Publications

15 Aug 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Ryan Serhant: How to Manage Your Time for Happiness

Keywords: Re: Ashley V. Whillans; Real Estate

July–August 2018
Article

From Niche to Mainstream (HBR Case Study)

By: Elie Ofek

A large Japanese snack maker faces challenges in marketing products in the US. Several options for jumpstarting sales are presented. View Details

Keywords: New Product Marketing; Retail Trade; Private Label; International Expansion; Cultural Branding; Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG); Product Marketing; Expansion; Global Range; Brands and Branding; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

Register to Read

January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Supplement

Uría Menéndez (B) (Abridged)

By: Robert G. Eccles

This one-page case, to be handed out in class, briefly lists the three major strategic options facing Uria Menendez. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Law; Geographic Location; Expansion; Strategic Planning; Legal Services Industry; Iberian Peninsula

November 2017
Case

Poppy: A Modern Village for Childcare

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Jeff Huizinga

In 2017, management at Poppy, which matched families that required occasional childcare with thoroughly vetted caregivers, was formulating plans for the Seattle-based seed-stage startup’s next phase of expansion. One option was to grow using the same business model... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Market Design; Multi-Sided Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Expansion; United States

Career Coach

Jonathan Lee

Jonathan is a former Aviation Officer in the United States Army who enjoys helping others with their military transition in addition to helping others with real-estate based recruiting. His professional experiences include 8 years in the United States Army as an Apache... View Details

Career Coach

Jane Xiao

Jane wants to help students explore opportunities available to those interested in the healthcare payor / care delivery and digital health spaces. Having worked in multiple roles in this space, Jane can provide insights into how to find the right job for you, how this... View Details

25 Oct 2006
Op-Ed

Fixing Executive Options: The Veil of Ignorance

The latest corporate governance crisis is buried in the details of executive compensation contracts. Don't like the timing of the stock option grant you got or the strike price of the contract? No worries! It turns out that this is... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai & Joshua Margolis

January 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Oscar Mayer: Strategic Marketing Planning

By: John A. Quelch

The marketing director of Oscar Mayer faces a series of strategic marketing options regarding established and new products, including budget and capacity allocation decisions. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

June 2007 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany

By: Geoffrey Jones, Grace Ballor and Adrian Brown

Considers the strategy of U.S.-owned IBM, then a manufacturer of punch cards, in Nazi Germany before 1937. Opens with IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson meeting Adolf Hitler in his capacity as President of the International Chamber of Commerce. IBM had acquired a German company... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Values and Beliefs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Business and Government Relations; Germany; United States

Article

The Feeling of Not Knowing It All

By: Haiyang Yang, Ziv Carmon, Dan Ariely and Michael I. Norton

How do consumers assess their mastery of knowledge they have learned? We explore this question by investigating a common knowledge consumption situation: encountering opportunities for further learning. We argue and show that such opportunities can trigger a... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Consumption; Consumption Of Learning; Judgment Of Knowledge; Feeling Ofknowing; Confidence In Knowledge; WYSIATI; FONKIA; Knowledge Acquisition; Learning; Perception

Read Now

October 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Weight Watchers Mexico

By: David J. Arnold, Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

Weight Watchers must decide how to react to the Mexican financial crisis. Options include exiting, reducing investment, or continuing previous operations. View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Restructuring; Volatility; Economy; Investment; Marketing; Problems and Challenges; Mexico

Video

Tiffany Niver, MBA 2012

Career Coach

Henry Tao

Before HBS, Henry worked in multiple countries, including the US, Germany, Singapore, and China. Having started his career in an operational role at a global company and then later transitioned into investing, Henry can provide insights into career pivoting through the... View Details

05 Jun 2019
News

If Your Customers Don't Care What You Charge, What Should You Charge?

Article

Choice Architects Reveal a Bias Toward Positivity and Certainty

By: David P. Daniels and Julian Zlatev

Biases influence important decisions, but little is known about whether and how individuals try to exploit others’ biases in strategic interactions. Choice architects—that is, people who present choices to others—must often decide between presenting choice sets with... View Details

Keywords: Nudges; Biases; Strategic Decision Making; Social Influence; Choice Architects; Choice Architecture; Reflection Effect; Certainty Effect; Loss Aversion; Decision Making; Risk and Uncertainty; Power and Influence

October 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

STMicroelectronics N.V., 2003 Convertible Bond Offering

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Focuses on the valuation of a complex option embedded in a convertible debenture with a negative yield to maturity. View Details

Keywords: Bonds; Valuation

April 1998
Case

Cephalon, Inc.

By: Peter Tufano

In early 1997, Cephalon, awaited an FDA panel's decision on whether its drug, Myotrophin, would be approved. If the drug was approved, the firm might need substantial additional funds to commercialize as well as to buy back rights to it (which had been sold earlier to... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Financing and Loans; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States