Publications

22 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 22, 2019

support. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55515 January–February 2019 Harvard Business Review What Does Your Corporate Brand Stand For? By: Greyser, Stephen A., and Mats Urde Abstract— While most firms are... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

Jordan brand and served as president of the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team? Probably not, says HBS Professor Francesca Gino, who coauthored the case with HBS Senior Lecturer Hise Gibson and HBS Professor Frances X. Frei, as well as... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

April 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Gucci Group: Freedom within the Framework

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Elena Corsi and Vincent Marie Dessain

Gucci Group's CEO had to decide if his decentralized management style was the most effective philosophy in an economic downturn. The sharing of customer information across units and its use in the creative process are key initiatives analyzed in the case. CEO Robert... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Globalized Firms and Management; Knowledge Sharing; Leadership; Management Style; Management Systems; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Web

Japan - Global

development in 1993 by tiny studio Wizards of the Coast, to Wizards’ acquisition by toy giant Hasbro in 1999, to its evolution into a billion-dollar brand in 2023, executives and game designers at Wizards had tweaked Magic’s winning... View Details

October 2017 (Revised August 2020)
Case

RB

By: Joshua Margolis, Vincent Dessain and Jerome Lenhardt

As 2016 was approaching its end, Rakesh Kapoor, CEO of RB, one of the world’s major fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, envisioned the prospect of a major acquisition that would add a line of health-related products that promised growth in the developing... View Details

Keywords: Organization Behavior; Corporate Culture; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Growth; Geographic Development; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; France

April 2017
Case

Imprimis (A)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karen Elterman and Marc Appel

This case examines the strategic choices and evolving business model of Imprimis Pharmaceuticals from the perspective of CEO Mark Baum. The (A) case provides a brief history of the company and of the compounding business, outlining the challenges faced by Imprimis in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Healthcare; Drug Compounding; Pharmaceuticals; Compounding; Drug Development; Decision-making; Mark Baum; Imprimis; Small Business; Decisions; Cost vs Benefits; Business Strategy; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

June 1998 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Egghead.com

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Egghead Software, an entrenched traditional chain retailer specializing in computer software and peripherals, had established a nationwide chain of mall and shopping center stores and a well-organized national brand. In early 1998, management made a highly unusual, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry

June 2012
Article

The Economic Value of Celebrity Endorsements

By: Anita Elberse and Jeroen Verleun

What is the payoff to enlisting celebrity endorsers? Although effects on stock returns are relatively well documented, little is known about any impact on sales—arguably a metric of more direct importance to advertising practitioners. In this study of athlete... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Value; Advertising; Sales; Brands and Branding; Decisions; Economics; Marketing Strategy; Investment Return

Find at Harvard

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05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Presentation of Self in the Information Age

Keywords: by John A. Deighton; Advertising

February 2021
Case

Threadless: The Renewal of an Online Community

By: Shane Greenstein, Karim Lakhani and Christian Godwin

Threadless, an online apparel company and artist community which Jake Nickell founded in 2000, continued to maintain its status as a top company in the online apparel industry during its second decade. From 2010 to 2020, Threadless continued to operate its... View Details

2011
Working Paper

Managing Political Risk in Global Business: Beiersdorf 1914-1990

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski

This working paper examines corporate strategies of political risk management during the twentieth century. It focuses especially on Beiersdorf, a German-based pharmaceutical and skin care company. During World War I the expropriation of its brands and trademarks... View Details

Keywords: History; Risk Management; Business History; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Intellectual Property; Cooperation; Business and Government Relations; Germany

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March 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Massive Incorporated (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Clark Gilbert and Victoria Winston

How do you go to market with a brand new product in a new industry? How does a business develop an opportunity and then adapt its strategy to ensure success? Who are the early adopters and how does a business work with them? Katherine Hays, chief operating office at... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Product Launch; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Advertising Industry

October 2004 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Making China Beautiful: Shiseido and the China Market

By: Geoffrey G. Jones, Akiko Kanno and Masako Egawa

Describes the multinational growth of Shiseido, the world's fourth-largest cosmetics company, with a focus on its strategy in China since 1981. Explores the challenges facing firms in the globalization of a culturally specific industry such as cosmetics. The Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Competition; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Japan