Publications

August 1994 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Sony Corporation: The Walkman Line

Explores how Sony manages its Walkman line in both the domestic (Japanese) and Western markets. Describes a simple target costing system, a simple Japanese cost accounting system, and the management of product proliferation. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Japan

01 Jun 2022
News

The Exchange: Same Great Price, Now with Fewer Chips

John Gourville and Alex MacKay (Image by John Ritter) Rising inflation and pandemic-related supply-chain challenges are driving up prices at the grocery store. While some manufacturers, like Procter &... View Details

Keywords: Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

June 2008 (Revised February 2011)
Teaching Note

Maria Sharapova: Marketing a Champion (A) & (B)

By: Anita Elberse

Teaching Note for [507065] and [507066]. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Sports; Sports Industry

01 Jun 2018
News

Disrupting India’s Dental Market

Singh’s team reduced a clinic to a set of eight distinct modules, such as the operating rooms and waiting areas, that could fit together “like a jigsaw puzzle” in any new space. “It was a business where a View Details

Keywords: Sasha Issenberg

04 Jun 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Israel Turns 70: Does it Need a Rebrand?

Keywords: Re: Elie Ofek

16 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

Adam Smith, Behavioral Economist?

monitored fully. We thus rely on these individuals' professionalism and honor (or "enlightened self interest") to carry out their occupations. Across organizations, in the marketplace, factors like View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

September 2020
Supplement

Commonwealth Joe: January 2020 Update from CEO Robert Peck

By: Alexander J. MacKay

At the end of 2016, the leadership team of Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters—Robert Peck, Chase Damiano, and Jeremy Martin—had begun an ambitious retail expansion strategy in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for their specialty coffee business. That October, they... View Details

Keywords: Cold Brew Coffee; Specialty Coffee; On-premise Coffee Market; Retail Expansion Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Strategy; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

20 Nov 2019
Video

Seema Aziz

Seema Aziz, the founder of Sefam, the first high-quality fabric manufacturer in Pakistan, describes the way her employees have been taught to monitor quality and educate customers.

View Details

01 Jun 2014
News

In My Humble Opinion: Jan Swartz (MBA 1996)

SWARTZ: Captaining a global brand through the high seas (photo by Susan J. Young) SWARTZ: Captaining a global brand through the high seas (photo by Susan J. Young) Growing up in Houston, Jan Swartz (MBA... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation; Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation; Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation

July 2003 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Singapore Airlines: Customer Service Innovation

By: Rohit Deshpande and Hal Hogan

The members of Singapore Airlines' (SIA) management committee needs to decide whether to cancel the implementation of the new lie-flat seats in business class after the effects of the global recession on the travel industry in September 2001. SIA was considered the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Air Transportation Industry; Travel Industry; Singapore

November 1994 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Levi Strauss & Co.: Global Sourcing (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jane Palley Katz

In 1993, senior managers at Levi Strauss & Co., the world's largest brand-name apparel manufacturer, were deciding whether the company should have a business presence in China, given the human rights and other problems there. The China Policy Group has been asked to... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Decisions; Management Skills; Trade; Brands and Branding; Rights; Ethics; Foreign Direct Investment; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China

Video

Dr. Ahmed Heikal

Dr. Ahmed Heikal, Chairman and Founder of Qalaa Holdings, explains how building businesses requires a skillset that involves accounting for external pressures, particularly in the context of emerging markets. View Details

May 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Taj Hotels: Leading Change, Driving Profitability

By: Krishna Palepu, Anjali Raina and Rachna Chawla

Rakesh Sarna, MD and CEO of the Indian Hotels Company ltd (IHCL) was faced with the challenge of leading and embedding changes in IHCL to turnaround its trajectory. IHCL and its subsidiaries, headquartered in India, were a venerable hotel chain, collectively known as... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Hospitality Industry; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Strategy; Globalization; Leading Change; Accommodations Industry; India

July 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Goodyear: The Aquatred Launch

By: John A. Quelch

After many years of R&D, Goodyear has developed the Aquatred, an innovative new tire. However, the tire industry has matured and evolved, raising questions concerning the Aquatred's ability to gain support from Goodyear's independent tire dealers. Students must use... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Auto Industry; Rubber Industry; United States

August 1994 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Astra Sports, Inc. (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Astra executives meet to discuss their options with a Venezuelan company that, for seven years, manufactured and marketed athletic shoes under the Astra name without authorization from Astra. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Crime and Corruption; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Venezuela

September 1992 (Revised January 1993)
Case

Courtyard by Marriott

By: James L. Heskett and Roger H. Hallowell

Courtyard by Marriott, a chain of modestly priced hotels, weighs its future options regarding human resources, its service delivery system, and management structure. Fairfield Inn, another Marriott product, is discussed for contrast. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Service Operations; Brands and Branding; Management Systems; Decision Making; Service Industry; Accommodations Industry

January 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Pearson: Efficacy 2.0

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and James Weber

Pearson, which billed itself as the "world's learning company," faced a host of critical decisions in mid-2020. Several years prior, it had embarked on a new path that put the learner at the heart of the business and committed to a new strategic orientation. The new... View Details

Keywords: Efficacy; Learning; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Strategic Planning; Education Industry

November 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Case

DaChan Food (Asia) in China

By: Ray A. Goldberg and David Lane

DaChan Food in China is providing leadership in the quality, health, and environmental needs of the Chinese consumer as poultry consumption increases there. Continuing to provide that leadership as global and national competition increase becomes more and more... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Leadership Development; Demand and Consumers; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Vertical Integration; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; China