Publications

February 2014 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Should Corporate Profits Be Taxed? (A)

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Katrina Flanagan and Michael Cianellli

Taxing corporations is popular, but why? Corporations do not bear the burden of taxes, people do, and the incidence of the corporate income tax burden is likely to be far different from what many of its supporters assume.
Instructors may also obtain a Teaching... View Details

Keywords: Economic Versus Statutory Incidence; Basics Of Corporate Taxation; Business Ventures; Taxation; Profit

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Background Note

A Note on Direct Selling in Developing Economies

By: Michael Chu and Joel Emilio Bregman Segre

Informal and formal direct selling play a particularly important role in developing countries characterized by markets with limited retail sectors. This note explores the practice of direct selling for the company, the sales person, and the consumer, as well as the... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Developing Countries and Economies; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Emerging Markets; Sales

03 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 4, 2008

sufficient capital the opportunity to open a bank and issue bank notes (a widely accepted form of paper money at the time). The bill also required that every note issued by a New York bank be fully backed by... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 5, 2018

Vincent, and Clémence Tricaud Abstract—In French parliamentary and local elections, candidates ranked first and second in the first round automatically qualify for the second round, while a third candidate qualifies only when selected by... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

14 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 14, 2015

Publications May-June 2015 Human Resource Management Back to the Future: Implications for the Field of HRM of the Multi-stakeholder Perspective Proposed 30 Years Ago By: Beer, Michael, Paul Boselie, and Chris Brewster Abstract—Thirty years on from the seminal work... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2018
Article

Hospital Budget Systems are Holding Back Innovation

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Michael S. Jellinek and Derek A. Haas

Nearly 800 digital health startups were funded in 2017, an all-time high. Each of the new companies offers the hope of transforming the performance of the U.S. health care system. The audience for such innovation wants to be receptive: A recent American Hospital... View Details

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April 2023
Technical Note

An Art & A Science: How to Apply Design Thinking to Data Science Challenges

By: Michael Parzen, Eddie Lin, Douglas Ng and Jessie Li

We hear it all the time as managers: “what is the data that backs up your decisions?” Even local mom-and-pop shops now have access to complex point-of-sale systems that can closely track sales and customer data. Social media influencers have turned into seven-figure... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Framework; Analytics and Data Science

Web

Career Support - Business & Environment

and more. MBA students can schedule 1:1 time with seasoned experts to gain valuable knowledge and support. Alex Bondar Michael Mancinelli Jeff Engler Rock Entrepreneur-in-Residence - Climate Entrepreneur Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EiRs)... View Details

Web

Launching Tech Ventures | HBS Online

$1,850 Certificate Negotiation Mastery Professor Michael Wheeler Master negotiation techniques to secure maximum value for yourself and your organization. 8 weeks, 4-5 hrs/week Pay by July 17 $1,850... View Details

September 2016
Article

Enhancing the Practical Relevance of Research

By: Michael W. Toffel

This article seeks to encourage scholars to conduct research that is more relevant to the decisions faced by managers and policymakers and addresses why research relevance matters, what relevance means in terms of a journal article, and how scholars can increase the... View Details

Keywords: Research Questions; Relevance; Rigor; Practice-based Research; Research; Communication; Media; Education Industry

SSRN

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November 2015 (Revised January 2016)
Teaching Note

McDonald's Corporation: Managing a Sustainable Supply Chain—From Amazon Soya to Cage Free Eggs

By: Michael W. Toffel

This case provides an opportunity for students to consider how large, multinational corporations should respond when targeted by activists regarding environmental and social concerns in their supply chains. Greenpeace targeted McDonald's because its chicken supplier... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Welfare; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; Brazil; United States; United Kingdom

September 1988
Case

Skil Corp.

By: Michael E. Porter

The portable electric power tool market in the United States was approximately $1.1 billion in 1979. There were about a dozen manufacturers competing in the U.S. market, of which five were U.S. companies. Skil was the third largest U.S. competitor. Skil was acquired by... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Competitive Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Emerging Markets; United States

March 2015
Case

Pearson Affordable Learning Fund

By: Michael Chu, Vincent Dessain and Kristina Maslauskaite

An in-house venture capital fund for affordable private schools at the base of the pyramid established by Pearson, the world's largest education company, PALF sought to invest in business models providing superior educational outcomes in emerging markets on a... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investment; Low Cost Private Schools; Investment Fund; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Transition; Investment; Development Economics; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Entrepreneurship; Emerging Markets; Private Sector; Education; Education Industry; Asia; Africa

April 2008
Supplement

Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. (B)

By: Paul W. Marshall, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

In late November 2000, Chung Telecom Co., Ltd., the once-monopolized telecom operator owned by the Taiwanese government, was on its way to privatization. Mr. C.K. Mao, Chairman of the company, was headed the job only three months earlier, after its prior chairman... View Details

Keywords: State Ownership; Jobs and Positions; Monopoly; Privatization; Competition; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Labor and Management Relations; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Price; Status and Position; Telecommunications Industry; Public Administration Industry; Taiwan

July 1979 (Revised August 2019)
Background Note

Note on Taxation

By: William J. Poorvu, Arthur I Segel, Glenn S. Miller, Michael D. Kummer, Charles F. Wu, Po Sit and Joseph M. Gerstel

Every real-estate transaction is affected by the tax consequences that result from its form and substance. Structuring a transaction without a thorough understanding of its tax considerations is likely to reduce the transaction's potential value. The failure to utilize... View Details

Keywords: Property; Taxation; Investment

March 2007
Article

Internet Advertising and the Generalized Second Price Auction: Selling Billions of Dollars Worth of Keywords

By: Benjamin Edelman, Michael Ostrovsky and Michael Schwarz

We investigate the "generalized second-price" auction (GSP), a new mechanism used by search engines to sell online advertising. Although GSP looks similar to the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism, its properties are very different. Unlike the VCG mechanism, GSP... View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Search Technology; Online Advertising; Strategy; Balance and Stability

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30 Jun 2023
Blog Post

Finding Pride

Harley Uhl (MBA 1975); Philip Burkett (MBA 1976); Frank La Penta (MBA 1977); Dan Brandeberry (MBA 1978); Joe Hilliard (MBA 1978); Mark Landsberger (MBA 1978); Rob Rosecrans (MBA 1979); Peter Hollinger, M.D., partner of Jon Zimman (MBA 1980); View Details

30 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 30, 2019

2019 HarperBusiness The Business of Platforms: Strategy in the Age of Digital Competition, Innovation, and Power By: Cusumano, Michael A., Annabelle Gawer, and David B. Yoffie Abstract—The Business of Platforms explores the strategic,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

February 2002
Background Note

States vs. Microsoft, The

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Gillian Morris

Although the federal Justice Department managed to settle its massive antitrust litigation against Microsoft in 2001, the state suit against the company continued. State attorney generals, perhaps emboldened by their recent victory over the Big Five tobacco companies,... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Public Ownership; Private Ownership; Negotiation Deal; Goals and Objectives; Lawsuits and Litigation; Decision Making; Information Industry; Legal Services Industry