Publications

10 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink

Interestingly, these services subsidize the declining productivity of key item and category sales in the store. This idea of subsidizing competitively challenged parts of the offer is a common occurrence in retail. For example, the... View Details

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Jose B. Alvarez; Retail

15 Jul 2019
Book

Many Executives Are Afraid of Finance. Here's How They Can Gain Confidence

or as an effort of managers to massage metrics. The salutary effects of activist investors can be appreciated, just as one also appreciates the information and incentive problems that plague their money management industry. The channeling... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 Nov 2004
Research & Ideas

Side Effects: The Case of Propecia

"Help-seeking" ads allowed for un-branded ads that would encourage men to seek a doctor's advice if they were concerned about hair loss. In addition to marketing directly to consumers, Casola would also consider strategies for Merck's more traditional... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health; Pharmaceutical

July 2020
Case

Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics

By: Steven Rogers, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alterrell Mills

The co-founders (Black HBS alumnae) of an e-commerce beauty startup explore the unmet needs within the beauty industry. This case study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities that come from identifying an underserved market, specifically within the Black community... View Details

October 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Aphro Beverages

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amram Migdal

This case focuses on distribution, sales, and product decisions as Aphro Beverages reaches an inflection point in its growth trajectory. In 2020, Aphro Beverages, based in Accra, Ghana, successfully launched its brand and brought two new alcoholic spirits products to... View Details

06 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 6

U.S. corporations, which enjoy ready access to the deepest capital markets in the world. Venture capital, for example, and the public equity markets that support it, has channeled money to innovative ideas that have transformed industries... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The Pandemic Conversations That Leaders Need to Have Now

organization doesn’t seem psychologically safe, create venues for honest questions and ideas. Find a channel for people who have concerns they may not want to bring to their direct supervisors. In meetings, allow people to submit... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Robin Abrahams, and Katherine Connolly Baden

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

client-centric approach. It intensified virtual interactions with customers, merged sales and customer service, and boosted integration of all databases, which had been spread across functions, into a single customer resource management... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

23 Jun 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovative Ways to Encourage Personal Savings

essentially "raffle off" the interest pot each period. Savers give up a large chance of a small return for a small chance of a large, life-changing return. I have studied these programs in England, where they have been run for over 50 years, as well as in South Africa.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

09 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Overcoming the Challenges of Selling Brand New Technology (Hey, Need a 3-D Printer?)

collateral design, launches the product, and then “throws it over the wall” to sales and marketing. “This process is product-centric and a bucket-brigade approach where the groups work serially and in silos in a rapidly changing tech... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Consumer Products; Electronics; Industrial Products; Information Technology; Manufacturing; Medical Devices & Supplies; Retail

05 Dec 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Marketing

Cannibalizing Direct Sales? Working Paper: Adding Bricks to Clicks—The Effects of Store Openings on Sales through Direct ChannelsConsider a retailer who operates both brick-and-mortar stores and direct View Details

30 Apr 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Brand Management

disagrees. Key concepts include: Most B2B marketers cannot economically address thousands of small businesses using the traditional direct sales force. If left unattended, individual managers will each do their own ad hoc marketing. B2B... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Sports; Publishing; Auto

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

clear-cut. “A problem with megatrend predictions is that, even if they turn out to be generally accurate, they’re not managerially useful.” In the first month of social distancing in the United States, online sales at Walmart and Target... View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

2009
Working Paper

Crafting Integrated Multichannel Retailing Strategies

Multichannel retailing is the set of activities involved in selling merchandise or services to consumers through more than one channel. Multichannel retailers dominate today's retail landscape. While there are many benefits of operating multiple channels, these... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Sales; Integration; Retail Industry

Read Now

18 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

Prosper with Multi-Channel Retailing

For decades, major retailers offered customers only two methods of purchasing: directly at the store or from catalogs sent through the mail. With the advent of the Internet, retail companies that offered only one or two channels suddenly... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Consumer Products; Retail

August 1983 (Revised May 1985)
Case

Jamestown Co.

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Edward J. Hoff

In May 1983 Ms. Katherine O'Brien, vice president of marketing, was deciding whether Jamestown should discontinue the use of independent representatives in favor of a direct company salesforce. Jamestown sold informal stoneware dinnerware through department and gift... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Leadership Style; Marketing Channels; Salesforce Management