Publications

December 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Supplement

eBay Partner Network — slide supplement

By: Benjamin Edelman

eBay considers adjustments to the structure and rules of its affiliate marketing program, eBay Partner Network (ePN). In particular, eBay reevaluates affiliate compensation structure, the role of bonuses for especially productive affiliates, and the overall rationale... View Details

Keywords: History; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Internet and the Web; Markets; Marketing Channels; Negotiation Participants; Marketing; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry

Thomas Graeber is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Negotiations in the MBA elective curriculum.

As an empirical behavioral and experimental... View Details

23 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

How to Brand a Next-Generation Product

notice a new name.” Like Apple, most consumer-centric companies deal with the dilemma of how to brand the next- generation of an existing product. Product upgrades make up the majority of corporate research and development activity.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

September 2008 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Columbus Tubing: Steel is Real

By: Daniel C. Snow, Gary P. Pisano, Elena Corsi and Gudrun Urfalino Kristinsdottir

Columbus Tubing must choose to improve an old technology (steel) or to develop a new material (carbon fiber). The decision must take into account a complicated context: increased demand for the "old" steel products made in Italy, increasing power of carbon fiber... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Resource Allocation; Production; Research and Development; Information Technology; Bicycle Transportation; Asia; Italy

October 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Calgene, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and John T. Gourville

In 1993, Calgene is on the verge of introducing the world's first genetically engineered plant product--a tomato will taste better and stay fresh longer. At the same time, it is using biotechnology to produce improved plant products for the cottonseed and the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Launch; Innovation Strategy; Social Issues; Production; Problems and Challenges; Biotechnology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

November 1996 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Rogers Communications, Inc.: The Wave

By: John A. Deighton, Karsten Voermann and Reginal Gilyard

Rogers Communications, Inc., Canada's largest cable television provider, is deciding how it should respond to developments that appear to portend the convergence of its industry with the computing and telecommunications industries. In particular, it is investigating... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Innovation and Invention; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Consumer Behavior; Technology Adoption; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

August 2009 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Genzyme's CSR Dilemma: How to Play its HAND

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Tarun Khanna and Prithwiraj Choudhury

Genzyme, a global biotechnology company, launches a program to develop therapies for neglected diseases (e.g., malaria, TB), giving away the intellectual property. This case focuses on the decision of which diseases, which partnerships, and which markets should... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Intellectual Property; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry

August 1996
Case

ThermoLase

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

John Hansen, CEO of ThermoLase, must develop a plan of action to exploit the company's new development-stage revolutionary hair removal technology with negligible revenues and a $500 million market capitalization. This nascent public Thermo Electron spin out company... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Plan; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

14 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Pay Attention To Your ‘Extreme Consumers’

What do Porsche fanatics, a video game hater, and a person who cooked two weeks' worth of meals in a rice cooker have in common? They are all "extreme consumers"—those whose tastes are so out there that mainstream market researchers tend... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

March 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Buckingham Park

By: Arthur I Segel and Joshua A. Katzin

In September, 2004, Stephen Lebowitz, President of CBL, a $6 billion publicly traded shopping mall real estate investment trust (REIT) with over 70 million square feet, is considering acquiring 170 acres for a new retail development at a racetrack site in Southern New... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Debt Securities; Investment; Real Estate Industry; New Hampshire

November 1983 (Revised October 1989)
Case

Procter & Gamble Europe: Vizir Launch

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes P&G's expansion in Europe, including the development of a strong country subsidiary management, responsive to local market differences. The launch of a new product presents strategic and organizational challenges as P&G considers making this their first... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Trade; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Emerging Markets; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges; Expansion; Europe

April 2014
Case

Don Valentine and Sequoia Capital

By: Felda Hardymon, Tom Nicholas and Liz Kind

Don Valentine participated in the beginnings of two significant milestones: the birth of the silicon chip and the development of the venture capital industry. From humble beginnings, Valentine became a legendary salesman at Fairchild Semiconductor and National... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Personal Development and Career; Semiconductor Industry

January 2010 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Knight the King: The Founding of Nike

By: Noam Wasserman and Kyle Anderson

It had taken Phil Knight 16 long years to build Nike into the number one athletic-shoe company in the country. When Knight had first conceived of the company for an MBA class project, Adidas had had more than 80% market share, but Knight's marketing approach had... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Apparel and Accessories Industry

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

Consider, Moderna. When the company created the COVID vaccine, it took market share from bigger companies like Pfizer. Companies that successfully pursue an innovation strategy, says Karp, focus beyond just one product. “They are very... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Replika AI: Monetizing a Chatbot

By: Julian De Freitas and Nicole Tempest Keller

In early 2018, Eugenia Kuyda, co-founder and CEO of San Francisco-based chatbot Replika AI, was deciding how to monetize the app she had built. Launched in 2017, Replika was a consumer AI “companion app” developed by a team of AI software engineers originally based in... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Subscriber Models; TAM; Monetization Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Product Positioning; Health Disorders; Technology Industry

December 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Improving Melanoma Screening: MELA Sciences

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Kevin Schulman and Frédéric Dijols

MELA is a start-up medical device company looking to develop a novel technology to help physicians diagnose a deadly skin cancer, melanoma. The case reviews the FDA medical device development process, the development path pursued by MELA, and the regulatory and... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare Industry; Health Care; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Health Industry; United States

September 1999 (Revised October 2006)
Case

MarketSoft

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Diana S. Gardner

Greg Erman and Nancy Benovich-Gilby have assembled a team and selected a market for the launch of a high-potential venture based on using an Internet-based service to manage the flow of sales leads between principals and their distribution channel partners. Their... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Planning; Sales; Management; Internet; Web Services Industry