Publications

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

standard for workers in construction, farming, and other professions that require strenuous outdoor labor. SMI built a successful national sales base from its headquarters in Massachusetts by establishing channels with large department... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Retail

August 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Supplement

Facelift at Olay (B)

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Olivia Hull

This supplement to Facelift at Olay (A) explains the major steps Procter & Gamble’s skincare brand Olay took to reverse several years of declining sales. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Demographics; Age; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Digital Marketing; Transformation; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States; Ohio

February 2024
Teaching Note

UGG Steps into the Metaverse

By: Shunyuan Zhang and Sunil Gupta

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 523-013. View Details

Keywords: Metaverse; Digital Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Internet and the Web; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

28 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 28

of Search Engine Services: Channel Interdependence in Search Engine Results By: Edelman, Benjamin, and Zhenyu Lai Abstract—The authors examine prominent placement of search engines' own services and effects on users' choice of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

04 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 4

These new establishments were concentrated in industries where women entrepreneurs have been traditionally active and the entry was mainly found among household-based establishments. We measure and discuss the extent to which this heightened entrepreneurship is due to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

06 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Conducting Layoffs: ’Necessary Evils’ at Work

unrealistic. Instead, we found that successful managers are able to channel heartfelt emotion into gestures that victims appreciate (such as following up with them afterward), and to find ways to restore themselves, physically and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2023
Case

DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome (Abridged)

By: Ayelet Israeli

DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals. After a first year of trial rollout in... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Nutrition; Market Entry and Exit; Product Marketing; Distribution Channels

November 2009
Case

METRO Cash & Carry in China, 2008

By: Tarun Khanna

In April 2008, the country head for METRO AG's Cash & Carry wholesaling operations is considering the most appropriate model for expansion in China, where METRO has operated stores for small business professionals for eight years. In addition, METRO is actively... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Emerging Markets; Distribution Channels; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Retail Industry; China

June 1995
Case

Polaroid Corporation: European Distribution System

By: Janice H. Hammond and Afroze A Mohammed

Describes distribution operations in Polaroid Europe. In the late 1980s, Polaroid senior management in the United States proposed moving from a system of 12 decentralized warehouses to a centralized distribution system in which all inventory for European retailers... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Operations; Risk Management; Distribution Channels; Logistics; Transition; Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Industry Structures; Consumer Products Industry; Europe; European Union; United States

October 2011 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Moda Operandi: A New Style of Fashion Retail

By: Mukti Khaire

Moda Operandi is a startup in the fashion industry. The firm organizes online trunk shows of designers' collections, allowing its members to directly order clothes from the collections shown in Fashion Weeks all over the world. Moda Operandi conveys the preorders to... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Internet and the Web; Design; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

29 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 29

Self-Service Distribution Channels: Evidence from Customer Behavior in an Online Banking Channel Authors:Dennis Campbell and Frances X. Frei Publication:Management Science (forthcoming) Abstract This paper uses the context of online... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2000 (Revised September 2005)
Case

BMG Entertainment

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Gerrit Meier

As dramatic changes in technology and customer tastes roil the music industry, the top executives of BMG Entertainment, one of the world's largest record companies, must decide how to organize for digital distribution of music. This case includes a brief history of the... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Competitive Strategy; Distribution Channels; Organizational Structure; Technological Innovation; Industry Structures; Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry