the world’s first Communist state, sought to industrialize his largely peasant country on an unprecedented scale, he turned for help to those who had the most experience constructing on such a scale:... View Details

Keywords: Communism; Industrialization; Socialism; History; Industry Growth; Economic Systems; Soviet Union

20 Feb 2020
Op-Ed

Love in the Office Is Wonderful. Except for CEOs.

same types of jobs. Love , especially in its early stages, sears the business judgment part of the brain. The loved one can do no wrong. However, if you are a CEO in love with a colleague, the only place you should go is out the door.... View Details

Keywords: by Regina Herzlinger

2023
Book

The Portfolio Life: How to Future-Proof Your Career, Avoid Burnout, and Build a Life Bigger than Your Business Card

By: Christina Wallace

Pouring yourself into a single full-time job is the riskiest move you can make. Your parents’ advice to focus on one career path? It doesn’t work anymore, for reasons ranging from recessions to student loan debt, the gig economy, climate disasters, and a global... View Details

Keywords: Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career

July 2011
Case

Teach Plus: Mobilizing a New Generation of Teacher Leaders

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case profiles the evolution of Teach Plus, a non-profit organization founded on the premise that in order for public schools to continuously improve urban student achievement, teaching must become a career that motivates and retains effective early career... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Making; Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Teaching; Cambridge; Boston

February 2005
Article

Financial Analyst Characteristics and Herding Behavior in Forecasting

By: Michael B. Clement and Senyo Tse

This study classifies analysts' earnings forecasts as herding or bold and finds that (1) boldness likelihood increases with the analyst's prior accuracy, brokerage size, and experience and declines with the number of industries the analyst follows, consistent with... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Forecasting and Prediction; Performance Evaluation; Financial Services Industry

2005
Chapter

On Coaches, Counsellors, Facilitators and Behavioural Consultants.

Executive coaches, career counsellors, psychotherapists, group facilitators and behavioural consultants all have overlapping, yet different areas of expertise. To make an informed decision about the kind of long-term leadership development program you want, it is... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Decisions; Learning; Leadership Development; Outcome or Result; Programs; Behavior

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16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

dine-in locations, operators are identifying new staff positions, including “concierges” to manage entry and employees assigned to sanitize tables, chairs, and restrooms. Anecdotally, early experiences from... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

March 2016 (Revised January 2023)
Teaching Note

Carla Ann Harris at Morgan Stanley

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan

This case follows Carla Ann Harris, an African-American executive on Wall Street, from her childhood to the eve of her 20th year at Morgan Stanley. In addition to her professional identity as an investment banker, Harris is also an accomplished gospel singer, an... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Identity; Personal Development and Career; Success; Values and Beliefs; Social Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry