Publications

25 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 25

over the past decade as one of the most active areas of research in economics and strategy. The literature has constantly struggled, however, with a lack of agreement on a proper definition; for instance, some existing definitions imply... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

Should You Outsource Your Marketing?

outsourcing marketing, at least beyond advertising, seems relatively new. Can you discuss this concept and the potential benefits to businesses? Gail J. McGovern: The outsourcing of marketing activities is catching on; in fact, in a... View Details

Keywords: by Poping Lin

January 2009
Supplement

KPMG (B): Risk and Reform

By: Robert G. Eccles and Eliot Sherman

Under the leadership of Tim Flynn, Chairman and CEO of KPMG, the firm made a number of changes in compensation, governance, and culture in order to address the underlying reasons for actions that occurred prior to him becoming CEO that led to the accounting giant... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

10 May 2012
Working Paper Summaries

The Flattened Firm—Not as Advertised

Keywords: by Julie Wulf

October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Esel Çekin

In July 2021, Sunil Lalvani, founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Dubai that had already provided sustainable, clean water solutions to 80,000 people living in rural communities across Ghana and Kenya, was facing an important... View Details

Keywords: Water; Pricing; Nonprofit Organizations; Projects; Price; Decision Making; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Equity; Green Technology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Africa; Dubai

19 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019

forthcoming Journal of Political Economy CEO Behavior and Firm Performance By: Bandiera, Oriana, Stephen Hansen, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun Abstract— We measure the behavior of 1,114 CEOs in six... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Nov 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Can Mass General Brigham Diversify Its Community of Innovators?

Keywords: Re: Katherine B. Coffman; Health

June 2005
Case

Growth and Profitability at Fresenius

By: Joel Podolny, Vincent Dessain, Monika Stachowiak and Anders Sjoman

In March 2005, Mark Schneider, CEO of Fresenius, is considering the group's strategic and organizational future. The highly decentralized 7 billion euro German health care group is active in three different business units, with the largest, FMC AG, listed separately... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Diversification; Organizational Structure; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; Germany

Pietro Satriano is a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School. He sits on the boards of CarMax, the largest omni-channel used car retailer in the U.S. and Metro, a large regional grocery retailer in Canada. Pietro advises a number of food-tech startups and acts... View Details

23 Feb 2016
First Look

February 23, 2016

placement around this sales cutoff. Moreover, managers appear to exploit this by manipulating sales to be just over the cutoff in favorable industries. Further evidence suggests that managers then engage in activities to realize large,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Canadian Pacific's Bid for Norfolk Southern

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

In December 2015, Canadian Pacific Railroad (CPR) has just made its third bid to acquire Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC), one of the largest railroads in the United States. Having rejected the prior offers, NSC’s CEO James Squires and the NSC board must now value... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Financial Strategy; Investment Activism; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation Offer; Corporate Strategy; Rail Transportation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; United States; Canada

February 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care

External cost pressures are motivating the adoption of case management (CM) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), but several of the organization's key professional groups are working against it. President and CEO David Dolins must decide whether CM is... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Boston

October 2015
Article

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

The evolution of products into intelligent, connected devices is revolutionizing business. In a November 2014 article, "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition," Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and PTC president and CEO James... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Operations; Business Strategy

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08 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 8

http://people.hbs.edu/mluca/Papers%20on%20RIS/oDesk.pdf Activist Directors: Determinants and Consequences By: Gow, Ian D., Sa-Pyung Sean Shin, and Suraj Srinivasan Abstract—This paper examines the determinants and consequences of hedge fund View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

September 2003
Case

Executive Compensation at Reckitt Benckiser plc

By: V.G. Narayanan, Krishna G. Palepu and Lisa Brem

Investors felt betrayed by the increasingly lucrative pay packages awarded to CEOs and other top executives at multinational companies. Yet, board members charged with adequately rewarding executives were forced to compete with rising packages of salaries and stock... View Details

Keywords: Design; Stock Options; Investment Activism; Corporate Accountability; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Consumer Products Industry; Netherlands; United States

April 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

The Engine

By: Joshua Lev Krieger, Jim Matheson, Fiona Murray and Nicholas Christman

The Engine, a venture capital firm founded by MIT to fill a gap in the technology funding landscape by commercializing breakthrough science and technology. Led by managing partner and CEO Katie Rae, the Engine's unique approach involved an unusually longer fund life,... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Entrepreneurial Finance; Financial Services Industry

September 2024
Case

Leadership for Stretch Goals: Inspiring Employees to Achieve the Impossible at Charter Next Generation

By: Ethan Rouen and Elisabeth Powell

In 2023, Kathy Bolhous, CEO of Charter Next Generation (CNG), set out to achieve an ambitious "Moonshot"—increasing profits by $100 million within three years, purely through internal innovations and efficiency gains, without layoffs or new revenue streams. After years... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Employee Ownership; Motivation and Incentives