Publications

November 1994 (Revised November 1995)
Case

SweetWater

By: H. Kent Bowen and Thomas D. Everett

Focuses on developing a promising idea into a viable product design by considering customer needs early in the design process. Following an Alaskan fishing trip, Sandy Platter, a computer peripherals engineer, has a new idea for a portable water-filter device for use... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Independent Innovation and Invention; Product Design; Customers; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Colorado

24 Nov 2015
Blog Post

What is an HBS MyTake?

While it’s true that students come to HBS to develop their leadership skills and learn the fundamentals of general management, what they take away tends to be so much more. When we interview students and alums for this blog, we hear time... View Details

March 2000 (Revised September 2000)
Case

yesmail.com

David Tolmie wants yesmail.com to become a leader in "permission marketing." Yesmail sends clients promotional e-mail messages to targeted consumers who said "yes" when asked whether they wished to receive promotional offers in a set of categories of interest. Tolmie... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications

May 1980
Case

Kendall-Vetmat

Discusses the role of market research in a product manager's decision process. Traces the development of market research information for the introduction of a new product, and presents a manager's dilemma of receiving market data that are inconsistent with expectations... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Product Launch; Product Development

2004
Case

Hasbro Interactive

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

In the mid 1990s, Hasbro created Hasbro Interactive, a new business unit chartered to develop video games for PCs and other gaming systems based on Hasbro's many toy and game brands. After a few successful years, ambitions for Hasbro Interactive escalated dramatically.... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Video Game Industry

October 2001
Supplement

R&R

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Amy Blitz

Outlines alternative mechanisms for getting into business. Shows the means by which an experienced entrepreneur can gain control over the necessary resources to lower the fixed costs of business entry. Provides a mechanism for discussing the role of experience,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Cost; Social and Collaborative Networks; Experience and Expertise

March 1998 (Revised July 1998)
Case

United Way Community Services

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Describes in detail the fund development and distribution system of United Way Community Services. A key question is how to measure the outcome/impact of the work done by the agencies that receive United Way funding. A follow-on question is how to reinvent the... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Management Systems; Measurement and Metrics; Distribution Channels; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Outcome or Result; Nonprofit Organizations

20 May 2008
News

Harvard Business School Introduces Executive Education Program on Maximizing the Value of Intellectual Property

30 Dec 2011
News

Five Resolutions for Aspiring Leaders

August 2018 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Lexoo: Building a Long-Lasting Platform

By: Chiara Farronato and Elena Corsi

Daniel van Binsbergen, Lexoo’s CEO, and web developer Chris O’Sullivan, CTO, had set up Lexoo, a UK legal marketplace, to help small and medium enterprises (SME) find legal advice at low prices. Lexoo had recently invested in a new vertical focused on larger companies.... View Details

Keywords: Marketplaces; Legal Services; Growth Strategy; Technology Ventures; Service Operations; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Growth and Development Strategy; Legal Services Industry; United Kingdom

January 2009
Article

From Regional Star to Global Leader

By: Nitin Nohria

Yang Jianguo was recently promoted from country manager for China to global head of product development at a staid French perfume maker. He was chosen for his technical smarts and his knowledge of emerging markets—a critical avenue for growth, given that sales in the... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Leadership Development; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Paris

January 1997 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Dendrite International (Condensed)

By: John A. Deighton

This version has been shortened to concentrate on the issue of managing a long selling process and long post-sale account relationship. The focus on the pharmaceutical industry in the United States, Europe, and Japan is preserved. Broader questions of expansion into... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Strategy; Product Development; Sales; Expansion; Chemical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Japan; Europe; United States

June 1983 (Revised March 1985)
Supplement

EMI and the CT Scanner (B)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the development of the first CT Scanner by EMI, a company new to the medical industry, and EMI's entry into the U.S. market. The company's early success is threatened by the entry of a dozen competitors (some very large and experienced), by government... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Industry Structures; Product Development; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

26 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food

considering cellophane. It’s deliberately transparent, after all. You’re meant to consider whatever it’s wrapping instead. Yet, it turns out that cellophane has a story worth telling. A new research paper exposes the historical... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Retail; Advertising

February 2010 (Revised June 2022)
Case

Dollarama Inc.

By: Andre F. Perold

Dollarama is the leading operator of dollar stores in Canada. The firm performed extraordinarily well after a leveraged buyout in 2004 and recently executed a highly successful IPO. The company sources its goods primarily from Asia. It has strong brand recognition and... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Supply Chain; Competitive Advantage; Valuation; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Canada

Thomas J. DeLong is a Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice and the former Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice in the Organizational Behavior Department at the Harvard Business School. He is an expert in leader development, organizational... View Details

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

Jordan brand and served as president of the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team? Probably not, says HBS Professor Francesca Gino, who coauthored the case with HBS Senior Lecturer Hise Gibson and HBS Professor Frances X. Frei, as well as... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

June 2015 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Akbank: Options in Digital Banking

By: Rajiv Lal and Esel Çekin

This case discusses the digitalization strategies of a leading bank in Turkey, Akbank, and how to position its digital banking products going forward. The Turkish banking industry was undergoing a transformation prompted by the demands of the country's digitally savvy,... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Banking; Emerging Market; Regulations; Channels; Digitization; Information Technology; Competition; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Emerging Markets; Distribution Channels; Banks and Banking; Digital Transformation; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Turkey