Publications

30 Nov 2017
News

Happy Meals (Are Here Again)

she says. For a company the size of McDonald’s, it posed a massive operational challenge. Hurdles included everything from structure—McDonald’s kitchens were designed to operate in two separate “day parts,” breakfast and everything else—to securing global View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; photographed by Saverio Truglia

21 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Don’t Get Buried in Customer Data—Use It

customers." He cites the example of a major hotel chain that asks guests to complete a multiple-question satisfaction survey via their room's TV set during their stay. When one guest answered "extremely dissatisfied" to all... View Details

Keywords: by Jean Ayers

10 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting

is increasing yields in their production while moving the supply chain toward more productive and just labor conditions. Novo Nordisk, a leading healthcare provider for diabetes, is making great strides in... View Details

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim

05 Dec 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Walmart Defying Economic Gravity?

information-driven model by gaining a better understanding of product and customer relationships." Dean Vella cited Walmart's innovation in supply chain management and sustainability as ways in which it... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

05 Dec 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Growth Good?

actually enable the kind of economic growth that we generally measure and read about. It's reasonably obvious, for example, that growth in such things as the rule of law, so-called transparency, and ethical behavior foster trust in business that is essential to a... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

April 2025
Supplement

ZEISS: Commercializing Science

By: Maria P. Roche and Richie Zitomer

Spreadsheet Supplement for HBS Case No. 725-359. View Details

May 2010 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Delta Electronics Hybrid Power Train

By: Willy C. Shih and Jyun-Cheng Wang

Delta Electronics, the world's largest manufacturer of switching power supplies, hoped to enter the market for gasoline-electric hybrid power trains for automobiles by being a major component and subsystem supplier. While most public awareness of hybrid vehicles fell... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Intellectual Property; Emerging Markets; Industry Clusters; Partners and Partnerships; Electronics Industry; China

December 2014
Article

Market Competition, Earnings Management, and Persistence in Accounting Profitability Around the World

By: Paul M. Healy, George Serafeim, Suraj Srinivasan and Gwen Yu

We examine how cross-country differences in product, capital, and labor market competition, and earnings management affect mean reversion in accounting return on assets. Using a sample of 48,465 unique firms from 49 countries, we find that accounting returns mean... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Performance; Valuation; Equity Valuation; Persistence; Competitive Advantage; Institutions; Earnings Management; Labor Market; Capital Markets; Competition; Profit; Performance; Supply and Industry; Financial Statements; Government and Politics; Globalized Markets and Industries

SSRN

Find at Harvard

January 2003 (Revised January 2008)
Case

The British Motorcycle Industry at a Crossroads

By: Jan W. Rivkin

By 1975, the collapse of the British motorcycle industry is nearly complete. Only one British manufacturer, NVT, remains in operation. In this setting, the British government commissions the Boston Consulting Group to identify and evaluate strategic alternatives for... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Industry Structures; Business and Government Relations; Mathematical Methods; Competition; Consulting Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motorcycle Industry; Great Britain

October 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Lehman Brothers and Peabody Coal

When Texas Utilities Company (TXU) wanted to acquire The Energy Group, the latter needed to spin-off its coal mining assets, Peabody Coal, to avoid running afoul of antitrust authorities. In this case, TXU's investment banker, Lehman Brothers, considers whether to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Investment Banking; Monopoly; Conflict of Interests; Mining Industry; Utilities Industry

Find at Harvard

September 2024
Case

Nvidia, Inc. in 2024 and the Future of AI

By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah von Bargen

Nvidia was one of the most successful companies in the world, reaching $3.4 trillion in valuation on June 18th, 2024. While Microsoft and Apple quickly recaptured the value crown, some analysts forecasted that Nvidia was so strongly positioned that it might become the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Price; Technological Innovation; Competition; Vertical Integration; Valuation; Technology Industry

February 2002 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Customer Profitability and Customer Relationship Management at RBC Financial Group

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

The Royal Bank of Canada uses customer relationship management and customer profitability tools to gain a competitive advantage in Canada's increasingly crowded financial services market. The case presents two pricing and customer management issues: one from the point... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Price; Customer Relationship Management; Marketing; Customer Value and Value Chain; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Canada

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

29 Mar 2016
First Look

March 29, 2016

the incumbent attracts service (price) sensitive customers in markets where it has supplied relatively high (low) levels of service quality in the past. Furthermore, we show that it is the high-quality incumbent’s most profitable... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Apr 2019
HBS Case

How Entrepreneurs Can Turn Lead Into Gold

a social impact mission. Having a social mission is not the only way that entrepreneurs can connect with potential investors and employees. Communities based around a sport or a common connection such as a university can also be a rich View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

05 Nov 2013
News

Start-Ups Get a Start in New Orleans

Everyone had to open up shop again," he says. He soon became an entrepreneur-in-residence at Idea Village, a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping entrepreneurs in New Orleans by supplying them with strategic consulting and... View Details

Keywords: New Orleans; Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services; Professional Services

June 2006
Teaching Note

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2006 (TN)

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching Note to 706447. View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Revenue; Price; Brands and Branding; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development; Profit; Performance; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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