Publications

August 1985
Case

CML Group, Inc.: Going Public (C)

By: William A. Sahlman

Contains a description of some issues confronting management of CML Group. They have decided to go public, have selected an underwriting team, and must make final decisions about the size, composition and pricing of the issue. Because stock prices have fallen since the... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Going Public; Problems and Challenges; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

October 2016
Case

Malenti Strings: Intrapreneurship within FLG, Inc.

By: David A. Garvin and Rachel Gordon

This case follows Jenica Fletcher as she rebuilds her company's guitar strings division from the ground up. Convinced that she could turn the division around if given complete independence from corporate headquarters, Fletcher relocated the group, rebranded it as... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Management Practices and Processes; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Consumer Products Industry

2009
Chapter

Creating Superior Customer Value in a Connected World

By: Ranjay Gulati

"In the early twenty-first century, customers are more demanding than ever, and difficult economic times make them all the more so. As customers tighten their wallets and increase their demands, firms face greater pressure to provide superior customer value. Reducing... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Consumer Behavior; Product Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Value Creation

October 2000
Background Note

Creating Value

By: Rohit Deshpande

Creating value involves understanding consumers/customers and bringing this knowledge into the organization. Market-driven and market-driving strategies are contrasted in the context of new product development. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Product Development; Value Creation

01 Jun 2002
News

Steven Murch: Philanthropist-in-Training

Murch: from high-tech success to hands-on development (photo courtesy of Steven Murch) Murch: from high-tech success to hands-on development (photo courtesy of Steven Murch) Another in a series View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings; Construction of Buildings

July 2018
Case

LIXIL Group Corporation: Building a New Company in an Old Industry

By: Boris Groysberg and Akiko Kanno

In the spring of 2018, Kinya Seto, president and CEO of LIXIL Group Corporation, a major housing and building products and services company, called a meeting at the company’s head office in central Tokyo to discuss how to implement the new three-year strategic plan.... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Leadership And Change Management; Consolidation; Change Management; Leadership; Global Strategy; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Japan

January 1996
Case

Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center (Abridged)

Describes a manager's role in developing a staff group responsible for enhancing the efficiency of Xerox's worldwide logistics and inventory management systems. Illustrates a range of management strategies for upward and lateral influence in a complex organizational... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

22 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 22

the mechanism of industry migration proposed in models like Duranton (2007). Shaping Online Consumer Choice by Partitioning the Web Authors:Jolie M. Martin and Michael I. Norton Publication:Psychology and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 May 2015
Blog Post

A Summer Internship in General Management

FIELD courses and wanted to build my understanding of the discipline. How did your summer internship change what you wanted to do in the long term? My summer internship opened my eyes up to the rising importance View Details

10 Sep 2014
Blog Post

A Summer Reflection

Looking back on my summer internship at Walmart, I have four main takeaways about the company: Walmart cares A LOT about maintaining the culture that Sam Walton initially put in place. It’s actively and constantly managed- 4 core values, 10 rules View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail; Consumer Products / Retail

September 1992 (Revised November 1993)
Supplement

Germany in the 1990s: Managing Reunification, Supplement Two

By: George C. Lodge

Designed to be handed out after discussion of Germany in the 1990s: Managing Reunification and its Supplement. View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Economy; Situation or Environment; Inflation and Deflation; Interest Rates; Central Banking; Integration; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Europe

26 Jul 2017
Blog Post

“Uncertainty Makes It More Interesting.”

Born in Monterey, Felipe Delgado (MBA 2018), knows Mexico well. With three years of pre-MBA banking experience, and a stint with a renewable energy startup, Felipe has a firm grip on the “corporate side” as well. But retail products? And... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

November 1998 (Revised November 1999)
Case

British Sugar in China

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Srinivas Sunder

British Sugar, the first major diversification of Associated British Foods, is entering China as part of the global sweetener, starch, and ingredient strategy. View Details

Keywords: Trade; Food; Globalization; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Diversification; Consumer Products Industry; China; United Kingdom

Find at Harvard

01 Dec 2014
News

Making Big Data Fashionable

When it comes to marketing next season’s trends, the brightest fashion brains rely on more than just last year’s numbers. They also tap into their own innate, if unscientific, intuition—what Trendalytics’ Karen Moon (MBA 2008) calls “the art View Details

Keywords: Christine Lejeune; fashion; Market Research, Photo, Translation, Veterinary and Other Services; Professional Services

January 2010
Case

DR Corporation

By: Roy D. Shapiro

DR Corporation is a manufacturer of major appliances. The traffic manager is facing a decision of selecting a carrier for the inbound movement of motors. The primary case decisions are 1) what factors are critical to the decision; 2) how to calculate the tradeoffs... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Managerial Roles; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Truck Transportation; Consumer Products Industry

22 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Working With Organizations That Recruit at HBS: An Interview with Mary-Kate Johnson

What is your favorite part about working with employers? I get asked a lot of the same questions throughout the day but what I love most about my job is that, in many cases, the answers will be different. There is not one right answer for... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

April 1996 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Jedi Bank

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Major Insurance Co. is a $15 billion insurance company that is an active, multi-family mortgage leader. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that also includes Sunshine Villas, Silver Lane Apartments, and Jason Bosworth. View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Interest Rates; Financing and Loans; Property; Negotiation Tactics; Management; Real Estate Industry; Banking Industry

29 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

'Green Bonds' May Be Our Best Bet for Environmental Damage Control

Municipalities have been selling bonds to pay for public works projects—fire stations, parking garages,sewage treatment systems—for 200 years. It’s only in the past decade or so, however, that they’ve been selling them with an extra perk: helping the environment. In... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy; Utilities; Construction; Green Technology; Public Administration

May 1997
Teaching Note

Module Overview: Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains: Matching Supply and Demand TN

By: Ananth Raman

Prepares students to configure operating and distribution systems to provide product (or service) supply to match customer demand. Begins by introducing students to the supply-demand mismatch problem, documenting its significance in many companies, and suggesting ways... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Working Capital; Distribution; Cost of Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Supply Chain Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Supply and Industry