Publications

July 2022
Case

A Soul and a Service: North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance

By: Tom Nicholas and John Masko

The North Carolina Mutual and Provident Association (the Mutual) was founded in 1898 as a for-profit entity selling life insurance catering to the Black community. The Mutual was entering a field crowded with established White-owned competitors that largely refused to... View Details

Keywords: Black Entrepreneurs; Insurance; History; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Entrepreneurship; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development Strategy; Insurance Industry; United States

2011
Working Paper

The Organization of Firms Across Countries

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

We argue that social capital as proxied by trust increases aggregate productivity by affecting the organization of firms. To do this we collect new data on the decentralization of investment, hiring, production, and sales decisions from Corporate Headquarters to local... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Performance Productivity; Trust; Asia; Europe; United States

Read Now

26 Jun 2013
News

How a Trivial Pursuit Became a Significant Case

Bob Reiss Photo courtesy of Bob Reiss It was 1983, and Bob Reiss (MBA 1956) was looking for a new game to play. A Brooklyn native and former basketball star at Columbia University who had become a successful entrepreneur in the toy-and-game industry, Reiss was... View Details

Keywords: Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

25 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 25

MaterialsHarvard Business School Executive Education: Balancing Online and Offline Marketing John Deighton and Leora KornfeldHarvard Business School Case 510-091 How does a small business set its online... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Webvan: Groceries on the Internet

By: John A. Deighton and Kayla Bakshi

What are the prospects for grocery shopping on the Web? This case invites a comparison of seven business models, with particular emphasis on Webvan. Why does the investment community value Webvan at $7.8 billion after less than six months of operating experience, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Experience and Expertise; Investment; Information; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Cognition and Thinking; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; Service Industry

01 Sep 2023
News

Made in Italy

Sustainable Production (led by professors Willy Shih and Michael Toffel) Ghana: Doing Business Across Africa (led by Senior Lecturer Hakeem Belo-Osagie) Israel: Startups and Venture Capital (led View Details

Keywords: April White

Web

Marketing Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

of Cross-Channel Elasticities over Time” ( Journal of Marketing , 2012) with Thomas Steenburgh, John Deighton, and Mary Caravella. Julian De Freitas : Recipient of an Anderson Fund Grant from Harvard University in 2020. Julian De Freitas... View Details

Web

Augustine Heard & Co.: Building a Family Business - A Chronicle of the China Trade

chance of success than at home. — John Heard reflecting on his first trip to China in 1841, from his diary, 1891 4 Augustine Heard & Co.: Building a Family Business Augustine Heard grew up in Ipswich, Massachusetts, surrounded View Details

14 Aug 2016
News

Limit the chances of being lied to in negotiations

July 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

Gillette Indonesia

By: John A. Quelch

The country manager of Gillette Indonesia is reviewing his 1996 marketing plan and considering whether the pace of market development and mix of product sales can be impacted by the level and type of Gillette expenditures in the market. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Forecasting and Prediction; Product Marketing; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Indonesia

15 Jul 2013
News

How Your Company Can Help Build Tomorrow’s Sustainable Cities

26 Jul 2016
News

The Science Behind Why You Don’t Save (And What To Do About It)

April 2008
Supplement

Ti-Tech (B)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and John T. Gourville

This case concerns the selection and scheduling of orders by a small industrial titanium fabricator that recently has been plagued by poor deliveries and a lack of capacity. At the time of the case, Ti-Tech must decide which of four orders to accept, with capacity... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Production; Performance Capacity; Marketing Strategy; Bids and Bidding; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States

Web

Invention of the Polarizer - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Posthumous Lecture by R.W. Wood," Rowland-Wood Symposium, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, November 21, 1975, in Mary McCann, ed., Edwin H. Land's Essays , vol. 3, Color Vision (Springfield,... View Details

Web

Dean Nitin Nohria | About

School through periods of innovation and challenges. December 2020 Steps Down as Dean of Harvard Business School After agreeing to stay on through the end of 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Dean Nohria was succeeded as Dean by... View Details

August 2002
Case

Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 3

By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas

How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months--from Siebel's initial... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Decision Choices and Conditions; Competitive Strategy; Customer Relationship Management; Product Marketing; Information Technology Industry

July 2014 (Revised February 2015)
Teaching Note

Johnson & Johnson: The Promotion of Wellness

By: John A. Quelch

The chief medical officer of Johnson & Johnson (J & J) is reflecting on forty years of sustained efforts by the company to improve employee wellness. The case reviews J & J's multiple wellness initiatives and efforts to measure their effectiveness. It also invites... View Details

Keywords: Empoylee Wellness Programs; Human Resource Management; Corporate Management Strategy; Employee Engagement; Human Resources; Management; Organizations; Performance; Personal Development and Career; Programs; Strategy; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; North and Central America; Europe; Asia

13 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 13

PublicationsAdding Bricks to Clicks: Predicting the Patterns of Cross-Channel Elasticities over Time Authors:Jill Avery, Thomas J. Steenburgh, John Deighton, and Mary Caravella Publication:Journal of Marketing (forthcoming) Abstract In... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2016 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Legendary Entertainment: Moneyball for Motion Pictures

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Legendary, the Hollywood studio responsible for such hits as Jurassic World and The Dark Knight, decides to take the marketing of its films in-house, and to market them fan-by-fan. Owner Thomas Tull acquires the big-data-in-sports firm started by Matt Marolda and... View Details

Keywords: ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Marketing Strategy; Decision Making; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry