Publications

19 Feb 2020
News

Running a Decathlon

Bill and Sandra Patton (photo by Tony LaBruno) While serving on the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee in 1979, William Patton Jr. (PMD 21, 1971) met Orange County superintendent of schools Robert Peterson, who was unsuccessfully pressing the group to include... View Details

Keywords: Lisa Scanlon Mogolov

September 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Anker Innovations (A)

By: Feng Zhu, Jiangyong Lu and Nancy Hua Dai

An Amazon-native brand, Anker is the world’s No. 1 mobile charging brand and a leading consumer electronics company. Over the years, Anker developed an effective model of proving new products online first by leveraging customer insights from its proprietary Voice of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Product; Distribution; Product Launch; Electronics Industry; Consumer Products Industry

January 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments Corp.

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Describes the efforts of a manufacturer of scientific instruments to implement new methods of managing new product development, which its executives had learned in a Harvard Business School seminar. The executives left the seminar excited to implement a new way of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; United States

October 1981 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B)

Reveals that Vicks chose a multi-condition positioning for the product. Describes testing of name and concept, and extensively reports on a four-city test market. Students are expected to evaluate both the design and results of the test, and face options ranging from... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Health Industry

November 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Moonfare and the Democratization of Private Equity

By: Victoria Ivashina and Srimayi Mylavarapu

Founded in 2016, Moonfare headquartered in Europe, was a pioneer in the “democratization” of private equity investments. Historically, private equity was accessible only to institutional investors like pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and large family... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Customers; Wealth; Business Strategy; Segmentation; Technological Innovation; Product Launch; Financial Services Industry; Europe

August 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

The Flaxil Label (A)

This case focuses on the 2001 negotiation between Mytex Pharmaceuticals and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The outcome of the negotiation would determine the new label for Mytex's blockbuster drug for arthritis, Flaxil. The negotiation is quite... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Disorders; Product Launch; Negotiation Process; Business and Government Relations; Safety; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2004 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Passion of the Christ (A)

By: John A. Quelch, Anita Elberse and Anna Harrington

Bob Berney, president of Newmarket Films, must decide on a distribution and marketing strategy for Mel Gibson's controversial new movie, The Passion of the Christ. Fueled by Gibson's star power as well as an extensive prescreening campaign among Christian leaders and... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Film Entertainment; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Distribution Channels; Religion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

07 Feb 2017
News

Checking in with One Championship

Singapore. Then his fortunes changed, a dramatic turnaround documented in this Bulletin profile. After founding and selling a startup with two HBS classmates, Sityodtong headed to Wall Street, working for several large investment funds before View Details

Keywords: Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

23 May 2019
News

Michael R. Bloomberg, MBA 1966

Return to Alumni Achievement Awards main page TIMELINE 1942 Born, Boston, Massachusetts 1964 Earns BS, Electrical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University 1966 Earns MBA 1966 Joins Salomon Brothers 1981 Launches Bloomberg LP 1983 Merrill... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

November 2004
Case

ClozeX Medical (A): The New Standard of Wound Closure

By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis

Describes a set of decisions confronting the founder of a company with a revolutionary new wound-closure product. He must decide how to finance and exploit his venture. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Medical Specialties; Corporate Finance; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

25 Sep 2019
News

Leading the Evolution of E-Commerce

$1 billion. In 2017, when Fleiss left, it had 6 million customers and $100 million in revenues. It was time to try something new. That something new became Jetblack, a text-to-shop service that Fleiss launched this year with longtime... View Details

Keywords: ecommerce; work-life balance; entrepreneurship; Retail Trade

10 Jan 2017
News

Capturing the Personal Side of the MBA Experience

portraits and essays launched the HBS Portrait Project. “I’m interested in vulnerability,” says Deifell, whose 15-year (and counting) commitment to the project involves working with a team of student volunteers who solicit essays and... View Details

02 Mar 2016
News

The New Space Race

Ariane Cornell Head, Astronaut Strategy and Sales, Blue Origin Cornell calls the West Texas launch and landing a “learning experience,” noting that Blue Origin is slated to reach into orbital space before the end of the decade. (courtesy... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley

24 Apr 2014
News

Exploring new ways to understand and engage audiences

Victoria Ransom (MBA 2008) launched Wildfire Interactive, now a Google company, to connect companies and customers through social media. (Published April 2014) View Details

01 Jun 2015
News

Case Study: Sneak Peak

to help launch the product once they created a commercially viable recipe. In January 2013, they debuted their chocolate milk shake in the natural grocery channel (including Whole Foods Market and Sprouts Farmers Market). Over the course... View Details

Keywords: Whole Foods; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

24 Dec 2014
News

Promoting citizen commerce

Entrepreneur Jules Pieri (MBA 1986) launched The Grommet with a goal of bringing undiscovered, unusual products to market and helping their creators succeed. (Published December 2014) View Details

November 2013
Teaching Note

Cialis Lifecycle Management: Lilly's BPH Dilemma

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Brand Management; Brand Equity; Brand Positioning; Product Management; Product Strategy; Pricing; Health Care; Health Care and Treatment; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Marketing; Product Launch; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry

November 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Communispace

By: Anat Keinan

Communispace is the market leader in creating and managing private, brand-focused online communities for major corporate clients. These communities have provided its clients with insights into how consumers view their brands, with quick feedback on potential marketing... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Network Effects; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology; Communications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry