Publications

2007
Working Paper

The Impact of Component Modularity on Design Evolution: Evidence from the Software Industry

By: Alan MacCormack, John Rusnak and Carliss Y. Baldwin

Much academic work asserts a relationship between the design of a complex system and the manner in which this system evolves over time. In particular, designs which are modular in nature are argued to be more "evolvable," in that these designs facilitate making... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Adaptation; Software; Information Technology Industry

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Jillian Jordan is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches Negotiations in the MBA elective curriculum.

Professor Jordan’s research investigates moral... View Details

February 1998 (Revised September 1998)
Case

Insteel Wire Products: ABM at Andrews

By: V.G. Narayanan and Ratna G. Sarkar

Insteel implements an activity-based costing (ABC) system in 1996. It finds pallet nails to be its most profitable product and decides to expand the number of cells making pallet nails from two to four. A repeat of the ABC study in 1997 shows pallet nails have become... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Expansion; Resource Allocation; Activity Based Costing and Management

August 1994
Case

Komatsu Ltd. (B): Profit Planning and Product Costing

Describes Komatsu's profit planning and product costing systems. Komatsu can boast a high degree of employee dedication to achieving its profit plan. Also explores the logic behind the design of a new cost system at Komatsu that is less accurate at the product level... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Profit

September 1990 (Revised November 1991)
Supplement

Merck & Co., Inc. (C)

Discusses the 1989 modified performance appraisal program by adding performance gradations and allowing for differences in employee rating distributions depending on the division performance for the year. The objective is to have students discuss the revisions in the... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Change; Pharmaceutical Industry

August 1984 (Revised March 1989)
Background Note

Direct, Personal Leadership

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Richard R. Ellsworth

Argues that to be effective leaders, general managers must focus on substance, not process, and aggressively combat the forces that can lead to the politicization of the organization. Examines the leader's direct role in setting and communicating goals, managing the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Management Practices and Processes

28 Jun 2012
News

How Does Health Care Decision Impact Corporate America?

05 Jul 2010
News

Time for an honest discussion about pay

23 Jul 2021
News

The Cost of the Olympics’ ‘Runaway Arms Race’ and New Hope for Student Loan Borrowers in Bankruptcy

21 Apr 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Firms Use Non-Linear Incentive Schemes? Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Overconfidence

Keywords: by Ian Larkin & Stephen Leider

2004
Case

Hasbro Interactive

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

In the mid 1990s, Hasbro created Hasbro Interactive, a new business unit chartered to develop video games for PCs and other gaming systems based on Hasbro's many toy and game brands. After a few successful years, ambitions for Hasbro Interactive escalated dramatically.... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Video Game Industry

June 2003
Case

A Brief History of the Browser Wars

Recounts the history of the evolution of browser market shares from 1994 forward. Netscape's Navigator establishes a huge early lead, but is then displaced by an equally dominant offering from Microsoft. Highlights the role of Microsoft's dominance in desktop operating... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Marketing Strategy; Software; Web Services Industry

June 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Mexico: The Tequila Crisis 1994-1995

By: Huw Pill

Describes the evolution of the Mexican economy and its relation to the international capital markets in the period leading up to the Peso crisis of December 1994. Emphasizes the role of "Washington consensus" policies in stimulating the inflows and the inability of the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Markets; Macroeconomics; Mexico

28 Apr 2014
News

Stirring up healthcare’s melting pot

22 Feb 2012
News

How to tax US companies' foreign profits

September 1997 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Siam Cement Group,The: Corporate Philosophy (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Prompilai Khunaphante

In the face of Thailand's 1990 cement shortage, managers at Siam Cement Co., Thailand's largest cement provider, must decide how to allocate available supply and whether to attempt to uphold government-controlled prices among the company's agents. At issue is the... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Resource Allocation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Construction Industry; Thailand