Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(506)
- Faculty Publications (205)
- 2007
- Working Paper
Modularity, Transactions, and the Boundaries of Firms: A Synthesis
This paper constructs a unified theory of the location of transactions and the boundaries of firms. It proposes that systems of production can be viewed as networks of tasks. Transactions, defined as mutually agreed-upon transfers with compensation, are located... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
What Causes Industry Agglomeration? Evidence from Coagglomeration Patterns
By: Glenn Ellison, Edward Glaeser and William R. Kerr
Many industries are geographically concentrated. Many mechanisms that could account for such agglomeration have been proposed. We note that these theories make different predictions about which pairs of industries should be coagglomerated. We discuss the measurement of... View Details
- April 2007 (Revised October 2007)
- Background Note
An Overview of Project Finance & Infrastructure Finance - 2006 Update
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia
Provides an introduction to the fields of project finance and infrastructure finance, and gives a statistical overview of project-financed investments over the years from 2002 to 2006. Examples of project-financed investments include the $4 billion Chad-Cameroon... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Global Competitors as Next-Door Neighbors: Competition and Geographic Concentration in the Semiconductor Industry
By: Minyuan Zhao and Juan Alcacer
Despite the many advantages offered by technology clusters, firms located in them face the risk of losing valuable knowledge to nearby competitors. In this study, we argue that multi-location firms strategically organize their R&D activities to appropriate the value of... View Details
- October 2006 (Revised March 2009)
- Case
Clifford Chance: Repotting the Tree
By: Arthur I Segel, A. Eugene Kohn and Nhat Minh Nguyen
Clifford Chance, LLP, a global law firm headquartered in London, needs to make a decision whether to stay in the central business district of London or move to a redeveloped business park at Canary Wharf, three miles outside of central London. Peter Charleton, head of... View Details
- October 2006
- Article
Location Choices across the Value Chain: How Activity and Capability Influence Collocation
By: Juan Alcacer
There has been a recent revival of interest in the geographic component of firm strategy. Recent research suggests that two opposing forces—competition costs and agglomeration benefits—determine whether firms collocate in a given geographic market. Unexplored is (1)... View Details
- August 2006
- Article
Extending the Faultline Concept to Geographically Dispersed Teams: How Colocated Subgroups Can Impair Group Functioning
By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Brad Crisp, Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa and Jerry W. Kim
We theorize that in geographically dispersed teams, members' geographic locations are likely to activate "faultlines" (hypothetical dividing lines that split a group into subgroups) that impair team functioning. In a study of 45 teams comprised of graduate students... View Details
- May 2006 (Revised May 2009)
- Case
De Beers: Addressing the New Competitiveness Challenges
By: Michael E. Porter, Sonia D. Marciano and Alyson Warhurst
Traces the development of De Beers and the diamond industry from its inception in the mid-1800s to the year 2000. Discusses De Beer's history and strategy as the industry leader and its role in industry development. Enables deep examination of the interdependence of... View Details
- Article
Knowledge Spillovers, Geographic Location, and the Productivity of Pharmaceutical Research
By: Jeffrey Furman, Margaret K. Kyle, Iain Cockburn and Rebecca M. Henderson
- 2006
- Article
The End of Nationality? Global Firms and 'Borderless Worlds'
By: G. Jones
This article provides a historical perspective to current debates whether large global firms are becoming "stateless" and whether this is a historically new phenomenon. It shows that a great deal of international business in the nineteenth century was not easily fitted... View Details
- May 2005 (Revised September 2015)
- Case
Hans Wilsdorf and Rolex
By: Geoffrey Jones and Alexander Atzberger
Explores the creation of the Rolex watch by Hans Wilsdorf. Provides a case study of how one of the world's leading luxury brands was created and, more generally, provides a vehicle for exploring the competitive advantage of Switzerland in watchmaking (and other... View Details
- April 2005 (Revised April 2005)
- Background Note
An Overview of Project Finance - 2004 Update
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia
Introduces the field of project finance and provides a statistical overview of the project-financed investments over the last five years. Defines project finance and contrasts it with other well-known financing structures. Describes the evolution of project finance,... View Details
- February 2005
- Article
European Integration and Corporate Restructuring: The Strategy of Unilever c1957-c1990
By: Geoffrey Jones and Peter Miskell
This article examines the role of the large Anglo-Dutch consumer products company in promoting European integration. It shows that Unilever contributed financially to campaigns to support the creation of the European Union, and its subsequent expansion, despite a... View Details
- March 2004
- Article
Do Police Reduce Crime? Estimates Using the Allocation of Police Forces after a Terrorist Attack
By: Rafael Di Tella and Ernesto Schargrodsky
An important challenge in the crime literature is to isolate causal effects of police on crime. Following a terrorist attack on the main Jewish center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, all Jewish institutions received police protection. Thus, this hideous event... View Details
- November 2003 (Revised July 2014)
- Case
'Walking on a Tightrope': Maintaining London as a Financial Center
By: Geoffrey Jones and Meghan Gallagher-Kernstine
Focuses on the development of London as a leading international financial center and the difficulties it faces maintaining its status. Examines London's history as a financial center from Roman times to the present day. London's position in the 19th century rested on... View Details
- February 2003 (Revised August 2004)
- Case
Flextronics: Deciding on a Shop Floor System for Producing the Microsoft Xbox
By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
Jim McCusker must guide a group decision-making process aimed at getting input and buy-in from key people in California, Mexico, and Austria to choose a shop floor IT system for Flextronics. McCusker is Flextronics' account manager for the Microsoft Xbox project.... View Details
- December 2002
- Article
Knowledge Seeking and Location Choice of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States
By: Juan Alcacer and Wilbur Chung
To what extent do firms go abroad to access technology available in other locations? This paper examines whether and when state technical capabilities attract foreign investment in manufacturing from 1987-1993. We find that on average state R&D intensity does not... View Details
- April 2002
- Background Note
Local Institutions and Global Strategy
By: Tarun Khanna
Explores how location affects a firm's strategy and identifies the different ways location affects industry structure, choice of a firm's position, and the sustainability of that position. The intellectual foundations lie in an appreciation of institutional economics.... View Details
- April 2002 (Revised May 2003)
- Supplement
An Overview of Project Finance-2002 Update
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Irina L. Christov
This case introduces to the field of project finance and provides a statistical overview of the project-financed investments over the last five years. It consists of four sections. The first section defines project finance and contrasts it with other well-known... View Details