Harvard Business Review

MAY 9, 2013

In every part of the industry, the open innovation model is changing the economics of advertising by switching significant fixed costs to variable costs and sourcing creative from more relevant and, many times, lower cost sources. Advertising Innovation Marketing'

Advertising 14

Advertising Variable Costs Media Fixed Costs 14

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

During an economic crisis, the exaggerated decline in orders can be especially damaging to upstream suppliers that have high fixed costs tied to production assets. It reached a peak on June 12 and then proceeded to lose over 40% of its value by the end of August despite efforts by the Chinese government to prop up the market.

Sales 15

Sales Sales Operations Fixed Costs 15

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 18, 2013

Historically, larger scale has offered hospital systems a number of advantages, including increased referral volumes, better access to capital, stronger pricing power, and classic cost economies. For instance, larger scale has enabled many hospital systems to lower their per-patient operating costs significantly.

Hospitality 9

Hospitality Scaling Revenue Fixed Costs 9

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

These businesses have powerful disruptive potential because they can provide consulting at a fraction of the cost of traditional models, largely because they do not need to carry expensive fixed costs like recruiting, training, consultant “beach” time, and expensive real estate.

Real Estate 12

Real Estate Small Business Fixed Costs Recruitment 12

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 28, 2014

Disruption is an explanation of how small nimble companies unseat industry giants – but it is simultaneously a story of market expansion and the provision of ever cheaper and more accessible goods and services. Others, with expectations that people needed variety, refused to play Ford’s scale game (or failed trying).

Fixed Costs 9

Fixed Costs Software Transportation Scaling 9

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 6, 2016

In many industries, the capital required to build an asset of minimum efficient scale is growing. For instance, the cost of building and equipping a leading-edge semiconductor fab has climbed to $7 billion, as the technology required to make more advanced chips is getting more complex.

Assets 12

Assets Operations Insurance Telecommunications 12

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

They’ve organized, scaled, and automated the myriad administrative details involved in such a way as to minimize the barrier to entry and limit the potential for error, miscommunication, or unwarranted variation. On any given day in America, 40% of hospital beds lie empty, their enormous fixed costs weighing heavily on the system.

Hospitality 12

Hospitality Administration Transportation Fixed Costs 12

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 5, 2017

It could be because “software development typically requires large upfront fixed costs,” meaning that firms that are already pretty large are the ones who can afford to invest in it. First, they argue, intangibles often involve considerable upfront investment, then are cheaper to scale.

Software 9

Software Fixed Costs Scaling Revenue 9

Harvard Business Review

JULY 27, 2017

And the fixed cost from “touchpoint-to-pilot” are immense. For example, in the case of a $100 million CVC fund, which can close five to 10 investments a year, these costs typically range from $1 to $2 million per startup — not including the administrative and variable costs of the pilot itself.

Fixed Costs 8

Fixed Costs Variable Costs Administration Media 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 29, 2013

A fascinating business dynamic will unfold as health care providers in the United States shift from a reimbursement system that has historically paid for procedures performed to one that rewards population health — providing the total care of a community at a fixed cost and improving its members overall health.

Revenue 9

Revenue Nonprofit Operations Hospitality 9

Zenefits

JULY 31, 2022

Some common strategies to start this process include ensuring your pricing is consistent with the current market conditions or increasing efficiency through process improvement. Keep your pricing consistent with current market conditions. If costs rise faster than revenue, you may have a difficult financial situation.

Manager 52

Manager Onboarding Banking Process Improvement 52

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 16, 2011

Secondly, expecting a business to be profitable quickly forces it to keep its fixed costs low. Because a business's cost structure determines which customers it finds profitable, keeping these fixed costs low preserves strategic options for the company when it is choosing which customers to target.

Fixed Costs 22

Fixed Costs Metrics Scaling Marketing 22

Chief Executive

JULY 25, 2022

It’s hard to tell what’s leadership prowess and what’s luck when you’re in a rising market. And if we do that, we can’t help but grow revenues per fixed cost. It’s economies of scale at Vanguard and Amazon. You’re not 20-mile marching, you’re just more growth big, more growth big. The left side of the flywheel is fuel.

Balance Sheet 98

Balance Sheet Assets Engineering Operations 98

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

A virtuous cycle is baked into their strategy: use these resources to achieve scale in ways that help achieve even more scale. Greater scale bestows greater competitive advantage. As they pursue their quest for greater scale, they are poised to bring the scale dynamics of digital businesses to offline activities.

Advertising 16

Advertising Variable Costs Scaling Media 16

Harvard Business Review

MAY 21, 2015

Over the past two decades, there have been many attempts to reform the electric utility market. Consider how Uber opened up the transportation market. In both cases, the two goods (car and real estate) are given value-creating potential through a process of market fragmentation and consumer empowerment.

Energy 15

Energy Transportation Real Estate Software 15

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 24, 2013

When through our venture investment arm we seek to evaluate the profitability prospects of a young business, we look to see whether its team can credibly answer two questions: How will you charge enough for a transaction to cover the costs related to producing and delivering a good? For a long time, Amazon.com fit in this category.

Fixed Costs 11

Fixed Costs Revenue Marketing Scaling 11

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 7, 2015

market has witnessed a substantial rise of activist investors. is a top performing S&P 500 listed company whose two-year total return outperformed the market by over 60%. However, free cash flow per share remained impressive at both companies, and fixed cost ratios remained somewhat intact. Example: Jolly Inc.

Balance Sheet 12

Balance Sheet Cash Flow Revenue Reorganization 12

AIHR

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

As the job market evolves, companies are experimenting with various employment types to build more flexible staffing models. One reason for this is the cost of slow hiring. However, top candidates are usually off the market in just 10 days. On average, it takes 41 days to fill a vacancy.

Insurance 98

Insurance Staffing Compensation Benefits 98