Publications

February 1989
Background Note

Corporate Positioning: How to Assess--and Build--A Company's Reputation

Provides a framework for assessing and enhancing an organization's reputation. Points out two dimensions of a corporate image--visibility and credibility. Discusses several critical issues that must be addressed in building an image. Finally, provides an assessment of... View Details

Keywords: Status and Position; Corporate Strategy; Reputation; Organizations; Brands and Branding

November 1994 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Levi Strauss & Co.: Global Sourcing (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jane Palley Katz

In 1993, senior managers at Levi Strauss & Co., the world's largest brand-name apparel manufacturer, were deciding whether the company should have a business presence in China, given the human rights and other problems there. The China Policy Group has been asked to... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Decisions; Management Skills; Trade; Brands and Branding; Rights; Ethics; Foreign Direct Investment; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China

Keywords: Retail

May 1992 (Revised May 2002)
Case

NIKE in Transition (B): Phil Knight Returns

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

After returning to the CEO/COO job, Phil Knight makes changes to Nike's strategy, organization, and management between 1983 and 1987 aimed at making Nike more responsive to the market place. He takes cost-cutting measures, and experiments with several management and... View Details

Keywords: Change; Entrepreneurship; Cost Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy

March 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Fleet Financial Group Sponsorship of Monet in the 20th Century

By: Stephen A. Greyser and David Crockett

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Fleet Financial Group's sponsored the Monet in the 20th Century exhibition, the world's largest, in 1998. The case chronicles the solicitation of a large corporate sponsor, as well as the growth and development of their... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Finance; Product Development; For-Profit Firms; Partners and Partnerships; Arts; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Fine Arts Industry; Financial Services Industry; Massachusetts

20 Nov 2019
Video

Seema Aziz

Seema Aziz, the founder of Sefam, the first high-quality fabric manufacturer in Pakistan, describes the way her employees have been taught to monitor quality and educate customers.

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October 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Strategic Inflection: TiVo in 2005

By: David B. Yoffie, Pai-Ling Yin and Barbara Mack

In the late 1990s, TiVo pioneered the digital video recorder (DVR), a new consumer electronics category. By 2005, the company was the clear leader in technology and installed base. It had also built extraordinary loyalty among its customers. However, TiVo lost a half... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Partners and Partnerships; Information Infrastructure; Television Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

July 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Goodyear: The Aquatred Launch

By: John A. Quelch

After many years of R&D, Goodyear has developed the Aquatred, an innovative new tire. However, the tire industry has matured and evolved, raising questions concerning the Aquatred's ability to gain support from Goodyear's independent tire dealers. Students must use... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Auto Industry; Rubber Industry; United States

December 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Ebony Magazine

By: Steven Rogers and Derrick Jackson

For nearly 75 years, the Johnson Publishing Company has been the most successful African American magazine publisher. Its flagship Ebony magazine was an iconic coffee table fixture for decades in black households of all classes, making founder John H. Johnson... View Details

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Note on Generic Drugs in the European Union

By: Robert C. Pozen and Elizabeth M. Leonard

Rules governing the introduction of generic drugs in U.S. and EU have some similarities but significant differences because of the Hatch-Waxman Act in the U.S. View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Health Care and Treatment; Trademarks; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry; European Union; United States

Find at Harvard

May 2013
Teaching Note

Mutti S.p.a.

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Aldo Sesia and Mary Shelman

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy

22 Nov 2019
Video

Merrill J. Fernando

Merrill Fernando, founder of Sri Lanka's largest and most global tea brand, Dilmah, discussed the importance of establishing local brands.

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Career Coach

Juan Leung Li

While it takes introspection, Juan believes in the meaningful differences (finding purpose!) these efforts have in career searches. While at HBS, Juan considered a diverse set of opportunities such as brand management, consulting, PE,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Angel Investing; Financial Services (All); Corporate Finance; Financial Services (All); Investment Banking; Financial Services (All); Venture Capital; Financial Services (All); Startup - Founder; Entrepreneurship; Startup - Joiner; Entrepreneurship; Technology

Video

Dr. Ahmed Heikal

Dr. Ahmed Heikal, Chairman and Founder of Qalaa Holdings, explains how building businesses requires a skillset that involves accounting for external pressures, particularly in the context of emerging markets. View Details

January 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Pearson: Efficacy 2.0

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and James Weber

Pearson, which billed itself as the "world's learning company," faced a host of critical decisions in mid-2020. Several years prior, it had embarked on a new path that put the learner at the heart of the business and committed to a new strategic orientation. The new... View Details

Keywords: Efficacy; Learning; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Strategic Planning; Education Industry

September 1992 (Revised January 1993)
Case

Courtyard by Marriott

By: James L. Heskett and Roger H. Hallowell

Courtyard by Marriott, a chain of modestly priced hotels, weighs its future options regarding human resources, its service delivery system, and management structure. Fairfield Inn, another Marriott product, is discussed for contrast. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Service Operations; Brands and Branding; Management Systems; Decision Making; Service Industry; Accommodations Industry

05 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

In Praise of Marketing

the United States. The latest Interbrand listing of the most valuable global brands reveals seven American brands in the top ten and sixty in the top hundred, more than twice... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Advertising

December 1992
Case

BASF: Corporate Advertising for 1992

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Describes BASF's corporate advertising program in the United States. In 1992, BASF's U.S. companies extended an existing corporate advertising campaign to continue to build awareness of the German-based multinational's corporate identity. The core theme of the campaign... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; United States; Germany