Publications

October 2006 (Revised August 2008)
Background Note

Performing Industry Research to Inform Investment Decisions

Conducting thorough research about an industry is often an important component of investment analysis. Written specifically for HBS MBA students, provides guidance on how to perform industry research to inform investment decisions. Provides detailed information about... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment; Supply and Industry; Research

June 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Background Note

Primer on the U.S. Television Industry

This case provides background on the U.S. TV industry at the end of the 20th century. View Details

Keywords: History; Television Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

December 2006 (Revised January 2008)
Case

ViaGen: Revolutionizing the Livestock Industry

By: David E. Bell, Reed Martin and Mary L. Shelman

ViaGen has invested heavily to develop cloning technology for the livestock industry. Cloning has the potential to significantly improve the genetics of livestock, leading to higher quality meat, healthier animals, and more efficient production. Since 2003, the firm... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Business Plan; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Marketing Communications; Industry Structures; Business and Government Relations; Genetics; Commercialization; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

April 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Valuation Ratios in the Airline Industry

By: Paul M. Healy, Krishna G. Palepu and Jonathan Barnett

Four firms in the airline industry illustrate the underlying differences in valuation multiples (price-earnings and price-to-book). View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Activity Based Costing and Management; Accounting Audits; Air Transportation Industry

July 2023
Article

Deep Responsibility and Irresponsibility in the Beauty Industry

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article employs the concept of deep responsibility to assess the social responsibility of the beauty industry over time. It shows that many of today’s problems with the industry have deep historical roots. Products have too many ingredients that are potential... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

October 1992 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Lehigh Valley Industries (LVI)

By: Kim B. Clark

Describes a situation confronting a manufacturer of forged parts that has recently undergone a leveraged buyout. The company is under pressure to improve operating performance dramatically. Describes several options designed to improve performance, including adding... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Product; Production; Performance Improvement; Capital; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

April 1984 (Revised January 1985)
Background Note

Industrial Policy in Norway

By: Norman A. Berg

Keywords: Industrial Products Industry; Norway

1981
Book

The U.S. Lodging Industry

By: Daryl Wyckoff and W. Earl Sasser

Keywords: Accommodations Industry; United States

June 2007
Teaching Note

SAP: Industry Transformation (TN)

By: Andrei Hagiu and Pai-Ling Yin

Teaching note to 707435. View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Competitive Advantage; Problems and Challenges; Market Entry and Exit; Information Technology Industry

2009
Foreword

American Soft Drink Industry

By: Shon R. Hiatt

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Read Now

January 2003 (Revised January 2008)
Case

The British Motorcycle Industry at a Crossroads

By: Jan W. Rivkin

By 1975, the collapse of the British motorcycle industry is nearly complete. Only one British manufacturer, NVT, remains in operation. In this setting, the British government commissions the Boston Consulting Group to identify and evaluate strategic alternatives for... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Industry Structures; Business and Government Relations; Mathematical Methods; Competition; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; Great Britain

2002
Technical Note

The Recorded Music Industry

By: Marco Bertini, Victoria Carrión and Jose Luis Nueno

February 1995
Background Note

Health Information Industry Note

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and VJ Pappas

Keywords: Health; Information

February 2003
Supplement

Baseball Industry Update, 2002

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Jan W. Rivkin

Spreadsheet for use with case (9-702-443). Download Only. (Exhibits 1 and 3). View Details

June 1994
Teaching Note

Catawba Industrial Company TN

By: Francis Aguilar

Teaching Note for (9-191-053). View Details

August 1985 (Revised March 1987)
Supplement

Detroit Tool Industries (C)

Article

The Effects of Product Line Breadth: Evidence from the Automotive Industry

By: Antonio Moreno and Christian Terwiesch

Using a detailed data set from the U.S. automotive industry, we enrich the existing literature on product line breadth with new results that highlight previously unexplored operational aspects of its benefits and costs. We find that expanding product line breadth has a... View Details

Keywords: Variety; Pricing; Automotive Industry; Marketing/operations Interface; Platforms; Empirical Operations Management; Product Marketing; Production; Management; Auto Industry

March 1991 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi-Cola and the Soft Drink Industry

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. Provides a summary of the history of the soft drink industry prior to World War II, and over the period 1950-1990 in greater detail. Major strategic competitive moves and countermoves are described. Also... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Industry Growth; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

August 2022
Case

Air Wars: Deregulating the U.S. Airline Industry

By: Tom Nicholas and James Weber

In the early decades of the twentieth century, the U.S. government assisted in the development of an airline industry by subsidizing the delivery of mail and allowing mail carriers to also fly passengers. Because the government awarded mail routes to the lowest... View Details