Publications

March 2020 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Levi Strauss (A): A Pioneer Lost in the Wilderness

By: Joshua Margolis, Ashish Nanda, Margaret Cross, Imran Manji and Bismah Rahmat

In 2011, newly appointed CEO Chip Bergh needed to urgently turn around the iconic but floundering denim apparel firm, Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) Famous for its blue jeans, LS&Co. had suffered a decline in revenue of 29% from $6.8 billion in 1997 to $4.8 billion in... View Details

Keywords: Turnarounds; Transformation; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decision Making; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Product Marketing; Apparel and Accessories Industry

12 Jun 2012
First Look

First Look: June 12

partners, entitling them to provide their own ideas, often on company channels. They can create content and act as brand ambassadors, thought leaders, and storytellers. Intentionality enables leaders and employees to derive strategically... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 22

supplement: http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/310047-PDF-ENG VF Brands: Global Supply Chain Strategy Gary P. Pisano and Pamela AdamsHarvard Business School Case 610-022 This case examines VF Brands global supply chain strategy.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

SuperCorp: Values as Guidance System

greater contact across the value chain and especially with end users builds the company brand and triggers opportunities for innovation. Rationale for thinking long-term. Sustainability is more than a buzzword for vanguard companies, and... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

12 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

Investors Have More Than Money to Offer Entrepreneurs

Beyond offering advice on digital marketing and leveraging social media, your investors may also be helpful with brand awareness and offer PR opportunities. Perhaps they are sponsoring an event where you or a key member of your team can... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

October 2019
Case

GRIT Fitness

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Olivia Hull

In December 2018, GRIT Fitness was a growing chain of boutique fitness studios offering a variety of workout classes, including weightlifting, high intensity interval training, and cardio dance. With 400 members and three Dallas studios, CEO Brittani Rettig believed... View Details

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

The Impact of the Entry of Biosimilars: Evidence from Europe By: Scott Morton, Fiona, Ariel Dora Stern, and Scott Stern Abstract—Biologics represent a substantial and growing share of the U.S. drug market. Traditional “small molecule” generics quickly erode the price... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jul 2016
First Look

July 19, 2016

boutiques and department stores)? Should it open more physical stores or focus on e-commerce? Where should the Group focus its international expansion? How could it best leverage its operating platform to drive the profitability of its brands? Should it acquire... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The ‘Mother of Fair Trade’ was an Unabashed Price Protectionist

was beginning to take hold in the 1920s. Chains and department stores opened across America, using volume sales to offer lower prices on a variety of goods. Gleason encountered competition from these chain stores as well as “pineboards,” discount outlets that sold... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail; Health; Legal Services

25 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

New Learning at American Home Products

sales to Johnson & Johnson's Tylenol); Dristan and other cold and allergy-relief medicines; and drugs for asthma, hemorrhoids, and other ills. Canned and packaged goods brought in 11 percent, including such brands as Chef Boyardee... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Chemical; Health; Manufacturing; Pharmaceutical

26 Jan 2004
Research & Ideas

What Developing-World Companies Teach Us About Innovation

wrinkles—one with vitamin A, another with vitamin C, and another with vitamin D. All sell based on brand recognition. Chronos incorporates the three vitamins into one cream. Why? Because all the vitamins are especially beneficial for... View Details

Keywords: by Donald N. Sull, Alejandro Ruelas-Gossi & Martin Escobari

April 2010
Teaching Note

New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (TN)

By: Robert S. Huckman

Teaching Note for [606094]. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Production; Strategy; Performance Improvement; Brands and Branding; Networks; Management; Consolidation; Competition; Opportunities; Apparel and Accessories Industry

June 2006
Teaching Note

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2006 (TN)

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching Note to 706447. View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Competitive Strategy; Revenue; Price; Brands and Branding; Emerging Markets; Growth and Development; Profit; Performance; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

February 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

TikTok in 2020: Super App or Supernova?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dan Maher and Dan O'Brien

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around a simple idea – helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. In less than a decade, it had become one of the world’s most valuable private companies, with investors... View Details

February 2022
Case

Launching the Social

By: Tom Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Tom Quinn

This case features the same protagonists as Ample Hills Creamery (HBS No. 822-073), and can be used as a continuation of that story.
Ample Hills Creamery started in 2010 as a temporary ice cream pushcart in Brooklyn, New York City. On the strength of inventive... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Small Business; Brands and Branding; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion