Publications

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

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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

21 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

It Matters That Your CEO Doesn't Know Much About Sales

strategic objectives,” he says. “Selling divorced from the firm’s goals may be good for individual salespeople and their compensation, but it’s not good for the enterprise and its investors.” The value of selling MBA finance courses often... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 1986 (Revised November 1989)
Case

Becton Dickinson & Co.: VACUTAINER Systems Division

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Concerns negotiations between managers of Becton Dickinson's (BD) VACUTAINER division (which manufactures and sells blood collection products) and managers of a large hospital buying group. Recent changes in the health care industry are the background for the... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Process; Price; Sales; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

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

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

07 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 7

Location Choices Through the Value Chain By: Alcácer, Juan, and Mercedes Delgado Abstract—We explore the impact of geographically bounded, intra-firm linkages (internal agglomerations) and geographically bounded, inter-firm linkages... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Sep 2015
First Look

September 8, 2015

demonstrates why some places, times, and industries should be associated with a greater degree of experimentation by investors. Investors respond to financing risk—a forecast of limited future funding—by modifying their focus to View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

11 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 11, 2009

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-006.pdf Banking Deregulations, Financing Constraints and Firm Entry Size Authors:William R. Kerr and Ramana Nanda Abstract We examine the effect of U.S. branch banking deregulations on the entry size of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

19 Feb 2020
News

Capitol Ideas to Combat Climate Change

inward at their operations, and then to their supply chain,” Toffel said. “But another key lever is public policy. What are we doing to foster—or undermine—climate policy?” Approximately 100 people gathered for the discussion entitled... View Details

Keywords: April White; photos by Jack Conroy

06 Nov 2019
Op-Ed

Torched Planet: The Business Case to Reinvent Almost Everything

cities and regions fossil fuel free. Responding effectively to the challenge of climate change requires us to reinvent almost everything—from energy systems, to cities, food systems, transportation systems, supply chains, and how we think... View Details

Keywords: by Rebecca Henderson; Energy

2007
Working Paper

Competition in Modular Clusters

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin and C. Jason Woodard

The last twenty years have witnessed the rise of disaggregated "clusters," "networks," or "ecosystems" of firms. In these clusters the activities of R&D, product design, production, distribution, and system integration may be split up among hundreds or even thousands... View Details

Keywords: Price; Profit; Digital Platforms; Industry Clusters; Competition; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration

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02 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Explaining China's Crash

a number of commodities, in the process benefiting those countries that could supply them. The issue is that we may be reaching the limits to the outsourcing trend. For example, almost 100 percent of textiles in this country are now... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese; Financial Services

25 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

New Learning at American Home Products

Coleman, acquired the household goods division of American Home Products for $1.3 billion.27 Proceeds from these sales, supplemented by retained earnings, helped to finance the expansion of the company's healthcare businesses. In 1986... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Chemical; Health; Manufacturing; Pharmaceutical

17 Oct 2019
News

Venturing Away from Venture Capital

Life Science Entrepreneurship in 2015, she worked for several venture capital firms specializing in health care and technology startups.) In order to satisfy the limited partners that supply their capital, Unger explains, venture... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand

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