Publications

Article

Marketing Complex Financial Products in Emerging Markets: Evidence from Rainfall Insurance in India

By: Sarthak Gaurav, Shawn A. Cole and Jeremy Tobacman

Recent financial liberalization in emerging economies has led to the rapid introduction of new financial products. Lack of experience with financial products, low levels of education, and low financial literacy may slow adoption of these products. This article reports... View Details

Keywords: Literacy; Insurance; Marketing; Decisions; Demand and Consumers; Financial Instruments; Emerging Markets; Education; Personal Finance; Agribusiness; Developing Countries and Economies; Innovation and Invention; Gujarat

25 Apr 2014
News

Keeping an iron grip on Nigeria's financial markets

Arunma Oteh (MBA 1990) has been leading the transformation of Nigeria's capital markets, improving their integrity and regulatory framework, since becoming director-general of the country's Security and Exchange Commission in 2010. "Capital View Details

April 2022 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Stalin’s Capitalists: American Business and Soviet Industrialization

By: Jeremy Friedman, Jingyu Liu and Christine Riggle

In the late 1920s and early 1930s when Joseph Stalin, leader of the world’s first Communist state, sought to industrialize his largely peasant country on an unprecedented scale, he turned for help to those who had the most experience constructing on such a scale:... View Details

Keywords: Communism; Industrialization; Socialism; History; Industry Growth; Economic Systems; Soviet Union

Educators

01 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

Are Free Trade and Free Markets Quaint Ideas From the Past?

for years, extending back to Adam Smith’s “invisible hand.” While many members of the management community generally accept the notion of free markets and trade, those unable to compete with imports are... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

22 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Mind of the Market: Extending the Frontiers of Marketing Thought

might serve the study of consumer behavior. An HBS professor since 1991, Zaltman's work actually cuts across a number of boundaries. He's a co-director (with Stephen M. Kosslyn, Professor of psychology at Harvard University) of the Mind of the View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

29 Jul 2013
News

Opening New Markets for Black South African Winemakers

wine-making. But apartheid had prevented them from owning land or gaining access to capital. Wine had become a $3 billion export industry for South Africa, but just 2 percent of the market was held by black South Africans, who comprise 85... View Details

Keywords: wine; wine making; wine importing; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

December 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Shiseido: Reinvesting in Brand

By: Jill Avery and Nobuo Sato

Shiseido was in the midst of a six year corporate turnaround, trying to reverse the effects of decades of under-investment in R&D and marketing which had led to a cycle of declining customer support and brand value. Would the CEO’s VISION 2020 plan, centered on four... View Details

Educators

Web

Online Digital Marketing Strategy Course | HBS Online

personalization, storytelling, and community building Who Will Benefit Marketing Professionals Non-Marketing Professionals Entrepreneurs Advance beyond tactics and learn digital View Details

March 2023
Article

Reaching for Rigor and Relevance: Better Marketing Research for a Better World

By: Shilpa Madan, Gita Venkataramani Johar, Jonah Berger, Pierre Chandon, Rajesh Chandy, Rebecca Hamilton, Leslie John, Aparna Labroo, Peggy J. Liu, John G. Lynch, Nina Mazar, Nicole Mead, Vikas Mittal, Christine Moorman, Michael I. Norton, John Roberts, Dilip Soman, Madhu Viswanathan and Katherine White

Over the past several decades, scholars have highlighted the obligations and opportunities for marketing as a discipline to play a role in creating a better world — or risk becoming irrelevant for the largest problems facing consumers and society. Climate change,... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Marketing; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Community Relations; Research

Web

Reconceiving Products & Markets - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

spanned 16 countries in 2013, promotes the benefits of handwashing to rural communities. So far, Unilever has changed the behaviors of 130 million people. Businesses have the potential to be more effective than governments and NGOs in creating and View Details

02 Dec 2014
Blog Post

Building a Consumer-Centric Strategy: Highlights from the Marketing & CPG Club’s Conference

to Create the Most Meaningful Connection”. All throughout the day, attendees posted their takeaways on Twitter using the hashtag: #MCPG14. Overall, it was an exciting day to connect with other interested members of the marketing View Details

02 Apr 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The Flattening Firm and Product Market Competition: The Effect of Trade Liberalization

Keywords: by Maria Guadalupe & Julie M. Wulf

18 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Innovating in the Hot Market of Cold Brew

valuable. Like everyone, we’ve spent more time online - for us that meant building our community of followers earlier, which we’ve leveraged to get feedback on our device earlier than expected. Because we’re further apart, we’ve had to... View Details

November 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Israel at 70: Is it Possible to (re)Brand a Country?

By: Elie Ofek and Sarah Gulick

In the spring of 2018, Israel was set to celebrate its 70th anniversary. While there was much to rejoice in reaching this milestone, the country’s brand image internationally was far from ideal. Past efforts to impact perceptions of Israel, spearheaded by the Ministry... View Details

Keywords: Branding; Brand Management Of Places; Nation Branding; Brand Positioning; Public Diplomacy; Marketing Communication; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Perception; Change; Israel

Educators

Article

Why, When, and How Much to Entertain Consumers in Advertisements?: A Web-based Facial Tracking Field Study

By: Thales Teixeira, Rosalind Picard and Rana el Kaliouby

The presence of positive entertainment (e.g., visual imagery, upbeat music, humor) in TV advertisements can make them more attractive and persuasive. However, little is known about the downsides of using too much entertainment. This research focuses on why, when, and... View Details

Keywords: Face-tracking; Entertainment; Television; Purchase Intent; Commercials; Facial Expressions; Marketing Communication; Advertising; Television Entertainment; Marketing; Advertising Industry

Read Now

Article

Market Reaction to and Valuation of IFRS Reconciliation Adjustments: First Evidence from the UK

By: Joanne Horton and George Serafeim

We investigate the market reaction to, and the value-relevance of, information contained in the mandatory transitional documents required by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) 1 (2005). We find significant negative abnormal returns for firms reporting... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Markets; Information; International Finance; Earnings Management; Stock Shares; Taxation; Goodwill Accounting; Price; Financial Reporting; Standards; Corporate Disclosure; United Kingdom

June 2014
Article

Building Brand Knowledge Structures: Elaboration and Interference Effects on the Processing of Sequentially Advertised Brand Benefit Claims

By: Susan E. Heckler, Kevin L. Keller, Michael J. Houston and Jill Avery

Two experiments are reported that examine the effects of an ad campaign designed to link two different benefit claims to a brand. The findings indicated that recall for a subsequently advertised claim depended on the strength of existing brand-benefit links in memory.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communication; Brand Building; Brand Management; Brands; Advertising; Consumer Psychology; Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Advertising Industry; Consumer Products Industry