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Management Analysis, Tools, and TechniquesRemove Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques →

New research from Harvard Business School faculty on management analysis, tools, and techniques, including the balanced scorecard approach, the five forces framework, Six Sigma, and SWOT analysis.
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Updating the Balanced Scorecard for Triple Bottom Line Strategies

by Robert S. Kaplan and David McMillan

Society increasingly expects businesses to help solve problems of environmental degradation, inequality, and poverty. This paper explains how the Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Map should be modified to reflect businesses’ expanded role for society.

Making Economics More Useful: How Technological Eclecticism Could Help

by Amar Bhidé

This paper shows how tools, such as simulations used to design new technologies, can facilitate collaborative economic policy judgments. The paper forms part of a broader, ongoing study of knowledge in practical fields such as engineering, medicine, and business.

The Effect of Systems of Management Controls on Misreporting

by Aishwarrya Deore, Susanna Gallani, and Ranjani Krishnan

This study provides insights for designing effective management control systems. Managers must select their individual management control practices with care, craft mission statements to convey clear messages that drive organizational alignment with the firm’s overall goals, and consider the effects of interaction between components of their system of controls.

Robots in the Boardroom

by Sean Silverthorne

Understanding cloud technology was the No. 1 imperative for executives this decade. Next up: How does artificial intelligence change business and management? Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Core Earnings? New Data and Evidence

by Ethan Rouen, Eric So, and Charles C.Y. Wang

Using a novel dataset of earnings-related disclosures embedded in the 10-Ks, this paper shows how detailed financial statement analysis can produce a measure of core earnings that is more persistent than traditional earnings measures and forecasts future performance. Analysts and market participants are slow to appreciate the importance of transitory earnings.

What Machine Learning Teaches Us about CEO Leadership Style

by Michael Blanding

Tarun Khanna and Prithwiraj Choudhury use machine-learning technology to look for links between a CEO's communications style and company performance. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

The Better Way to Forecast the Future

by Roberta Holland

We can forecast hurricane paths with great certainty, yet many businesses can't predict a supply chain snafu just around the corner. Yael Grushka-Cockayne says crowdsourcing can help. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 2: Technical and Strategic Bottlenecks as Guides for Action

by Carliss Y. Baldwin

This paper presents analytic tools to formulate strategy in large, evolving technical systems. It explains how value-enhancing technical change comes from the effective management of technical and strategic bottlenecks in conjunction with module boundaries and property rights. The analytic tools are used to explain the evolution of three historic technologies: early aircraft, machine tools, and container shipping.

Quantile Forecasts of Product Life Cycles Using Exponential Smoothing

by Xiaojia Guo, Kenneth C. Lichtendahl Jr., and Yael Grushka-Cockayne

Many important business decisions rely on a manager’s forecast of a product or service’s life cycle. One of the most widely used forecasting techniques is exponential smoothing models. This paper introduces a model suitable for large-scale forecasting environments where key operational decisions depend on quantile forecasts.

Baseball’s Billy Beane Shows Companies the Power of Data

With a relatively small payroll, the Oakland A's baseball team remains competitive by being smarter about data. Srikant Datar discusses the "Moneyball" strategy and how it can be applied in business. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Developing Theory Using Machine Learning Methods

by Prithwiraj Choudhury, Ryan Allen, and Michael G. Endres

This paper provides a step-by-step roadmap for using machine learning (ML) techniques to explore novel and robust patterns in data. It introduces management researchers to a new use case for ML tools: building new theory from quantitative observational data. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

The Creative Consulting Company

by Robert S. Kaplan, Richard Nolan, and David P. Norton

Management theories cannot be tested in laboratories; they must be applied, tested, and extended in real organizations. For this reason the most creative consulting companies balance conflicting demands between short‐term business development and long‐term knowledge creation.

The Use and Misuse of Patent Data: Issues for Corporate Finance and Beyond

by Josh Lerner and Amit Seru

Corporate finance researchers who analyze patent data are at risk of making highly predictable errors. The problem arises from dramatic changes in the direction and location of technological innovation (and patenting practice) over recent decades. This paper explains the pitfalls and suggests practical steps for avoiding them.

Will Machine Learning Make You a Better Manager?

by Michael Blanding

Big data...artificial intelligence...Internet of Things. These technologies have taken their shares of the headlines the past few years, but now machine learning is the buzz. Mike Teodorescu explains how it is changing the lives of consumers and businesses. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively

by Dina Gerdeman

Big data is a critical competitive advantage for companies that know how to use it. Harvard Business School faculty share insights that they teach to executives. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Machine Learning Methods for Strategy Research

by Mike Horia Teodorescu

Marketing, logistics, knowledge flow analysis, and other domains have become highly dependent on machine learning methods and tools. This article provides a survey of these methods and their management applications. Aimed at a broad readership, the article explains tools and concepts in a way that is accessible to non-specialists, including those without a programming background.

The Promises and Limitations of Big Data

by Sean Silverthorne

Recent stories chart the rise of big data, its impact on business, and how it affects our lives every day. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

John Kotter’s Plan to Accelerate Your Business

by Kim Girard

In the fast-paced modern economy, businesses can no longer rely on just one organizational design, argues John Kotter in a new book, Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World. Why we need two "operating systems." PLUS Book excerpt. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Management: Theory and Practice, and Cases

by Richard L. Nolan

The author reflects upon his diverse experiences throughout his career with the benefits and challenges of case method teaching and case writing. The case method is undergoing tremendous innovation as students in the twenty-first century engage in learning about corporations, management, and board oversight. In particular, the creative and analytical process of writing the novelAdventures of an IT Leader is examined. The book's "hero's journey" foundation continued in a second Harvard Business Press book, Harder Than I Thought: Adventures of a Twenty-First Century Leader, focusing on CEO leadership in the global economy and the fast-changing IT-enabled pace of business. A third novel is in preparation: It concerns corporate leadership challenges into reinventing boards of directors for the twenty-first century. Key concepts include: A novel-based series of books is incorporating the "hero's journey" classic story structure along with the creation of associated fictional case characters designed to engage readers in the dimensions of human behavior, decision making, and judgments in carrying out the work of the modern corporation. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

How Relevant is Long-Range Strategic Planning?

by James Heskett

Summing Up: Jim Heskett's readers argue that long-range planning, while necessary for organizational success, must be adaptable to the competitive environment. What do YOU think? Open for comment; 0 Comments.