Publications

03 Oct 2018
HBS Seminar

Chad Syverson, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

February 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Background Note

China Commerce 2020

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and Nathaniel Schwalb

China's digital commerce platforms engage billions of consumers daily across a number of routine tasks from banking, retail purchases, travel, gaming, payments, and more. These platforms are the most sophisticated/informed and highest performing/capable in the world.... View Details

Keywords: Platforms; Strategy; Leadership; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; China

02 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

Modern Indian Art: The Birth of a Market

process better, they looked at the emergence of modern Indian art as a category in the international fine art market between 1995 and 2007. Before 1995, fine art was produced in India but there was little View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

November–December 2022
Article

Your Company Needs a Space Strategy. Now.

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury, Tarun Khanna, Alan MacCormack and Brendan Rosseau

Space is becoming a potential source of value for businesses across a range of sectors, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, and tourism. To understand what the opportunities are for your company, the authors advise you to consider the four ways in... View Details

Keywords: Space Strategy; Emerging Markets; Natural Resources; Analytics and Data Science; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Adaptation; Competition; Aerospace Industry

10 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Long-Tail Economics? Give Me Blockbusters!

destroy an entire city block. Blockbuster brands address pressing consumer needs so well that they often enjoy vertical sales liftoff. Think Viagra. Scarcity. A blockbuster brand is often in such high demand... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Entertainment & Recreation; Pharmaceutical

20 Mar 2020
News

How grocery stores restock shelves in the age of coronavirus

2013
Working Paper

Increased Speed Equals Increased Wait: The Impact of a Reduction in Emergency Department Ultrasound Order Processing Time

By: Jillian Berry Jaeker, Anita L. Tucker and Michael H. Lee

We exploit an exogenous process change at two emergency departments (EDs) within a health system to test the theory that increasing capacity in a discretionary work setting increases wait times due to additional services being provided to customers as a consequence of... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Demand and Consumers; Service Delivery; Health Care and Treatment; Business Processes; Health Industry

November 2000 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Airbus A3XX: Developing the World's Largest Commercial Jet (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

In July 2000, Airbus Industries' supervisory board is on the verge of approving a $13 billion investment for the development of a new super jumbo jet known as the A3XX that would seat from 550 to 1,000 passengers. Having secured approximately 20 orders for the new jet,... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Investment; Forecasting and Prediction; Capital Budgeting; Valuation; Government and Politics; Demand and Consumers; Product Development; Product Positioning; Air Transportation Industry; Manufacturing Industry

May 1988 (Revised March 1990)
Case

Matsushita Electric Industrial (MEI) in 1987

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal

Describes the development of Matsushita's international operations and the building of its dominant competitive position in the consumer electronics industry. Picks up the major challenges facing the company in 1987 as both its product focus and geographic posture are... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Value; Electronics Industry

April 1996 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Virtual Vineyards

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Alvin J. Silk, Lisa Klein Pearo and Thomas A. Gerace

Virtual Vineyards markets wine from small California vineyards directly to consumers through its site on the World Wide Web. It also facilitates fulfillment of customer orders. The case focuses on the ways in which Virtual Vineyards provides value to end consumers... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Management; Service Operations; Internet and the Web

Research Summary

Managing the Operating Role of Customers

By: Frances X. Frei

Customers in operating roles introduce considerable variability into the production environment including differences in the demands they impose on the environment and the unpredictability of those demands. When customers are the source of production variability, the... View Details

January 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Nivea (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Johann Fuller, Volker Bilgram and Greta Friar

The case describes the efforts of Beiersdorf, a worldwide leader in the cosmetics and skin care industries, to generate and commercialize new R&D through open innovation using external crowds and "netnographic" analysis. Beiersdorf, best known for its consumer brand... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Innovation Management; Crowdsourcing; Big Data; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Research and Development; Social and Collaborative Networks; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Analytics and Data Science; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

TeachingInterests

Driving Digital Strategy (DIGS)

By: Sunil Gupta

Digital technologies have changed the way consumers search for information, communicate with each other, and buy products. Rapid changes in technology and consumer behavior have had a profound impact on business models and marketing practices. This program equips... View Details

Article

An Exploration of Marketing's Impact on Society: A Perspective Linked to Democracy

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine Jocz

The authors propose a political theory perspective for examining the impact of the modern aggregate marketing system on consumer welfare and society. Specifically, they suggest that the benefits marketing delivers to consumers are similar to the conditions required for... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Welfare

January 2010
Background Note

In the Spotlight: The Market for Iron Ore

By: Aldo Musacchio, Tarun Khanna and Jenna Bernhardson

This note discusses the structure and functioning of the market for iron ore. This market has traditionally functioned using a benchmark pricing mechanism, in which large steel mills in Japan (now in China) negotiate the benchmark price with the largest of the big... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Mining; Price; Valuation; Business Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; China

Find at Harvard

November 2020
Case

Axis My India

By: Ananth Raman, Ann Winslow and Kairavi Dey

Pradeep Gupta founded Axis My India (AMI) as a printing and publishing company in 1998. In 2013, AMI expanded into consumer research and election forecasting. Although a relatively unknown entity, AMI predicted several election results accurately. Gupta describes AMI’s... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Operations; Management; Infrastructure; Logistics; Service Operations; Political Elections; Forecasting and Prediction; Asia; India

August 26, 2009
Comment

Where Cash for Clunkers Ran Off the Road

By: John A. Quelch

Today, let us celebrate the end of an unjustifiable drain on the U.S. taxpayer: the Cash for Clunkers (C4C) program.

True, C4C greatly boosted the number of consumers visiting car dealers. Doubtless, some new cars were sold to consumers who thought they... View Details

Keywords: Government Programs; Environmental Impact; Government Waste; Customer Behavior; Economic Growth; Economy; Financial Crisis; Government and Politics; Leadership; Marketing; Programs; Value; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States