Publications

18 Apr 2014
HBS Seminar

Pian Shu, Harvard Business School

December 2006 (Revised December 2008)
Case

Wireless Generation

Reflecting on an innovative joint venture that his company executed with a public school district in 2004, the CEO of Wireless Generation, a five-year-old, privately held educational technology company, is contemplating the company's product development strategy in... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Education; Government Legislation; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Business and Government Relations; Education Industry

July 2013 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Carl Zeiss and Free-Form Production: Can We See Clearly Yet?

By: Willy Shih

The prescription eyeglass lens industry was complicated and highly fragmented, and even though many of the tools and techniques employed have been relatively unchanged over the last century, there was still a surprising pace of innovation. An aging population around... View Details

Keywords: History; Demand and Consumers; Disruptive Innovation; Vertical Integration; Theory; Technology Adoption; Health Industry

September 2003 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Direvo Biotech AG

Describes the financing and growth decisions facing Direvo, a young German biotech firm with a customer/partner that wants to become an investor. Also discusses the business model for Direvo's directed evolution technology, with applications in both industrial enzymes... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decisions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Value; Business Startups; Biotechnology Industry; Germany

22 Apr 2020
News

Oil Prices to Remain Low, Sen Says

15 Sep 2016
News

Competing Against Luck

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

August 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Background Note

Competency-Destroying Technology Transitions: Why the Transition to Digital Is Particularly Challenging

By: Willy Shih

Some technology transitions are exceedingly difficult for incumbent firms to execute. The bankruptcy filing by the Eastman Kodak Company highlighted the difficulty companies faced when their core business transitioned from an analog to a digital world. Kodak's business... View Details

February 2012
Teaching Note

Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth (Brief Case)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Laura Winig

Teaching Note for Product #4409 View Details

Keywords: International Business; Organizational Change; Multinational Corporations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; International Finance; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy

20 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Getting the Marketing Mix Right

Businesses rely on solid marketing strategies to boost sales—yet the tools used to evaluate these strategies often provide misleading results, leaving managers with the inability to accurately measure how they can get the best bang for... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

May 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Nanda Home: Preparing for Life after Clocky

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

Gauri Nanda, the inventor of Clocky, the alarm clock that rolls off the bed stand and forces its owner to find it, has to make critical decisions regarding the future of her nascent company. As sales of Clocky show signs of declining, she must decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Management; Electronics Industry

February 2010 (Revised March 2016)
Background Note

Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Break-even Analysis

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery

Marketing managers are often called upon to make recommendations for or against programs that cost money to implement. Before expenditures are made, managers want to be sure that they will be getting a return on their investment. One way of assessing this is by... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Investment Return; Spending; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Mathematical Methods

September 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Dove and Real Beauty: Building a Brand with Purpose

By: Mark R. Kramer, Myriam Sidibe and Gunjan Veda

Unilever subsidiary Dove soap became a "brand with a purpose" and created shared value when the company decided to launch a Campaign for Real Beauty to combat the artificial media-driven stereotype of female beauty that causes appearance anxiety in women and girls... View Details

Keywords: Stereotype; Body Image; Female; Self-Esteem; Brands and Branding; Mission and Purpose; Advertising Campaigns; Gender; Resource Allocation

April 2012
Case

Introducing iSnack 2.0: The New Vegemite

By: Anat Keinan, Francis Farrelly and Michael Beverland

Vegemite is an iconic Australian breakfast spread and is often seen as a quintessential Australian product. This case focuses on Kraft's decision to revitalize brand performance through the introduction of a brand extension. Drawing on extensive social media analysis... View Details

Keywords: Food; Product Launch; Conflict and Resolution; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

October 2015
Case

Clearwater Seafoods

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Clearwater sought to market value-added shellfish products in a traditionally commodities based industry, while facing supply uncertainties and regulatory, environmental, and foreign exchange challenges. Clearwater harvested lobsters, clams, scallops, shrimp, and other... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Profit; Goods and Commodities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Product Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Canada

September 2008 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Traversing a Career Path: Pat Fili-Krushel (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Deborah M. Kolb and Cailin B. Hammer

Pat Fili-Krushel, CEO and president of WebMD and past president of ABC Network, contemplates accepting Richard Parson's offer to become the first executive vice president of administration at AOL Time Warner. Accepting this position would be a move back into mainstream... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Job Offer; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Tactics; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence; Media and Broadcasting Industry

October 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Boston Beer Company: Samuel Adams, Brewmaster Leading a Revolution

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mollie H. Carter

Boston Beer Co. revolutionized the beer industry by identifying and responding to a new consumer segment. Using the excess capacity in the brewing industry to establish contract brewing arrangements and an extremely capable sales force, the company opened the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Leadership; Product Marketing; Product Development; Production; Quality; Salesforce Management; Segmentation; Food and Beverage Industry