Publications

February 1990 (Revised July 1992)
Case

Whistler Corp. (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Describes the circumstances surrounding Whistler Corp.'s decision whether or not to continue manufacturing operations in the United States. The company had been experiencing severe problems in its domestic manufacturing operations and was thus unable to compete with... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

26 Jul 2016
First Look

July 26, 2016

its rivals) chooses not to enlist the help of financing partners. Is Disney Studios pursuing the right number of tentpoles, as well as the right mix of new versus existing properties, under the right financing structure? And will the tentpole View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 31

intellectual property environment so that they can build effective participation strategies for their organizations. Understanding the misaligned incentives that result in the production of junk patents and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

DVD War

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

In 2006, the DVD was the most popular storage medium in the entertainment and computer industries. The development of high-definition (HD) technology created a need for a format with greater storage capacity. Instead of agreeing on a single standard for a new HD disc,... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Entertainment; Business History; Intellectual Property; Product; Competition; Technology Adoption; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 1991
Case

Volkswagen of America: Audi 5000 (A)

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Audi marketing executives and their advertising agency colleagues must decide which of several advertising executions should be employed for the introductory campaign for the Audi 5000, their new car entry scheduled to replace the Audi 100LS in the United States in the... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Auto Industry; United States

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07 Jul 2022
HBS Case

How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)

way. We’ve got to do this.’” They invested their entire life savings—$225,000—into opening the store. The store sold all of its products within four days of opening, forcing it to temporarily close. Earning $1 million in total sales, the... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

08 Aug 2022
HBS Case

Building an 'ARMY' of Fans: Marketing Lessons from K-Pop Sensation BTS

since. Some analysts predicted that the band would do more to grow South Korea’s gross domestic product over 10 years than the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Underdogs with a strategy The band’s explosion... View Details

Keywords: by Shalene Gupta; Media & Broadcasting; Music

November 2023
Case

From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group (Abridged)

By: Willy Shih and Nancy Dai

Like other small shops based in Chongqing, China, Zongshen Industrial Group started by assembling motorcycles from "standard" parts. The quality of its early products was good enough for rural Chinese buyers, though wealthier consumers usually purchased premium... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Supply Chain; Product Positioning; Manufacturing Industry; Motorcycle Industry; China

November 2009
Journal Article

A Theory of Growth and Volatility at the Aggregate and Firm Level

By: Diego A. Comin and Sunil Mulani

This paper presents an endogenous growth model that explains the evolution of the first and second moments of productivity growth at the aggregate and firm level during the post-war period. Growth is driven by the development of both (i) idiosyncratic R&D innovations... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Microeconomics; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Performance Productivity; Mathematical Methods; Research and Development

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Read Now

May 1994
Background Note

Segmenting Customers in Mature Industrial Markets: An Application

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

In mature industrial markets, segmenting customers by size, industry, or product benefits alone rarely is sufficient. Customer behavior regarding trade-offs between price and service also becomes an important criterion. This note offers a framework to enable such... View Details

Keywords: Segmentation; Framework; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Industrial Products Industry

November 2006 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock

By: Elie Ofek and Eliot Sherman

Gauri Nanda is the creator of an innovative new product: an alarm clock named Clocky that, in addition to ringing, rolls around the room in order to force its owner to get out of bed. Beset by media attention and consumer interest but still at least a year away from... View Details

Keywords: Management; Product Positioning; Partners and Partnerships; Production; Marketing Strategy; Media; Entrepreneurship; Independent Innovation and Invention; Product Launch

March 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Komatsu Ltd. (A): Target Costing System

Komatsu, a leading manufacturer of construction equipment, seeks to expand aggressively through the 1990s. Key to its competitiveness is a strict adherence to target costs throughout the product development process. Komatsu conducts several design-for-manufacturability... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Machinery and Machining; Expansion; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry

October 2000
Article

BanCrecen

By: S. Dario, E.L. Montiel and Tatiana Sandino

This case describes the aggressive entry of BanCrecen, an affiliate of the Mexican bank BanCrecer, in Costa Rica in 1994. Its strategy, like that of the Mexican home office, was to focus on personal banking, with the rapid expansion of neighborhood branches and strong... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Globalization; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Costa Rica; Mexico

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2002
Case

Hindustan Lever

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

Hindustan Lever, Ltg (HLL), the Indian subsidiary of Unilever PLC, is one of the most respected multinationals operating in India and one of the first multinationals to recognize that the poor in developing countries represent an untapped growth opportunity. They... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; India

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Web

Middle East & North Africa - Global

Chairman, Interbrand S.A.L. February 2025 Event Integration of AI in Marketing Strategies with Prof. Shunyuan Zhang On February 20th, the HBS MENA Research Center and Harvard Business Review Turkey hosted a special session on the... View Details

November 2016 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Radial Analytics Probes Post-Acute Care

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Olivia Hull

Thaddeus Fulford-Jones and Eric Weiss, founders of healthcare technology startup Radial Analytics, have been busy developing a software program designed to save hospitals money and improve patient outcomes by producing customized care plans for patients leaving the... View Details

Keywords: Electronic Medical Records; Electronic Health Records; Data Science; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Cambridge; Massachusetts

March 2023
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-069. On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth... View Details