Publications

December 1999 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Avon Products China (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jennifer Gui

In April 1998, when the Chinese central government bans all forms of direct selling in China in April 1998, executives at Avon China must decide how to respond. The first direct sales company to enter China after its opening to outsiders, Avon sparked widespread... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Sales; Trade; Business and Government Relations; Government and Politics; Market Participation; China

August 1999 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Brita Products Company, The

By: John A. Deighton

Clorox's Brita skillfully exploits a tide of water safety concerns, growing a home water (filtration) business from inception to a 15% U.S. household penetration in ten years. The dilemma in the case arises as the period of increasing returns seems to be drawing to a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Acquisition; Retention; Safety; Natural Environment; Emerging Markets; Investment Return; Equity; Demand and Consumers; United States

05 Sep 2013
News

Who Will Radically Disrupt American Health Care?

March 2013
Case

An Entrepreneur's New Product Development Journey

By: Elie Ofek

This case tracks the new product development process undertaken by Gauri Nanda, the founder and CEO of Nanda Home, as she ventures to innovate beyond her initial product launches. Having achieved commercial success with her first product Clocky, a roll away alarm clock... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

October 2015
Article

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

The evolution of products into intelligent, connected devices is revolutionizing business. In a November 2014 article, "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition," Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and PTC president and CEO James... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Operations; Business Strategy

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November 1990
Case

Techsonic Industries, Inc.: Humminbird - New Products

By: Melvyn A. Menezes

After several new product failures, the company began using customer input to help develop new products. In 1989, the fishing electronics industry is experiencing a downturn, and the company's sales and profits are slipping. The company, which has one product line... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Marketing Reference Programs; Product Development; Electronics Industry

September 2017
Teaching Note

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro and Hayley Pallan

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

August 1976 (Revised April 1995)
Background Note

The Integration of Mass Production and Mass Distribution

Describes the sudden appearance of the large industrial enterprise in the 1880s. Reviews the three types of mass-production industries in which the new form came: those producing perishable products; those making low-priced semi-perishable products; and makers of... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Production; Manufacturing Industry

13 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

Should Men’s Products Fear a Woman’s Touch?

women's shaving brand at Gillette. The company made a point of building products from the ground up for the distinct hair removal needs of both men and women. But it also made a point of creating a different... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

21 Jan 2013
News

American Competitiveness Crucial to U.S. Economy

09 Oct 2017
News

Saving an American Publishing Icon

David Bradley (MBA 1977) is chairman of Atlantic Media. In this interview, he explains how the rise of the internet actually saved and helped improve the venerable Atlantic magazine. “The first company I started, when I was 26 years old, was called the Research... View Details

17 Apr 2017
News

Giving employees flexibility is all the rage. But a Harvard study says it might hurt productivity

04 May 2021
Blog Post

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month at HBS

minority; perhaps it was that the diffusion of cultures I have grown accustomed to quickly turned into me trying to fit into American culture instead. I never felt so different in such a stark manner.... View Details

July 2002
Case

First American Bank: Credit Default Swaps

This case examines a bank's ability to manage its credit exposure to a particular client using credit default swaps. View Details

Keywords: Credit Derivatives and Swaps; Risk and Uncertainty; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry

Video

What Is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?

April 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Women's Professional Basketball and the American Basketball League

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Natalie Zakarian

Chronicles the growth and development of women's professional basketball. Particular emphasis is on the impact of Title IX, the 1996 women's gold medal Olympic team, and the advent of the American Basketball League (ABL). The structure and "basic business model" of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Problems and Challenges; Sports; Gender; Planning; Growth and Development; Sports Industry