Publications
- April 2015
- Routledge
Strong Brands, Strong Relationships
Abstract—From the editorial team of the groundbreaking Consumer-Brand Relationships: Theory and Practice comes this new volume. Strong Brands, Strong Relationships is a collection of innovative research and management insights that build upon the foundations of the first book but takes the study of brand relationships outside of traditional realms by applying new theoretical frameworks and considering new contexts. The result is an expanded and better-informed account of people's relationships with brands and a demonstration of the important and timely implications of this evolving sub-discipline. A range of different brand relationship environments are explored in the collection, including online digital spaces, consumer collectives, global brands, luxury brands, branding in terrorist organizations, and the brand relationships of men and transient consumers. This book attends to relationship endings as well as their beginnings, providing a full life-cycle perspective. While the first volume focused on positive relationship benefits, this collection explores dysfunctional dynamics, adversarial, and politically charged relationships, and those that are harmful to well-being. Evocative constructs are leveraged, including secrets, betrayals, anthropomorphism, lying, infidelity, retaliation, and bereavement. The curated collection provides both a deeper theoretical understanding of brand relationship phenomena and ideas for practical application from experiments and execution in commercial practice. Strong Brands, Strong Relationships will be the perfect read for marketing faculty and graduate students interested in branding dynamics, as well as managers responsible for stewarding brands.
Publisher's link: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781138786837/
- April 2015
- Corporate Stewardship: Organizing for Sustainable Effectiveness
Corporate and Integrated Reporting: A Functional Perspective
Abstract—In this chapter, we present the two primary functions of corporate reporting (information and transformation) and why currently isolated financial and sustainability reporting are not likely to effectively perform these functions. We describe the concept of integrated reporting and why integrated reporting could be a superior mechanism to perform these functions. We will also argue that integrated reporting can contribute to more effective corporate stewardship. Moreover, we discuss, through a series of case studies, what constitutes an effective integrated report (Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company) and the role of regulation in integrated reporting (Anglo-American).
- April 2015
- American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings
Real Effects of Relational Contracts
Abstract—How important are factors such as "firm culture" and "employee engagement" in driving firm performance? Increasing evidence from a wide range of fields suggests that productivity differs widely across firms, even after the inclusion of careful controls for factors such as capital intensity. Additionally, labor quality and the structure of demand and a long tradition of work in organizational behavior suggests that the successful adoption of productivity enhancing managerial practices requires complementary changes in the firm's "culture" or in the structure of social relationships within the firm. Recently Gibbons and Henderson (2013) have suggested that one way to formalize this insight is through a focus on the role of relational contracts within the firm. They hypothesize this implies that the performance effects of management practices will be contingent on the presence of appropriate relational contracts within the firm. In this paper we report the first results from a research program designed to test the empirical validity of this idea. We use the quasi-randomized roll out across multiple sites within a single firm of an intervention designed solely to change the nature of the social relationships within the site-an intervention we interpret as changing the relational contracts in place-to ask whether changing relational contracts alone has an effect on performance. We present some evidence suggesting that they do.
- April 2015
- New England Journal of Medicine
Market-Based Solutions to Antitrust Threats-The Rejection of the Partners Settlement
Abstract—No abstract available.
Publisher's link: http://www.nejm.org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1501782
- April 2015
- Journal of Applied Corporate Finance
When One Size Doesn't Fit All: Evolving Directions in the Research and Practice of Enterprise Risk Management
Abstract—Enterprise risk management (ERM) has become a crucial component of contemporary corporate governance reforms, with an abundance of principles, guidelines, and standards. This paper portrays ERM as an evolving discipline and presents empirical findings on its current state of maturity, as evidenced by a survey of the academic literature and by our own field research. Academics are increasingly examining the adoption and impact of ERM, but the studies are inconsistent and inconclusive, due, we believe, to an inadequate specification of how ERM is used in practice. Based on a ten-year field project, over 250 interviews with senior risk officers, and three detailed case studies, we put forward a contingency theory of ERM, identifying potential design parameters that can explain observable variation in the "ERM mix" adopted by organizations. We also add a new contingent variable: the type of risk that a specific ERM practice addresses. We outline a "minimum necessary contingency framework" (Otley, 1980) that is sufficiently nuanced, while still empirically observable, that empirical researchers may, in due course, hypothesize about "fit" between contingent variables, such as risk types and the ERM mix, as well as about outcomes such as organizational effectiveness.
Publisher's link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/doi/10.1111/jacf.12102/abstract
- April 2015
- CEIBS Business Review
The Decoupling Effect of Digital Disruptors
Abstract—A new wave of Internet startups is disrupting established businesses by the process of decoupling. Decoupling is the separation of two or more activities ordinarily done in conjunction by consumers-think of watching TV shows and sitting through the ads. These new digital disruptors allow consumers to benefit from one activity (e.g., watching shows) without incurring the cost of the other (e.g., watching ads). Digital disruptors are changing the way consumers entertain themselves, shop, communicate with others, and even own products. This can have a huge negative impact on traditional businesses, who will need to rethink their monetization strategies and either recouple consumer activities or rebalance the revenues generated from each activity.
Cases & Course Materials
- Harvard Business School Case 715-417
What Is Global? Allocating Products and Activities Across Locations
No abstract available.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/715417-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 715-431
When to Enter? Timing Location Strategies to Strengthen Competitive Advantage
No abstract available.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/715431-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 715-418
Where to Locate? Crafting Location Strategies to Strengthen Competitive Advantage
No abstract available.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/715418-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 715-416
Why Do Firms Go Abroad? Strategies to Create Value Globally
No abstract available.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/715416-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 615-043
Oberoi Hotels: Train Whistle in the Tiger Reserve
Celebrated as one of the world's premiere luxury hotel brands, Oberoi Hotels attracts and serves some of the most quality sensitive guests in the world. The case considers the challenge of how an organization, with a standardized service model, can repeatedly delight customers whose expectations grow with every interaction. To explore this question, the case details the design elements of Oberoi's complex service operation, including its approaches to employee management and continuous improvement, as well as the dynamics of service competition in a rapidly growing market.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/615043-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 315-027
CreditEase: Providing Credit and Financial Services for China's Underclass
In 2013 Ning Tang, who in 2006 founded CreditEase as a broker of P2P loans to unbanked individuals and small businesses in China, confronts the challenges of rapid growth and expansion in a changing regulatory environment. CreditEase needs to develop technology to manage its growth; address issues related to the company's expansion into products and services for China's growing high net worth (HNW) population, including questions about the suitability of its products and its vulnerability to bad debt losses and a potential leveling off of the growth in China's economy; and adjust to new and more intensive regulatory oversight. What should Tang do to position CreditEase so that it can continue to fulfill its mission of making financial products and services available to millions of underserved Chinese while branching out into other, potentially riskier lines of business and ensuring continuing compliance with evolving laws and regulations? Will its rapid growth be sustainable?
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/315027-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 315-028
Legal Hazards of Product Launches
This note considers common legal pitfalls associated with the launch of new products. A series of questions are presented that companies should keep in mind when poised to launch a product. Questions about advertising, pricing, and branding are explored, as well as who in a product's supply chain might bear liability if the product is faulty.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/315028-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 415-066
JPMorgan Chase: Tapping an Overlooked Talent Pool
By the spring of 2014, the pilot had come to an end for JPMorgan Chase's ReEntry Program, a program designed for women coming back to the workforce after a period of time away. Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of Asset Management, and her team had to evaluate whether or not the program had been successful. Participants and managers both had provided some anecdotal positive feedback on the program, but Erdoes wanted to know how they could truly calculate the return on investment (ROI). Wall Street was a data-driven place to work, and if they wanted to create something that would survive beyond the tenure of the firm's existing leadership, they had to prove that the time, money, and energy invested by the firm was worth it. Calculating ROI would also help them to prepare for subsequent runs of the program and determine in what ways, if any, they should differ from the pilot. What factors should Erdoes and her team consider when calculating ROI? How can they position the program to ensure its survival?
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/415066-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 815-088
John D. Rockefeller: The Richest Man in the World
By the late nineteenth century, scale and managerial hierarchies had extended to several major industrial sectors of the U.S. economy. Although the precise mechanisms often varied, this process mainly involved horizontal integration, some form of legal or administrative centralization followed by vertical integration. Standard Oil represents the canonical example of this development. Standard Oil's history is also fully intertwined with the life and career of John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), one of the most remarkable individuals to define the landscape of American business. Rockefeller's estimated $1.4 billion net worth in 1937 was equivalent to 1.5% of U.S. GDP. According to this metric he was (and still is) the richest individual in American business and economic history.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/815088-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 515-062
Mental Health and the American Workplace
Mental illness has been described as an epidemic affecting nearly a quarter of all Americans in their lifetimes, often during their most productive working years. Managers who can design organizations that maximize mental health can minimize these risks and boost productivity. This note serves as a guide to understanding mental health in the American workplace. It provides an overview of the most prevalent mental health conditions among employees and the aspects of the work environment that can exacerbate the issues. It also looks at the costs, both to individuals and to companies, of treating or not treating mental health conditions and outlines the legal framework, insurance plans, and managerial responses to accommodating employees who struggle with mental health issues. To engage students in a role-play, the note includes a vignette featuring a struggling CEO.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/515062-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 315-069
The Stories Behind the Numbers
No abstract available.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/315069-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 214-107
Affordable Housing and Low Income Housing Tax Credits in the United States
This background note explores the basic themes surrounding the government's approach to providing housing: namely its shift from a supplier and builder of affordable housing to an approach that focuses on demand-side solutions and indirect subsidies to private developers. In addition to a shift from supply-based to demand-based solutions, there is an on-going debate about whether to provide people-based or place-based solutions. The above shift and debate reflects the troubles encountered in the original urban renewal efforts, and the desire today to provide affordable housing that is close to jobs and transportation, mixed-income, and contextual to its surrounding development.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/214107-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 715-011
Colombia and the Economic Premium of Peace
Colombia, the fastest growing country in Latin America, continues to struggle with productivity. Both labor productivity and total factor productivity have been low for the past decade, despite economic growth of 4.7% annually. Many factors contribute-everything from infrastructure, to banking, to informality. President Santos, one year into his second term, is well aware of these difficulties and has put in place new policies to mitigate them. His focus, however, is on peace negotiations with the FARC-a possible settlement of the 50-year struggle which itself would significantly impact productivity.
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/715011-PDF-ENG
- Harvard Business School Case 714-030
Janet Yellen and the Bernanke Fed
The unelected Federal Reserve Chairman exerts exceptional influence over the U.S., in fact global, economy. As Janet Yellen prepared to take over the position, she would look back on Chairman Bernanke's tenure during the Great Recession. During that time, Bernanke was attacked by critics from both the left and the right for guiding monetary policy into dangerous territory. Their criticisms echoed arguments Bernanke himself had made with regard to past downturns in Japan and Europe. Were the critics right, or was the Bernanke Fed charting a wise middle course?
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https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/714030-PDF-ENG