Publications

September 2024
Supplement

Revenue Solutions, LLC (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: This (B) case supplement is designed for use by faculty only to support classroom instruction in conjunction with... View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Joint Ventures; Brands and Branding; Partners and Partnerships; Small Business; Ownership; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; United States; California

07 Oct 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Lifting the Veil: The Benefits of Cost Transparency

Keywords: by Bhavya Mohan, Ryan W. Buell & Leslie K. John; Retail

25 Jul 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

The Evolution of Apple

different approaches led to new versions of the case and gave students insights as to what the CEO was trying to do and why he was having so much difficulty." Apple's market share has always been lower than its consumer mind share.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer; Technology

September 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Blenheim Chalcot

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In April 2019, Manoj Badale and Charles Mindenhall, co-founders of Blenheim Chalcot, were contemplating how they might go about developing their portfolio. Since founding the company as an internet consultancy called netdecisions in 1998, Badale and Mindenhall had... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; United Kingdom; United States; India

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Fuel Cells: The Hydrogen Revolution?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ryland Matthew Willis

The challenges faced in establishing hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation in the United States, which promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported oil is examined. Foremost among these challenges is a "chicken-and-egg" dynamic: consumers... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Environmental Sustainability; Infrastructure; Government Administration; Energy Sources; Business and Government Relations; Network Effects; Transportation; Green Technology Industry; Energy Industry; European Union; Japan; United States

Find at Harvard

March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Perplexity: Redefining Search

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Michelle Hu, Sriraghav Srinivasan and Radhika Kak

By early 2025, Perplexity had rapidly evolved from a modest startup into a trailblazing "answer engine" valued at $9 billion. Led by founder Aravind Srinivas, Perplexity AI had boldly positioned itself as the disruptor aiming to redefine search altogether. Through... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; United States

29 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 29, 2007

Working PapersLeading and Creating Collaboration in Decentralized Organizations Authors:Heather M. Caruso, Todd Rogers, and Max Bazerman Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-090.pdf Extremeness Seeking: When and Why View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Apr 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Exclusive Preferential Placement as Search Diversion: Evidence from Flight Search

Keywords: by Benjamin G. Edelman & Zhenyu Lai; Publishing; Technology

26 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

Lipstick Tips: How Influencers Are Making Over Beauty Marketing

Instagram and YouTube. In the competition for the consumer’s attention, influencers are winning with pretty packages of photos and videos, as consumers increasingly reject more traditional forms of marketing like TV commercials and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

21 Nov 2023
Op-Ed

The Beauty Industry: Products for a Healthy Glow or a Compact for Harm?

In my recently published book Deeply Responsible Business, I write about business leaders since the 19th century who have acted responsibly, often by putting the welfare of their communities above the idea of maximizing profits. I make a sharp distinction between... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Beauty & Cosmetics

Christina M. Wallace

A self-described “human Venn diagram” Christina Wallace has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative Guest: Paul Bodnar, Director of Sustainable Finance, Industry, and Diplomacy, Bezos Earth Fund Helping Consumers Decarbonize their Purchases 16 AUG 2023 | Climate Rising Today’s episode in... View Details

October 2021
Supplement

Unshrinking the Pie: Desirée Stolar's Negotiation Saga (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

When Desirée (“Des”) Stolar’s wool sweater shrank two sizes, the Harvard Business School student worked with classmates to develop a solution that both fixed her problem and launched Unshrinkit, a successful consumer goods company with a widely-available product for... View Details

Keywords: Bargaining; Startups; Negotiation; Contracts; Negotiation Tactics; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

November 2005 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Beijing Hualian

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

China's fifth largest domestic retailer faced intensifying competition from Wal-Mart and Carrefour with the opening of China's fast-growing retail market in January 2005. In response, Beijing Hualian developed a new "Family Store" format targeted at the nation's... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; China

Find at Harvard

Jeremy Yang is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Marketing in the MBA required curriculum. He develops data products for... View Details

Keywords: consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products

Research Summary

Retailing: Past, Present, and Future

Walter J. Salmon is working on several retailing-related research and course development projects, including a study (with Gwen K. Ortmeyer) of the evolution and future of American department stores, and a case book (with DAVID E. BELL) for use in graduate... View Details

November 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Case

Collibra

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Jeffrey F. Rayport and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2008 at Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Collibra was a data intelligence company that found product-market fit in the years after the global financial crisis when many companies were under pressure from consumers and governments to improve their data management... View Details

January 2017 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Weathernews

By: Karim R. Lakhani and Akiko Kanno

Tomohiro Ishibashi (Bashi), chief executive officer for B to S, and Julia Foote LeStage, chief innovation officer of Weathernews Inc., were addressing a panel at the HBS Digital Summit on creative uses of big data. They told the summit attendees about how the Sakura... View Details

Keywords: Crowdsourcing; Operations; Globalization; Weather; Forecasting and Prediction; Global Strategy

February 28, 2014
Article

A Better Route to Tech Standards

By: Josh Lerner and Jean Tirole

Technological standards are ubiquitous, whether they allow consumers to communicate seamlessly across wireless networks or manufacturers to procure goods across complex global supply chains. These standards—shaped by standard-setting organizations (SSOs) and... View Details