Publications

December 2019
Case

Walmart Ecommerce (A): Picking up the Pace

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case is an abridged version (part 1 of 2) of "Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?" HBS Case No. 720-370. The (A) case discusses Walmart's early forays into online retail, as well as improvements made under Doug McMillon beginning in 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; Bentonville; Arkansas; United States

04 Sep 2019
News

Action Plan: A New ’Cue

sketch out Pork & Mindy’s—the fast-casual barbecue brand that will have 65 locations in the West and Midwest by the end of 2019, along with a growing retail line. On that white board Corsello identified three obstacles. Two were... View Details

Keywords: April White

12 Nov 2024
HBS Case

Inside One Startup's Journey to Break Down Hiring (and Funding) Barriers

building to 1,500 employers, 146,000 job seekers, and $3 million in investments from Midwest- and Rocky Mountain-based venture capital firms. Blakeman’s product should have a natural path to expansion by helping companies meet diversity,... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Employment

15 Nov 2013
News

25 Influential Women in the Boston Tech Community

Keywords: e-commerce; startups; Nonstore Retailers; Nonstore Retailers

28 Jan 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Does Apple Anchor a Shopping Mall? The Effect of the Technology Stores on the Formation of Market Structure

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Kyoungwon Seo, and Reo Song; Retail; Retail

September 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Koc Holding: Arcelik White Goods

By: John A. Quelch

Management is considering its options for future international expansion. Koc is the dominant supplier of white goods (kitchen appliances) in Turkey and has been increasing its export efforts. As lower import tariffs invite foreign competitors to enter Turkey, Koc must... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Consumer Products Industry; Distribution Industry; Turkey

July 2005 (Revised April 2008)
Case

The Rise of Kmart Corporation 1962-1987

By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock

Tracks the development of the Kmart discount store chain from its inception in 1961 to its peak in 1990 and examines the contribution of each Kmart chief executive to the chain's success. In, parallel, compares the performance of Wal-Mart over the same period along a... View Details

Keywords: History; Strategic Planning; Leadership; Competitive Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Retail Industry; United States

March 2022
Teaching Note

The Robin Hood Army (A) and (B)

By: Susanna Gallani and Brian Trelstad

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 119-007 and 120-017. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Expansion; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Delivery; Social Entrepreneurship; Mission and Purpose; India; Pakistan

August 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

eBay vs. Carl Icahn, 2014

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

This case explores Carl Icahn's attack on eBay, starting in January 2014. The case examines how John Donahoe, CEO of eBay, should respond to Icahn's demand that eBay spin off PayPal and accept Icahn's two nominees to the board of directors. View Details

Keywords: Activist Shareholder; Activist Investors; Technology; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Investment Activism; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

September 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Briscola—Pizza Society: Scaling Affordable Luxury

By: Gary P. Pisano and Federica Gabrieli

Riccardo Cortese and Federico Pinna were the CEOs of Briscola—Pizza Society, a restaurant chain they had founded in 2014 with a clear ambition: create a distinctive international pizza chain that would combine a fast-casual format with the devotion to quality that... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Geographic Location; Business Model; Ownership Type; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Italy

October 2013 (Revised July 2024)
Teaching Note

Amazon in 2024

By: Sunil Gupta

Amazon launched its website in July 1995 to sell books online and by 2020 it has grown to become a digital giant with over $280 billion in annual sales. A large part of its growth came from expanding into a variety of businesses that some see as unrelated. Has it... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry

February 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Supplement

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and E. Scott Mayfield

Analyzes the company’s decision on Project Cowboy following the events described in the B Case. View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Growth Management; Demand and Consumers; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Value Creation; Supply and Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; North America

15 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 15

poultry products is deciding the company's future strategy in the face of new opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe, a changing retail market in Hungary, and the possibility of increased global... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jan 2002
News

Orin C. Smith (MBA '67)

as low-fat latte and Frappuccino(r). Starbucks, the Seattle-based company that started in 1971 as a retailer of bulk coffee, tea, and spices, is largely responsible for this new state of coffee consciousness. Today, the company operates... View Details

April 2002
Case

In vivo to in vitro to in silico: Coping with Tidal Waves of Data at Biogen

By: Juan Enriquez-Cabot, Gary P. Pisano and Gaye Bok

Biogen is a successful biotech company facing a critical juncture. CEO John Mullen ponders how technological changes introduced into the research function will shape larger corporate decisions. This world in which biotechnology companies operated had changed... View Details

Keywords: Change; Decisions; Product Development; Research and Development; Expansion; Technology; Biotechnology Industry

19 Oct 2009
Research & Ideas

Why Are Web Sites So Confusing?

Do you sometimes get the feeling that Internet portals, search pages, social networks, e-commerce, and other Web sites are not necessarily designed in order to maximize user convenience and benefits? We do, too. Why—you might ask? For a fundamentally similar reason to... View Details

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Bruno Jullien

01 Jun 2018
News

3-Minute Briefing: Simi Nwogugu (MBA 2004)

reaching more than 120,000 students annually and are undertaking an expansion of economic empowerment programs into northeastern Nigeria, which has been ravaged by Boko Haram. The belief in the north is that girls shouldn’t go to school... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

October 2012
Teaching Note

Winfield Refuse Management, Inc.: Raising Debt vs. Equity (Brief Case) (TN)

By: W. Carl Kester and Sunru Yong

Keywords: United States; Acquisitions; Equity Capital; Debt Management; Financial Analysis; Administrative/Support/Waste Management/Remediation Services; Expansion; Capital Structure; Leveraged Buyouts; Borrowing and Debt; Equity; United States