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15 May 2013
Research & Ideas

From McRibs to Maseratis: The Power of Scarcity Marketing

quantitative and qualitative research to explain how we can turn cash into contentment. The key lies in changing our spending habits and adhering to five key principles: Buy Experiences (research shows that material purchases are less... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael I. Norton

September 2015 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Managing Consumer Touchpoints at Nissan Japan

By: Thales Teixeira, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In 2015, Nissan was third place in the Japanese auto market, behind Toyota and Honda. The challenge of increasing market share was that 80% of car shoppers who were non-Nissan owners did not consider Nissan during their purchase process. This process involved three... View Details

Keywords: Nissan; Automobiles; Cars; Touch Points; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Advertising; Auto Industry; Japan

August 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas & The American Hat Factory

By: Steven Rogers and Ariel Rogers

On a sunny Monday morning, Rev. Morgan-Thomas walked into her newly acquired hat factory thinking, “What have I gotten myself into? Things are worse than I imagined. Can I ever turn this company around given all of the known and unknown problems? Can I make it... View Details

Article

Can Big-Box Retailers Provide Local Health Care?

By: Robert S. Huckman

National retailers, most notably Walmart and Best Buy, are making big bets on their ability to fill this need for local health care. At first glance, these moves are a bit surprising given that these companies have not traditionally been focused on health care... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Local Range; Retail Industry; Health Industry

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23 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Status: When and Why It Matters

with central players because that signals you have the quality to solicit those relationships," Malter says. "But there comes the point at which you have to switch from partnering with the central players in your industry to being the central partner in your... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

December 2005 (Revised April 2011)
Case

C.W. Post

By: Nitin Nohria, Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson

In 1906, C.W. Post had to move his latest breakfast product--corn flakes--from store shelves into cereal bowls nationwide. Post genuinely believed his corn flakes and other breakfast foods would make people well. Through sampling and other innovative sales and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Sales; Food and Beverage Industry; Battle Creek

June 2020
Article

Lazy Prices

By: Lauren Cohen, Christopher J. Malloy and Quoc Nguyen

We explore the implications of a subtle "default" choice that firms make in their regular reporting practices, namely that firms typically repeat what they most recently reported. Using the complete history of regular quarterly and annual filings by U.S. corporations... View Details

Keywords: Default Behavior; Inertia; Firms; Disclosure; Information; Business or Company Management; Behavior; Annual Reports; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Reporting; United States

SSRN

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June 2015
Case

TAV Airports Holding (A)

By: Juan Alcácer and Esel Çekin

This case explores the strategic options available to TAV Airports Holding, a Turkish firm, after it withdraws from a bid to build Istanbul's newest airport. The new airport would eventually replace Istanbul Atatürk Airport, where TAV makes 43% of its current revenue,... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Vertical Integration; Horizontal Integration; International Expansion; Infrastructure; Corporate Strategy

23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

by management layers, making independent decisions about everything from where to buy bandages to how to discipline a nurse who slacks off. “Working in an organization that trusts you and cares for you View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

11 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

In the Future of Sports Investing, Media Is the Best Bet

thought of as something that's investable for private equity. We see exciting young, growth companies, and we want to make them available to our limited partners." Hence, the creation of Causeway Media Partners, an investment fund... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Sports; Financial Services

October 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Teaching Note

Alvogen

By: Daniel Isenberg, William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

Alvogen is an Icelandic pharmaceutical company that makes and sells generic drugs. Founder and CEO Robert Wessman is deciding whether to take on private equity investors willing to buy out all shareholders, merge with a large and publicly-traded US pharmaceutical... View Details

Keywords: Biotechnology; Globalization; Entrepreneurship; Biotechnology Industry

Article

The Error at the Heart of Corporate Leadership

By: Joseph L. Bower and Lynn S. Paine

Agency theory, a new model of governance promulgated by academic economists in the 1970s, is behind the idea that corporate managers should make shareholder value their primary concern and that boards should ensure they do. The theory regards shareholders as owners of... View Details

Keywords: Agency Theory; Business and Shareholder Relations; Leadership; Corporate Governance

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November 1989 (Revised November 2002)
Case

American Dream, The

By: Donald A. Brown, William J. Poorvu and Richard E Crum

Explores the process of purchasing a single family house through the eyes of a young couple. The couple is trying to determine what type of home to buy as well as how to finance it. View Details

Keywords: Personal Finance; Financing and Loans; Decisions; Real Estate Industry

June 2015
Supplement

TAV Airports Holding (B)

By: Juan Alcácer and Esel Çekin

This case explores the strategic options available to TAV Airports Holding, a Turkish firm, after it withdraws from a bid to build Istanbul's newest airport. The new airport would eventually replace Istanbul Atatürk Airport, where TAV makes 43% of its current revenue,... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Corporate Strategy; International Expansion; Infrastructure; Emerging Markets; Horizontal Integration; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Globalization

September 2007 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Sinopec: Refining its Strategy

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Julia Galef

China's oil industry, with majority ownership vested in the government, had engaged in an "equity oil" strategy for the past few years-acquiring equity interests in oil producing nations including Sudan, Angola, and Iran. Outside critics, however, suggested that the... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Equity; Foreign Direct Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; State Ownership; Energy Industry; China