Publications

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November 2007
Case

Ockham Technologies: Living on the Razor's Edge (Abridged)

By: Noam T. Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a Founder-CEO regarding building a board, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. The abridged version does not include the introduction and final sections of the full case... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Recruitment; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology

Article

The Emotional Tightrope of Downsizing: Hidden Challenges for Leaders and Their Organizations

By: Andrew Molinsky and Joshua D. Margolis

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Problems and Challenges; Emotions; Leadership; Organizations

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November 2007 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Excerpts from Interview with Jim Triandiflou, Founder of Ockham Technologies

By: Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. The abridged version does not include the introduction and final sections of the full case... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Governing and Advisory Boards; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Conflict Management

08 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The Civic Benefits of Google Street View and Yelp

Boston-specific algorithm. More than 700 people entered the competition. The research team tested algorithms from 23 finalists; the tournament was won by a statistician from London. “Using a Boston-specific algorithm, we found that you could View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

05 Jul 2022
What Do You Think?

Have We Seen the Peak of Just-in-Time Inventory Management?

institution,” commented that, “it is my experience that a critical component of the leader’s job is to ensure that proper, meaningful consideration is given to the unique balance of the needs of each of the corporate stakeholders Balance... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Shipping; Transportation

16 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research, May 16

platforms, 2) gravity model analyses of global outsourcing contract flows and their determinants for digital labor markets, and 3) quantification of own- View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

July 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Bradley Marquez: Reduction in Force (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan

The Bradley Marquez advertising agency had created a successful niche delivering ethnic markets to their clients, corporate giants like Compaq, Sprint, Texaco, and British Airways. The company was operating in aggressive growth mode when, in 2000, the stock market... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Crisis; Price Bubble; Human Resources; Employees; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Advertising Industry

June 1995
Case

Northern Telecom and Tong Guang Electronics (A1): Getting to Know Each Other

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Pamela A. Yatsko

In its second year of operation, the joint venture between Northern Telecom (Nortel) of Canada and Tong Guang Electronics of China to manufacture telecommunications equipment in China has hit a crisis. The Chinese partner has asked Northern Telecom to replace its... View Details

Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Joint Ventures; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Financial Crisis; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Leadership; Telecommunications Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Canada; China

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2012
Book

Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy Shih

For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, American companies decided to outsource their manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. But we are now seeing the alarming long-term effect of those choices: in many cases, once... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Competitive Advantage; Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Manufacturing Industry; United States

10 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Winners and Losers in the Retail Revolution

if your toilet blows up, you aren't going to wait two days for delivery for a part from (competitor) Amazon Prime. You need that part right now. You need it to be in stock, and you need somebody to help you understand what to do, what... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

16 Aug 2024
In Practice

Election 2024: What's at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

with strongly-held views about societal issues, 20 percent would not be willing to work with someone with which they disagree.” This has consequences. Uncivil workplaces lead employees to be three times more likely to be dissatisfied with their View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

08 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

potential profit drivers rather than the first troops to cut in a downturn. Ton's working paper, "The Effect of Labor on Profitability: The Role of Quality", examines how mundane activities such as stocking shelves, setting up displays,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

August 2012
Case

Danshui Plant No. 2

By: William Bruns, Julie H. Hertenstein and Kelvin Liu

Danshui Plant No. 2 in southern China has a one-year contract with Apple Inc. to assemble 2.4 million iPhones. In the first three months of the contract, the plant is unable to assemble as many phones as expected and is operating at a loss. The plant manager must... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Budgets and Budgeting; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; China

February 2011
Case

ABICI

By: Mukti Khaire, Elena Corsi and Elisa Farri

The co-founder of an Italian, design based bicycle manufacturer evaluates if reducing costs by outsourcing would impact its brand. The company was founded in 2005 in Italy by three friends and in its first five years, it had enjoyed steady growth and built a strong... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Entrepreneurship; Profit; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Brands and Branding; Product Design; Product Development; Production; Bicycle Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Italy

08 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

NFL Head Coaches Are Getting Younger. What Can Organizations Learn?

quality nowadays. That young candidates are being selected for the most prestigious and critical positions in the NFL means, to some extent, that they are bypassing older colleagues for job opportunities.... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

December 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Supplement

eBay Partner Network — slide supplement

By: Benjamin Edelman

eBay considers adjustments to the structure and rules of its affiliate marketing program, eBay Partner Network (ePN). In particular, eBay reevaluates affiliate compensation structure, the role of bonuses for especially productive affiliates, and the overall rationale... View Details

Keywords: History; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Internet and the Web; Markets; Marketing Channels; Negotiation Participants; Marketing; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry