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New research on business operations from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the digital supply chain, supply chain strategy, outsourcing and evolving skillsets.
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Addressing Racial Discrimination on Airbnb

Re: Michael Luca

For years, Airbnb gave hosts extensive discretion to accept or reject a guest after seeing little more than a name and a picture, believing that eliminating anonymity was the best way for the company to build trust. However, the apartment rental platform failed to track or account for the possibility that this could facilitate discrimination. After research published by Professor Michael Luca and others provided evidence that Black hosts received less in rent than hosts of other races and showed signs of discrimination against guests with African American sounding names, the company had to decide what to do. In the case, “Racial Discrimination on Airbnb,” Luca discusses his research and explores the implication for Airbnb and other platform companies. Should they change the design of the platform to reduce discrimination? And what’s the best way to measure the success of any changes?

How Much More Would Holiday Shoppers Pay to Wear Something Rare?

by Michael Blanding

Economic worries will make pricing strategy even more critical this holiday season. Research by Chiara Farronato reveals the value that hip consumers see in hard-to-find products. Are companies simply making too many goods?

Chewy.com’s Make-or-Break Logistics Dilemma

Re: Jeffrey F. Rayport

In late 2013, Ryan Cohen, cofounder and then-CEO of online pet products retailer Chewy.com, was facing a decision that could determine his company’s future. Should he stay with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) for all of Chewy.com’s e-commerce fulfillment or take that function in house? Cohen was convinced that achieving scale would be essential to making the business work and he worried that the company’s current 3PL may not be able to scale with Chewy.com’s projected growth or maintain the company’s performance standards for service quality and fulfillment. But neither he nor his cofounders had any experience managing logistics, and the company’s board members were pressuring him to leave order fulfillment to the 3PL. They worried that any changes could destabilize the existing 3PL relationship and endanger the viability of the fast-growing business. What should Cohen do? Senior Lecturer Jeffrey Rayport discusses the options in his case, “Chewy.com (A).”

When Design Enables Discrimination: Learning from Anti-Asian Bias on Airbnb

by Pamela Reynolds

Airbnb bookings dropped 12 percent more for hosts with Asian names than other hosts during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, says research by Michael Luca. Could better design deter bias, particularly during times of crisis?

Can Amazon Remake Health Care?

by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

Amazon has disrupted everything from grocery shopping to cloud computing, but can it transform health care with its One Medical acquisition? Amitabh Chandra discusses company's track record in health care and the challenges it might face.

Can the Foodservice Distribution Industry Recover from the Pandemic?

Re: David E. Bell

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, US Foods struggled, as restaurant and school closures reduced demand for foodservice distribution. The situation improved after the return of indoor dining and in-person learning, but an industry-wide shortage of truck drivers and warehouse staff hampered the foodservice distributor’s post-pandemic recovery. That left CEO Pietro Satriano to determine the best strategy to attract and retain essential workers, even as he was tasked with expanding the wholesale grocery store chain (CHEF’STORE) that US Foods launched during the pandemic lockdown. Harvard Business School Professor David E. Bell explores how post-pandemic supply chain challenges continue to affect the foodservice distribution industry in his case, “US Foods: Driving Post-Pandemic Success?”

Have We Seen the Peak of Just-in-Time Inventory Management?

by James Heskett

Toyota and other companies have harnessed just-in-time inventory management to cut logistics costs and boost service. That is, until COVID-19 roiled global supply chains. Will we ever get back to the days of tighter inventory control? asks James Heskett. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Why Companies Raise Their Prices: Because They Can

by Rachel Layne

Markups on household items started climbing years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies have realized just how much consumers will pay for the brands they love, says research by Alexander MacKay. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

Navigating the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ in Professional Services

by Ashish Nanda

Not all companies need to scale. Ashish Nanda explores a crucial choice that leaders of professional services firms face as their organizations grow. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

How Racial Bias Taints Customer Service: Evidence from 6,000 Hotels

by Pamela Reynolds

Hotel concierges provide better service to white customers than Black and Asian customers, says research by Alexandra Feldberg and colleague. They offer three strategies to help companies detect bias on the front line. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Why Are Prices So High Right Now—and Will They Ever Return to Normal?

by Rachel Layne

And when will sold-out products return to store shelves? The answers aren't so straightforward. Research by Alberto Cavallo probes the complex interplay of product shortages, prices, and inflation. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

How to Get Companies to Make Investments That Benefit Everyone

by Lane Lambert

Want more organizations to give back to their communities? Frank Nagle says the success of open source software offers an innovative—and unexpected—roadmap for social good. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Fed Up Workers and Supply Woes: What's Next for Dollar Stores?

by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

Willy Shih discusses how higher costs, shipping delays, and worker shortages are putting the dollar store business model to the test ahead of the critical holiday shopping season. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Should Global Beer Company Molson Coors Dive into the Cannabis Beverages Business?

Re: Derek C. M. van Bever

In March 2019, Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter considered a request to pull forward $65 million to build a facility in Canada to produce cannabis beverages. This request was not part of the original plan to test the waters with a few products in a small geography to see if there was a viable market opportunity, given that there was no legal market yet. It's this change in direction that gives Hunter pause. Should he approve the request, or push the team back to the original, more conservative plan? Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever and Steve Kaufman discuss balancing exploitation versus exploration inside this global brewing company in the case, "Beyond Beer: Brewing Innovation at Molson Coors." Open for comment; 0 Comments.

For Entrepreneurs, Blown Deadlines Can Crush Big Ideas

by Rachel Layne

After a successful launch, entrepreneurs struggle to anticipate the complexities of product upgrades, says research by Andy Wu and Aticus Peterson. They offer three tips to help startups avoid disastrous delays. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Can Fabric Waste Become Fashion’s Resource?

by Geoffrey Jones and Shelly Xu

COVID-19 worsened the textile waste crisis. Now it's time for the fashion industry to address this spiraling problem, say Geoffrey Jones and Shelly Xu. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

Kidney Exchange: An Operations Perspective

by Itai Ashlagi and Alvin E. Roth

Kidney exchange has become a standard form of transplantation in the United States and a few other countries in part because of exchange process improvements. However, much more needs to be done: There are still many more patients in need of transplants than can be saved.

India’s Food Supply Chain During the Pandemic

by Matt Lowe, G V Nadhanael, and Benjamin N. Roth

Policy makers in the developing world face important tradeoffs in reacting to a pandemic. The quick and complete recovery of India’s food supply chain suggests that strict lockdown measures at the onset of pandemics need not cause long-term economic damage.

Where the Cloud Rests: The Economic Geography of Data Centers

by Shane Greenstein and Tommy Pan Fang

This study quantifies how data center managers make a trade-off between the setup and operational costs of running a facility and capturing local demand.

Centrino and the Restructuring of Wi-Fi Supply

by Roberto Fontana and Shane Greenstein

This study examines Intel’s launch of Centrino and interprets it as a platform leader’s attempt to restructure a supply chain.