Publications

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11 Feb 2019
Research & Ideas

The Business of Saving the Planet

"The fact that the benefits of addressing the problem of climate change almost certainly outweigh the costs ... does not make concerted global action to address the problem easy." —Climate Change in 2018: Implications for Business If there is one positive... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Energy; Green Technology

23 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 23

conduct-that diffuse global standards. But little is known about the conditions under which companies adhere to these standards. We conduct one of the first large-scale comparative studies to determine which international, domestic, civil society, and market... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2024
Background Note

Net Revenue Retention: Unpacking the Dynamics of Customer Monetization

By: Elie Ofek, Barak Libai and Eitan Muller

Firms and investors alike are beginning to recognize the importance of tracking how revenues from existing customers are evolving over time and to appreciate the value in understanding what might explain changes in these revenues. Consequently, in addition to looking... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Revenue; Measurement and Metrics; Customer Value and Value Chain

June 12, 2023
Article

How AI Will Accelerate the Circular Economy

By: Shirley Lu and George Serafeim

Despite living on a planet with finite resources, our economy remains largely linear and full of single-use products. The shift toward a circular economy, where companies recover or recycle resources, has hit roadblocks, including low value of used products and high... View Details

Keywords: Recycling; Materials Management; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; AI and Machine Learning; Operations; Industrial Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry

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December 1998
Background Note

Retail Financial Services in 1998

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Provides an overview of the current restructuring that is taking place in the retail financial services industry. Provides a brief overview of the structural changes in banking, brokerage, insurance, and mutual funds. Used as background for examining the strategies of... View Details

Keywords: Economic Sectors; Economy; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Industry Growth; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

03 Nov 2008
HBS Case

Economics of the Ethanol Business

down again, and they did," he remarks. "Will demand from India and China change the equation? Maybe. Ordinarily when the price of something goes up, people figure out ways to make more of it and use less of it. So the assumption that we're not going to have... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Energy

01 Sep 2008
News

Farming for Fuel

out ways to make more of it and use less of it. So the assumption that we’re not going to have supply and demand responses to this is an audacious one.” MME completed construction of its plant in February 2005 and quickly ramped up... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Animal Production and Aquaculture; Agriculture; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

10 Nov 2008
What Do You Think?

How Much Can You Ask of Your Customers?

And Gerald Nanninga posed the interesting question: "Have we limited our potential by not only mislabeling potential partners as 'customers' but in mislabeling everyone in the entire supply chain?" What do you think? Original... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

May 2007 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Bankinter: Deploying the Mortgage Simulator to the Branches

Describes how Bankinter, a mid-sized Spanish bank, altered the information set available to its customer-facing employees. In the spring of 2003, Bankinter introduced an Excel-based program called the Mortgage Simulator that helped branch managers calculate the price... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Banks and Banking; Mortgages; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Spain

January 2008
Case

Parks Capital - Investment in US Retail, Inc.

Parks Capital acquired a Children's Apparel Manufacturer , American Child Clothing Manufacturers, Inc. (ACCM), in 2001. Two years later ACCM's largest retail customer, U.S. Retail, Inc., decided to evaluate strategic alternatives due to financial difficulties. Parks... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Value and Value Chain; Private Equity; Vertical Integration; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

Profile

Anthony Tan

for a mobile app that connects taxi seekers directly with taxi drivers closest to their location in the chaotic Malaysian urban environment. The drivers would be supplied with smartphones so they could communicate directly with... View Details

2009
Chapter

Chinese Railroads, Local Society, and Foreign Presence: The Tianjin-Pukou Line in pre-1949 Shandong

By: Elisabeth Koll

This chapter explores issues of how Chinese railroads improved social mobility and standards of living along major trunk lines, and how foreign investment shaped the integration of the Chinese railroad network from the early 1900s to 1949. As this case study of the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Business History; Industry Growth; Welfare or Wellbeing; Rail Transportation; Rail Industry; China

03 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 4, 2008

management. We find a large effect: pre-Reg FD the return premium from school ties was 8.16% per year, while post-Reg FD the return premium was nearly zero and insignificant. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-074.pdf Bond View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

Warring Algorithms Could Be Driving Up Consumer Prices

developed by the company’s marketers and strategists. “They want to react to changing demand and supply conditions,” says study author Alexander J. MacKay, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School who... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail

15 Nov 2020
News

Global Outposts Expand HBS’s Intellectual Footprint

of online events marking its 20th anniversary. In May, Senior Lecturer Michael Chu moderated an event that addressed financing small and medium-sized businesses during the pandemic, managing through crisis, and understanding the new... View Details

2017
Working Paper

Firm Selection and Corporate Cash Holdings

By: Juliane Begenau and Berardino Palazzo

Among stock market entrants, more firms over time are R&D intensive with initially lower profitability but higher growth potential. This sample-selection effect determines the secular trend in U.S. public firms’ cash holdings. A stylized firm industry model allows us... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Market Entry and Exit; Supply and Industry; Research and Development

SSRN

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August 2006 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Anthem, Inc.

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Describes the U.S. Health Care industry and WellPoint's background, market growth strategies, and potential as an investment option. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Health; Industry Structures; Organizational Design; Health Industry; United States