Publications

November 2019
Supplement

Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After losing market share to low-priced competitors such as Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club for several years, Gillette decided to fight back by cutting prices on its razors and blades in April 2017. Bonnie Herzog, an equity analyst at Wells Fargo, must assess how the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competition; Price; Public Equity; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

July–August 2014
Article

Unlock the Mysteries of Your Customer Relationships

By: Jill Avery, Susan Fournier and John Wittenbraker

Consumers have always had relationships with brands, but sophisticated tools for analyzing customer data are finally allowing marketing organizations to personalize and manage those relationships. With this new power comes a new challenge: people now expect companies... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; CRM; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

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June 2009
Case

Manchester Products: A Brand Transition Challenge

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

In January of 2005, Manchester Products Inc., a longtime leader in office furniture that only recently entered into the home furniture market, acquired Paul Logan's Furniture Division (PLFD). The acquisition of PLFD made Manchester an instant market leader in household... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Consumer Marketing; Brand Equity; Branding; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

April 2003 (Revised July 2011)
Case

eBay, Inc. (B)

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Erin Sullivan

Updates development at eBay, Inc. through June 2002. View Details

Keywords: Web Services Industry; Web Services Industry

April 2001
Teaching Note

Barnesandnoble.com (A), (B), and (C) TN

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Goutam Challagalla and William A. Sahlman

Teaching Note for (9-898-082), (9-901-023), and (9-901-024). For book only. View Details

Keywords: Retail Industry; Retail Industry

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

E-commerce at Williams-Sonoma

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

Describes Williams-Sonoma's development of a third channel of business on the Internet. Describes the strategies for managing changes in the organizational, operational, and technological structure of the company. The new e-commerce division confronts challenges posed... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Internet and the Web; Trade; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Operations; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; California

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Mercado Libre: The Best Is Yet to Come

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Fernando Fragueiro, Carla Larangeira and Mariana Cal

In 2024, Marcos Galperín, CEO and co-founder of Mercado Libre, reflected on its 25-year rise as Latin America’s largest marketplace, fintech leader, and most valuable public company. With operations spanning 18 countries and a robust ecosystem combining e-commerce,... View Details

June 2022
Case

Worten Portugal: Becoming a Digital Marketplace

By: Antonio Moreno, Pedro Amorim and Tonia Labruyere

With Amazon's entry into Portugal, Miguel Mota Freitas, CEO of Portuguese electronics chain Worten, is reflecting on their strategy of building a competitive marketplace. View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Digital Platforms; Brands and Branding; E-commerce; Logistics; Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Portugal; Spain

March 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Perch

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Stacy Straaberg and Julia Kelley

In May 2021, Perch CEO Chris Bell needed to decide whether his e-commerce aggregator company, which bought and scaled Amazon Marketplace brands, should acquire up to three acquisition targets. The prospective acquisitions, Web Deals Direct, HomeCo, and Future Brands,... View Details

March 2017
Supplement

eBay vs. Carl Icahn, 2014: Interview with John Donahoe, eBay CEO 2008-2015

By: David B. Yoffie, Eric Baldwin and Tom Ryder

This video, a supplement to HBS Case No. 717-417, features an interview with former eBay CEO John Donahoe, providing his perspective on eBay's response to activist investor Carl Icahn's attack on eBay, which began in January 2014. After giving some of his own... View Details

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

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October 2013 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Bridges Ventures

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

Bridges Ventures, a UK-based impact investor with double-digit returns on its investments, is reflecting on its social impact and pondering its future course. View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; United Kingdom; Financial And Social Return; Social Enterprise; Investment Portfolio; Transportation Industry; Transportation Industry; Transportation Industry; United Kingdom

January 2025
Teaching Note

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details

07 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 7, 2009

109-070 Commercial Director Prado wonders how to leverage the loyalty card information to prepare the fall 2008 budget. The case discusses the value of subjective and objective information for profit-planning purposes. Spanish children's apparel View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

06 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 6

influential, and industry less influential, than we commonly assume. How Early Adoption Has Increased Wealth—Until Now Authors:Diego Comin and Bart Hobijn Publication:Harvard Business Review 90, no. 3 (March 2012) Abstract Societies that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 18

level of maturity where scaling the business model was the next logical step. With two greenhouses already in Canada, he was looking into other locations in the U.S. Though Lufa Farms' advanced cultivation technologies made the company stand out in its sector, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 28, 2018

the world's most dominant retailers. Could Brandless change the way consumers bought the essential items that filled their pantries and medicine cabinets? Industry pundits had long predicted both the death of brands and the death of brick... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

17 May 2016
First Look

May 17, 2016

industries and geographies, this collection provides students with an appreciation for the importance of consumer empowerment and consumer behavior in shaping both health and corporate outcomes. Publisher's link: View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Overview

By: Alexandra C. Feldberg

Allie's research focuses on diversity, gender, and knowledge within organizations. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Transfer; Bias; Technology; Diversity; Gender; Demographics; Knowledge Dissemination; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; Banking Industry

April 2025 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Governing Sustainability in a Shifting Context (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

In early 2025, boards of directors had to rethink corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts amid rapidly-shifting social, legal, regulatory, and economic forces. While just a few years earlier, calls to address racial justice and climate change reached into... View Details