Publications

Research Summary

Moving Beyond Direct-to-Consumer

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Changing consumer behaviors have redefined what it means to be direct to consumer ("DTC"). What once began online a decade ago as a distribution and disintermediation strategy has since evolved into a multifaceted approach for the modern-day brand.

The... View Details

September 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Kaspi.kz: Building Trust through Innovation

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Fares Khrais and Marilyn Morgan Westner

This case is written to help students explore how companies can maintain and develop trust while innovating, how to identify and respond effectively to warning signs that they may not be as trusted as they believe, and how being trusted can aid in expanding and growing... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Trust; Technology Adoption; Innovation and Invention; Banking Industry

May 2018
Case

Inditex: 2018

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2018, Inditex, based in Spain, was the largest specialist fashion retailer in the world, generating sales of $31.5 billion in 2017 from a portfolio of eight retail brands selling through a total of 7,475 stores located in 96 countries and from websites in 49... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Succession; IPO; Competition; Initial Public Offering; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Succession; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry

Teaching Interest

Digital Marketing Strategy

By: John A. Deighton

When the tools of marketing change, strategies change too. The focus of this course is on firms trying to navigate the transition from offline to online market-making and strategy development. Our concern is primarily with corporations that have products and... View Details

Web

Historical Data & Sources - Business History

Harvard Business Review 90 (July/August 2012): 141-45 Natura Annual Reports, 2007-2013 Map created by John Regan, MBA 2016 Download Data Set in Excel Pampers Brand Sales by Country Courtesy of Proctor & Gamble Map created by John Regan,... View Details

Web

Marketing Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

with Magie Cheng for the 2021 Workshop on Information Systems and Economics (WISE) Best Student Paper Award for “Reputation Burning: Analyzing the Impact of Brand Sponsorship on Social Influencers.” 2020 Eva Ascarza : Selected as a... View Details

25 Apr 2024
News

Origin Stories

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. Where we come from and how we were raised has a profound effect on who we become. The recipients of this year’s Alumni Achievement Award grew up... View Details

Web

Networking Opportunities - Recruiting

Hire Talent Networking Opportunities Hire Talent Networking Opportunities Engage with Student Clubs Connect with 50 career-related clubs to target your ideal candidates and build your brand on campus. Connect with MBA Students Learn about... View Details

Profile

Jiaojun Wang

enthralled by the best food I have ever tasted, and the brand was no other than “KFC.” Now that KFC is ubiquitous in China, I never forget the simple joy it brought to me and my family. Who is one person from your life that you admire the... View Details

22 Dec 2020
Blog Post

The Forward Fellowship Convinced Me That I Belong at HBS

grad school. I had accepted an offer to move to Miami and work at Restaurant Brands International (Burger King, Tim Hortons, Popeyes) in their Leadership Development Program. While I was honored and excited about the opportunity, I... View Details

22 Sep 2022
News

The Beauty Guide

Courtesy Michelle Freyre Courtesy Michelle Freyre When Michelle Freyre (MBA 1997) was a brand manager at Neutrogena, Michael McNamara, global president of the beauty brand at the time, asked what she wanted... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon

Web

The Challenge of Color - The High Art of Photographic Advertising - Baker Library | Bloomberg Center

artists in the 1920s and ’30s the ability to achieve extraordinary nuances in gradations of tone, texture, and saturation. Related industries responded, and by the end of the 1920s photographers could choose from a broad range of paper View Details

April 2004 (Revised September 2004)
Case

IKEA Invades America

By: Youngme E. Moon

In 2002, the IKEA Group is the world's top furniture retailer, with 154 stores worldwide. In the United States, IKEA operates 14 stores, all of which have been enormously popular despite their self-service requirements. The company's goal is to have 50 stores in... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Goals and Objectives; Competitive Advantage; Globalized Firms and Management; Retail Industry; United States

09 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Identify Great Customers from Their First Purchase

Testing data on 13,000 shoppers To show how the model works, Ascarza and Padilla fed it some customer data supplied by an international retailer that sells its own brand of beauty products exclusively in its stores and on its website.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail; Service

September 2020
Case

Blackstone: Crocs Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina, John D. Dionne and Terrence Shu

This case follows Prakash Melwani (HBS MBA '86), CIO of Blackstone's Private Equity Group, and his teams’ investment in the footwear company Crocs. Instead of a traditional secondary offering, Crocs opted for a unique deal structure by taking Blackstone's cash in a... View Details

Keywords: Private Investment In Public Equity; PIPE Deal; Investment; Brands and Branding; Strategy

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

expansion. Entering a new market is not cheap: QT's past experience has shown that it takes up to five years or about 50 stores before the brand begins to stand out in consumers' minds. A QuikTrip store costs an average of $4.2 million to... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

February 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Catherine Zhang

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm, started in January 2006, is a rapidly growing law firm in China's burgeoning legal services market. In addition to the usual challenges facing all professional service firms (picking and retaining talent and building a desired client... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Legal Services Industry; China