Publications

November 2008 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Rebranding at Oliver Wyman Group

By: Robert G. Eccles and Kaitlyn Simpson

Keywords: History; Integration; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Brands and Branding; Consulting Industry

December 1992 (Revised October 1993)
Case

BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine Seeks to De-Yuppify Itself

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Wendy Smith Schille

Tracks changes in the luxury auto market during the 1980s and early 1990s. Shifts in target consumer behavior--particularly the yuppie lifestyle--serve as the basis for manufacturer modifications of product line, positioning, and advertising. The climax of the case is... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change Management; Transformation; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Production; Luxury; Segmentation; Auto Industry

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

Scott capitalized on the growth of in-home bathrooms by being one of the first to produce a product that would eventually replace old newspapers and catalogs which were typically used in outhouses. Scott was also the first to place the toilet tissue on a roll and the... View Details

Keywords: Wood, Paper & Forestry

December 2016
Supplement

Ron Johnson: A Career in Retail

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Joshua D. Margolis and Das Narayandas

This is a video supplement, to be used when teaching the Ron Johnson case. See abstract:

In April 2013, Ron Johnson (HBS '84) stepped down after just 18 months as CEO of J.C. Penney. In his brief tenure, Johnson, an acclaimed retailer respected for his... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leadership Development; Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Competition; Organizational Behavior; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Situation or Environment; Failure; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; United States

05 Dec 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Marketing

store; simultaneously, new customers are attracted to the direct channels, perhaps due to a branding effect stemming from the publicity surrounding the new store, which makes customers more aware of and more comfortable with the firm's... View Details

Franklin P. Perdue

Under Perdue’s total-control leadership style, Perdue Farms grew from a small Maryland chicken farm into the United States’ third largest chicken producer with sales of almost $1 billion in the late 1980s. Perdue built his business on quality, becoming the personal... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

13 Jun 2016
News

Brenda Bence (MBA 1991)

connected through shared experiences.” After scoring high on an aptitude test, Bence was urged by coaches from the School’s Career & Professional Development team to pursue marketing and then to apply for a brand management position at... View Details

Charles A. Heimbold, Jr.

Heimbold focused on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s growth and created a scientific-based, world-leading pharmaceutical company with very strong consumer franchises. Sixty-two percent of its sales come from pharmaceuticals (where it holds leadership positions in anticancer... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare

November 2002 (Revised February 2009)
Teaching Note

Value Retail (TN)

By: Arthur I Segel and Ani M Vartanian

Teaching Note for (9-803-008). View Details

Keywords: Investment; Risk and Uncertainty; Performance Effectiveness; Brands and Branding; Planning; Strategy; Luxury; Milan

build Coca-Cola’s brand image as America’s soft drink. He also expanded the firm internationally, grew the franchising business and replaced the sales division with a service department devoted to supporting Coca-Cola’s various bottlers,... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

Gilbert Colgate

Colgate merged with the Peet Company and B. J. Johnson, maker of Palmolive soap, the largest selling soap brand in America in the early 1900s. Colgate led the newly merged Colgate, Palmolive-Peet Company with assets of $63 million. The... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

September 2020
Teaching Note

Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters

By: Alexander J. MacKay

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 719-451. 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; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management; Competition

September 1991 (Revised December 1991)
Case

G. Heileman Brewing Co. (A): Power Failure At PowerMaster

By: Stephen A. Greyser

In June 1991, Heileman announced plans to introduce a high-alcohol malt liquor under the name PowerMaster (PM). Although the company claimed PM would be positioned as an upscale product and marketed on the basis of its superior taste, minority advocates and alcohol... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Ethics; Lawfulness; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Demand and Consumers; Market Entry and Exit; Food and Beverage Industry

25 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 25

PublicationsThe Strategic Use of Brand Biographies Authors:Jill Avery, Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan, and Juliet Schor Publication:Research in Consumer Behavior (forthcoming) Abstract We introduce the concept of a View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Louis B. Neumiller

Under Neumiller's "home-town-boy" leadership style, Caterpillar's revenues grew from over $100 million in 1941 to $827 million in 1963, prospering through World War II and the global post-war boom. Neumiller built the Caterpillar View Details

Keywords: Construction & Real Estate

23 May 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas and Research: May 23, 2017

consumer distrust of domestic infant formula brands that still pervaded China in 2016. Foreign brands, priced at a substantial premium, were strongly preferred by consumers who could afford them. The field of domestic infant formula View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 1995 (Revised June 1995)
Supplement

The Black & Decker Corporation (B): "Operation Sudden Impact"

By: Robert J. Dolan

Describes Black & Decker's strategy for the tradesmen market. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Competition; Globalization; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry

September 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

Great American Knitting Mills: Gold Toe Socks

Gold Toe has an exclusive distribution policy. Its men's socks are sold only through one department store per city. Executives are trying to decide whether, and how, to widen distribution and to determine what impact broader distribution would have on the nature of the... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Distribution Channels; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States