Publications

Kash Rangan is the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing at the Harvard Business School. Formerly the chairman of the Marketing Department (1998-2002), he is now the co-chairman of the school's Social Enterprise Initiative. He has taught in a wide variety of MBA... View Details

Keywords: consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products

December 2013
Case

Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home

By: Frank V. Cespedes and James Kindley

The Clique Pens Writing Implements division of U.S. Home is a manufacturer of a full line of pens, pencils, markers, and art supplies. Despite solid sales, division president Elise Ferguson has seen gross margins drop from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012 as a... View Details

Keywords: Production; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

June 2023 (Revised October 2024)
Teaching Note

Clash of Two Giants Simulation Exercise Teaching Note

By: Feng Zhu

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 623-092. Many markets are organized around platforms that connect consumers with complimentary applications and services. These platforms are two-sided because both sides—consumers and those providing applications or services—need access... View Details

Keywords: Platform Strategy; Customer Acquisition; Technology Platform; Competitive Strategy; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Management Skills

23 May 2023
Research & Ideas

Face Value: Do Certain Physical Features Help People Get Ahead?

features align with the average features of all people of the same gender, race, and approximate age. Average faces tend to be perceived as more attractive—though they’re not always the most charismatic. The researchers mined psychology, View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

10 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 10

seen as best able to exploit technological innovations. Read the article: http://hbr.org/2012/04/celebrate-innovation-no-matter-where-it-occurs/ar/1 Inviting Consumers to Downsize Fast-Food Portions Significantly Reduces Calorie... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

February 2015 (Revised April 2018)
Supplement

Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (B)

By: Willy Shih

When Dalian Wanda Group of China announced its plan to acquire the AMC Entertainment theatrical exhibition chain in the United States, many people in the U.S were mystified. Unlike China where theatrical exhibition was experiencing rapid growth, the U.S. market was... View Details

Keywords: AMC Entertainment; Wanda Group; Wang Jianlin; Theater Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Foreign Direct Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Expansion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; China; United States

2012
Book

The Architecture of Innovation: The Economics of Creative Organizations

By: Josh Lerner

Innovation is a much-used buzzword these days, but when it comes to creating and implementing a new idea, many companies miss the mark—plans backfire, consumer preferences shift, or tried-and-true practices fail to work in a new context. So is innovation just a... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Organizational Structure; Microeconomics

April 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Backchannelmedia: Making Television 'Clickable'

By: Sunil Gupta, Kavita Shukla and Zachary Scott Clayton

Backchannelmedia (BCM), a three-year-old start-up, intended to completely disrupt the world of advertising by transforming the way Americans watched television. BCM had developed a technology to make television "clickable," enabling viewers to interact with the content... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investment; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Competition

November 2001
Case

Korea-Tender

By: Das Narayandas and Kate Attea

Korea-Tender is a closed-bidding auction company trying to break even and must select the best opportunity to increase membership and revenue. It can continue its current model with heavy advertising, try to modify its costs, or develop an additional business model... View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Business Model; Advertising; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Marketing Strategy; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy

January 2025
Teaching Note

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details

Ryan Raffaelli is the Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He created and teaches the MBA course "Leadership: Execution and Action Planning" (LEAP) and serves... View Details

Keywords: consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products

22 May 2019
Blog Post

What is FIELD Global Immersion?

the principles of human-centered design, and therefore require students to quickly develop empathy with local consumers and then design a product, service, or experience to address a consumer need in the... View Details

Rosabeth M. Kanter

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing, and direct... View Details

29 Apr 2021
Blog Post

PRIDE at HBS: Forty Years of Progress

on the PRIDE community at HBS? Before coming to HBS I was a submarine officer in the US Navy. Submarines were my entire life. They consumed all my working hours and much of my social life too, since almost all my friends were fellow... View Details

19 Oct 2010
First Look

First Look: October 19, 2010

PublicationsFeeling Good about Giving: The Benefits (and Costs) of Self-interested Charitable Behavior Authors:L. Anik, L. B. Aknin, M. I. Norton, and E. W. Dunn Publication:In The Science of Giving: Experimental Approaches to the Study of Charity Abstract While lay... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Gray Markets and Multinational Transfer Pricing

Keywords: by Romana L. Autrey & Francesco Bova

04 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

Jumpstarting Innovation: Using Disruption to Your Advantage

the business environment cause economic shifts that destabilize industries, companies, and even countries. They allow new entrants or forward-thinking established players to introduce innovations—in products, markets, or processes—that transform the way companies do... View Details

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate

December 2007 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bertrand Moingeon, Vincent Marie Dessain and Ane Damgaard Jensen

This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Employee Relationship Management; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Social and Collaborative Networks; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; France