Publications

Find at Harvard

June 2014
Teaching Note

Lit Motors

By: Thomas Eisenmann

In mid-2012 Lit Motors had created both engineering and design prototypes and conducted initial customer tests on less than $750,000 of investment. Lit Motors' founder, Daniel Kim, had started the company to design and manufacture an efficient electric 2-wheeled... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Prototyping; Electric Vehicle; Urban Vehicle; Customer Test; Gyroscope; Entrepreneurs; Development Stage Enterprises; Creativity; Disruptive Technologies; Consumer Surveys; Market Segmentation; Manufacturing Costs; Entrepreneurship; Auto Industry; United States; California

October 2014
Supplement

Quiet Logistics (B)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This two-part case focuses on how to identify and manage strategic uncertainties in an innovative, entrepreneurial start-up company. In the (A) case, students learn about Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment company working with high-end apparel retailers such as... View Details

January 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

onefinestay: Building a Luxury Experience in the Sharing Economy

By: Jill Avery, Anat Keinan and Liz Kind

onefinestay was a two-sided marketplace that offered high-end home rentals to travelers who sought a more authentic and local experience than a typical upscale hotel might provide. After five years of rapid growth, it was time to do a comprehensive analysis of the... View Details

June 2013
Supplement

Elasto Therm: The Next Step (Video Supplement)

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Video Supplement for Elasto Therm: The Next Step (HBS Case #813030). View Details

August 2018
Case

Digital Transformation at Brazilian Retailer Magazine Luiza

By: Thales S. Teixeira, Leandro A. Guissoni and Tania Modesto Veludo-de-Oliveira

By late 2017, Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza's CEO was convinced that the company could significantly grow sales and accomplish its aspirations of digital transformation. What was unclear in his mind was whether he should act as a tech company and grow as fast as... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Ecommerce; Retailing; Brazil; Bricks And Mortar; Pricing; Customer Lifetime Value; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Retail Industry; Brazil

December 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Growth Hacking at Bazaart (A)

By: Jeffrey Bussgang and Matthew G. Preble

The four founding members of Bazaart—a young Israeli company whose sole product was its eponymous mobile application (app) which allowed users to create collages from photographs and other images—face an important strategic decision in June 2014. Since its founding... View Details

Keywords: Growth Hacking; Customer Acquisition; Startup Marketing; Startup; Startup Nation; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Customers; Marketing; Social Marketing; Fashion Industry; Technology Industry; Israel

March 2020
Teaching Note

onefinestay: Building a Luxury Experience in the Sharing Economy

By: Jill Avery and Anat Keinan

onefinestay was a two-sided marketplace that offered high-end home rentals to travelers who sought a more authentic and local experience than a typical upscale hotel might provide. After five years of rapid growth, it was time to do a comprehensive analysis of the... View Details

June 2013
Teaching Note

Elasto Therm: The Next Step

By: Jim Sharpe

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Organizations; Entrepreneurs; Careers; Empowerment; Job Design; Sales Channels; Sales Force Management; Pricing Strategy; Pricing; Pricing Policies; Employee Empowerment; Customer Focus; Entrepreneurship; Salesforce Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Rubber Industry; United States

August 2017 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Hilti (A): Fleet Management?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

This case explores the strategic decision-making process of premium power tools manufacturer Hilti in 1999, when the company was considering implementing a fleet management system in the construction industry. Fleet management would involve a shift from selling power... View Details

July 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Hidrovias do Brasil: Navigating Unchartered Waters

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Since its founding eight years earlier, Hidrovias do Brasil (“Hidrovias”), an integrated logistics provider serving corporate customers exporting products from South America via the Atlantic Ocean, had grown to 900 employees and $253 million in annual revenues.... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Private Equity; Brazil; Entrepreneurial Organizations; Operation Management; General Management; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Growth and Development; Leadership; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Transportation; Human Capital; Strategy; Emerging Markets; Brazil

July 2016 (Revised October 2016)
Case

Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing Vignettes

By: Mark Roberge and Frank Cespedes

Which sales candidate is a startup’s ideal first hire? What marketing channels are best to invest in? How aggressively should an executive team align sales with customer success? Early stage founders, sales leaders, and marketing executives often face one, and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Entrepreneurial Sales; Business Startups; Talent; Talent Management; Growth Management; Marketing Communications; Social Marketing; Salesforce Management; Pricing; Sales; Marketing

Research Summary

Overview

By: Kris Johnson Ferreira

Professor Ferreira's research primarily focuses on how retailers can use algorithms to make better revenue management decisions, including pricing, product display, and assortment planning. In the retail industry, anticipating consumer demand is arguably one of the... View Details

Keywords: E-commerce; Analytics; Revenue Management; Pricing; Assortment Planning; Field Experiments; Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Retail Industry

December 2014 (Revised August 2024)
Case

HomeAway: Organizing the Vacation Rental Industry

By: Rory McDonald, Feng Zhu and Cheng Gao

In less than 10 years, cofounders Brian Sharples and Carl Shepherd had transformed HomeAway from just another Internet startup into the world's leading vacation-rental marketplace—a global online platform that links customers seeking vacation-home rentals to the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Innovation; Technology; Acquisitions; Operations Management; Digital Platforms; Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Disruption; Accommodations Industry

January 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Godiva Japan: Think Local, Scale Global

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Esel Cekin and Akiko Kanno

This case tracks Jerome Chouchan’s strategies and execution for a successful turnaround of Godiva Japan’s operations, which were experiencing a decline in sales when he became the managing director of the company in 2010. Through various initiatives and innovations,... View Details

August 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Background Note

Brand Portfolio Strategy and Brand Architecture

By: Jill Avery

While companies choose to brand their products and services in many different ways, there are some central tenets that help define an optimal brand portfolio and associated brand architecture. Brand portfolio strategy involves the design, deployment, and management of... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Portfolio; Brand Extension; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Brand Architecture; Consumer Behavior; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy

November 2015
Case

Rubicon Global

By: William A. Sahlman and Hunter Ashmore

The case describes Rubicon Global, a startup that aimed to disrupt the waste management industry. The company started with a bold idea: create a cloud-based, full-service waste management company providing low-cost, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Rubicon; Rubicon Global; Waste Management; Startups; Disruptive Technology; Technological Innovation; Disruptive Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Wastes and Waste Processing; Business Startups; Corporate Finance; Service Industry

February 2015 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Delhaize Group: Developing Leaders

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Delhaize Group, the Belgian-based global food retailer, was focused on competing in the food retailing industry by developing leading positions in key markets via localized retailing strategies. Delhaize was committed to offering its customers superior value while... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Organizational Alignment; Talent Management; Leadership Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Belgium

January 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Trouble at Tessei

By: Ethan Bernstein and Ryan W. Buell

In 2005, Teruo Yabe is asked to revive Tessei, the 669-person JR-East subsidiary responsible for cleaning its Shinkansen ("bullet") trains. Operational mistakes, customer complaints, safety issues, and employee turnover are at or near all-time highs, even as the... View Details

Keywords: Service Management; Employee Engagement; Employee Motivation; Leadership And Managing People; Quality Improvement; Efficiency; Japan; Operational Transparency; Employee Coordination; Transparency; Leadership; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Employees; Quality; Transportation Industry; Japan