Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,929)
- Faculty Publications (205)
- April 2010 (Revised October 2010)
- Case
Vale: Global Expansion in the Challenging World of Mining
By: Tarun Khanna, Aldo Musacchio and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho
In 2009 the management of Vale, a Brazilian diversified mining company and the largest iron ore producer in the world, was under pressure from at least two fronts. First, the emergence of China as the most important consumer of iron ore in the last few years had... View Details
- March – April 2010
- Article
The Need for Ideological Consciousness
By: George C. Lodge
Every so often in American history a crisis comes along that requires Americans to inspect cherished assumptions and to act in a way that many find ideologically repulsive. Although our leaders insist that such actions are pragmatic-the only sensible way to deal with... View Details
- 2010
- Book
Unilever'i Yenilemek: Dönüşüm ve Gelenek [Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition]
By: Geoffrey Jones
Unilever's brands can now be found in one out of every two households in the world. This arresting and impressive fact shows the scope and scale of this unique global corporation. Geoffrey Jones, a leading business historian from the Harvard Business School, takes us... View Details
- February 2010 (Revised June 2022)
- Case
Dollarama Inc.
By: Andre F. Perold
Dollarama is the leading operator of dollar stores in Canada. The firm performed extraordinarily well after a leveraged buyout in 2004 and recently executed a highly successful IPO. The company sources its goods primarily from Asia. It has strong brand recognition and... View Details
- 2009
- Chapter
Creating Superior Customer Value in a Connected World
By: Ranjay Gulati
"In the early twenty-first century, customers are more demanding than ever, and difficult economic times make them all the more so. As customers tighten their wallets and increase their demands, firms face greater pressure to provide superior customer value. Reducing... View Details
- Article
Households' Willingness to Pay for 'Green' Goods: Evidence from Patagonia's Introduction of Organic Cotton Sportswear
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Michael Crooke, Forest L. Reinhardt and Vishal Vasishth
To shed light on individuals' willingness to pay for "green" goods (i.e., goods that are supposed to have lower adverse environmental impacts either in production or in use), we study data from the introduction by Patagonia, Inc., of organic cotton sportswear in the... View Details
- July – August 2008
- Article
Should You Invest in the Long Tail?
By: Anita Elberse
The blockbuster strategy is a time-honored approach, particularly in media and entertainment. When space is limited on store shelves and in traditional distribution channels, producers tend to focus on a few likely best sellers, hoping that one or two big hits will... View Details
- June 2008 (Revised April 2013)
- Case
Bernd Beetz: Creating the New Coty
By: Geoffrey Jones and David Kiron
Considers the creation of the world's largest fragrance company by Bernd Beetz, appointed chief executive of Coty Inc. in 2001. In 1990 the German consumer goods company Benkiser began acquiring fragrance and cosmetics brands with the intent of developing a beauty... View Details
- November 2006
- Article
Find Your Sweet Spot
By: Rob Markey, Gerard Du Toit and James Allen
Charged with extending their unit’s product lines and boosting top-line growth over the next three years, product managers at one global consumer goods company wanted to identify the most attractive customer segments to target and how best to reach them. So they turned... View Details
- December 2007 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
Queensland Sugar Limited
By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman
Until industry deregulation in 2006, Queensland Sugar ran Australia's single desk marketing system for raw sugar exports. Since deregulation, eight of the ten Queensland sugar millers have elected to continue collective marketing through QSL. However, several millers... View Details
- December 2007 (Revised September 2011)
- Case
Global Knowledge Management at Danone (A)
By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bertrand Moingeon, Vincent Marie Dessain and Ane Damgaard Jensen
This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
The 'Fees → Savings' Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta
By: Michael I. Norton and Leonard Lee
Many consumers have had the experience of entering discount membership clubs to make a few purchases, only to leave with enough pasta to outlast a nuclear winter. We suggest that the presence of membership fees can lead consumers to infer a "fees → savings" link,... View Details
- August 2006
- Case
Dreyer's Slow Churned(TM) Ice Cream
By: Noel H. Watson, Steven C. Wheelwright and Brian DeLacey
Examines capacity forecasting and planning in a complex new product introduction scenario. The introduction at Dreyer's, a large dairy snack manufacturer, involves not only a new product but a new manufacturing process and product package, thus implying a significant... View Details
- July 2005 (Revised April 2006)
- Case
Idea Village (A)
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Dan Heath
Andy Khubani, the CEO of Idea Village, a company that markets to consumers via direct-response TV ads, must decide whether to launch a campaign touting a hair removal product for women. Explains the direct-response industry and contrasts its methodology with... View Details
- February 2005 (Revised November 2012)
- Case
Chuck's Wagon Inc.
By: Paul W. Marshall and Derek Lewis
This case describes the experiences of an HBS student as he takes on the challege of transitioning from an intern to a president at a small consumer packaged goods firm in Southern Texas. This HBS student is confronted with the opportunity to perform an operational and... View Details
- December 2004 (Revised February 2005)
- Case
Exporting Spanish Olive Oil to the U.S. Market
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Hal Hogan and Miguel Angel Llano Irusta
Spain is the largest olive oil producer, yet it sells much of its product to Italy, where it is repackaged as Italian olive oil. The decision maker in the case wants to develop Spain as the olive oil leader not just in production but in quality and value added. He... View Details
Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Goods and Commodities; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Brands and Branding; Decisions; Customization and Personalization; Product Design; Product Development; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Spain; United States; Italy
- July 2004 (Revised October 2018)
- Case
Opium and Entrepreneurship in the Nineteenth Century
By: Geoffrey Jones, Elisabeth Koll and Alexis Gendron
This case examines the role of Jardine Matheson, a trading company founded by two Scottish merchants, in the opium trade between India and China during the nineteenth century. The two Opium Wars fought between Western powers and China, which sought to stop opium... View Details
- February 2004 (Revised September 2006)
- Case
Apax Partners and Xerium S.A.
By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon
In 2002, Apax Partners had to decide whether to accept a less-than-perfect offer for one of its portfolio companies or to refinance it. This company, a maker of paper industry consumables with a global presence, had been purchased in 1999 and performed extremely well... View Details
- October 2003 (Revised February 2004)
- Case
Cape Wind
By: John T. Gourville and Kerry Herman
Cape Wind has proposed placing a 170-tower wind farm, with each tower more than 400-feet tall, in Nantucket Sound. Not surprisingly, public reaction is mixed. Some view the wind farm as clean, renewable energy. Others view it as an eyesore and a desecration of a valued... View Details
- September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
- Case
Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (A)
By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman
Alessio Alessi, head of distribution at family-run Alessi S.p.A., is facing price and brand confusion among customers and is considering reorganizing Alessi's worldwide network of distributors. By describing the challenges facing Alessi, an internationally acclaimed... View Details