Publications

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Article

Control, Performance, and Knowledge Transfers in Large Multinationals: Unilever in the United States, 1945-1980

By: G. Jones

This article considers key issues relating to the organization and performance of large multinational firms in the post-Second World War period. Although foreign direct investment is defined by ownership and control, in practice the nature of that "control" is far from... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Governance Controls; Performance; Business or Company Management; Ownership; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

February 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Apax Partners and Xerium S.A.

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

In 2002, Apax Partners had to decide whether to accept a less-than-perfect offer for one of its portfolio companies or to refinance it. This company, a maker of paper industry consumables with a global presence, had been purchased in 1999 and performed extremely well... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business Exit or Shutdown; Borrowing and Debt; Investment; Cash Flow; Pulp and Paper Industry

July–August 2017
Article

Why Outlet Stores Exist: Averting Cannibalization in Product Line Extensions

By: Donald Ngwe

Outlet stores are a large and growing component of many firms' retailing strategies, particularly in the fashion industry. Outlet stores offer attractive prices in locations far from central shopping districts. The main perspectives on why outlet stores exist can be... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Industrial Organization; Outlet Stores; Price Discrimination; Retail; Channel Management; Luxury; Product Marketing; Price; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry

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12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2015
Case

Unilever: Combatting Global Food Waste

By: David F. Drake, Janice H. Hammond and Matthew G. Preble

The global consumer goods company Unilever was on pace to hit a number of aggressive targets by 2020 as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Project, including a goal to halve the waste associated with the disposal of its products. Unilever's chief supply chain... View Details

20 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Bargain Hunters Beware: A Store's 'Original Price' Might Not Be After All

PeopleImages Sale! Even the word is enough to send a flutter through the hearts of certain shoppers, who salivate in anticipation of scoring a discount off a product’s original price. Few consumers stop to think, however, that the only... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising; Retail

20 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

How to be a Customer

at all. Here are five behaviors that, in the eyes of vendors, make for a good customer: Be Demanding. Make sure the vendor knows you have other options, that you're going to seek out more than one bid. Ask for references; a View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

Article

Households' Willingness to Pay for 'Green' Goods: Evidence from Patagonia's Introduction of Organic Cotton Sportswear

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Michael Crooke, Forest L. Reinhardt and Vishal Vasishth

To shed light on individuals' willingness to pay for "green" goods (i.e., goods that are supposed to have lower adverse environmental impacts either in production or in use), we study data from the introduction by Patagonia, Inc., of organic cotton sportswear in the... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Consumer Behavior; Environmental Sustainability; Consumer Products Industry

15 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

I’ll Have the Ice Cream Soon and the Vegetables Later: Decreasing Impatience over Time in Online Grocery Orders

Keywords: by Todd Rogers, Katherine L. Milkman & Max H. Bazerman; Food & Beverage

17 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 17, 2007

Working PapersPlatform Envelopment Authors:Thomas Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker, and Marshall Van Alstyne Abstract Due to network effects and switching costs, platform providers often become entrenched. To dislodge them, entrants generally must offer revolutionary... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Jun 2014
What Do You Think?

Does Internet Technology Threaten Brand Loyalty?

choice, why would you have to be brand loyal?" Consumer loyalty, he continued, "will vary and fluctuate on a technological continuum of innovation/change (loyal one day and maybe not the next)." Based on personal... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

04 Sep 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Bruno Jullien

February 28, 2014
Article

A Better Route to Tech Standards

By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole

Technological standards are ubiquitous, whether they allow consumers to communicate seamlessly across wireless networks or manufacturers to procure goods across complex global supply chains. These standards—shaped by standard-setting organizations (SSOs) and... View Details

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October 2021
Case

Diversifying P&G's Supplier Base (A)

By: Kris Ferreira, Kym Lew Nelson, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Sarah Mehta

In February 2003, P&G hosted two meetings—one with its largest woman- and minority-owned suppliers and one with its largest non-minority-owned suppliers. Attendees in each meeting heard the same message: P&G was keen to grow its commitment to inclusive supply chains,... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Business Organization; Family Business; Joint Ventures; Demographics; Diversity; Ethnicity; Race; Ethics; Fairness; Ownership; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Ohio

1985
Working Paper

Sequential Innovation and Market Structure

By: Jerry R. Green and Jean-Jacques Laffont

This paper concerns the introduction of a sequence of new, higher-quality durable products in a market in which there already exists a lower-quality substitute. The product has the further attribute that a real resource cost is incurred at the time a higher-quality... View Details

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25 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Has Occupational Licensing Outlived Its Usefulness?

that a professional is licensed does not affect the decision of whom to hire.” It turns out that consumers know very little about occupational licensing requirements for the services they need. In a sense, View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Service

June 2022
Case

The SAH Group: The Time is Right

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, cofounder and CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019,... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Expansion; Business Divisions; Product Positioning; Brands and Branding; Competition; Presentations; Consumer Products Industry; Tunisia; Kenya

20 Feb 2017
Research & Ideas

Having No Life is the New Aspirational Lifestyle

an aspirational lifestyle. “The new conspicuous consumption is about saying, I am the scarce resource, and therefore I am valuable” The finding suggests a new way for marketers to sell their products and services to consumers by... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September–October 2017
Article

The Surprising Power of Online Experiments: Getting the Most Out of A/B and Other Controlled Tests

By: Ron Kohavi and Stefan Thomke

In the fast-moving digital world, even experts have a hard time assessing new ideas. Case in point: At Bing, a small headline change an employee proposed was deemed a low priority and shelved for months until one engineer decided to do a quick online controlled... View Details

Keywords: Experiments; A/B Testing; Research; Consumer Behavior