Publications

August 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Marketing James Patterson

By: John A. Deighton

Can a successful novelist use direct-to-consumer marketing to grow his brand? The author, who in a previous career ran a major advertising agency, uses advertising with great success to build his stature as a crime fiction writer. Further, he applies his experience at... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Debates; Surveys; SWOT Analysis; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Outcome or Result; Sales

20 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Getting the Marketing Mix Right

the right mix between them—the ideal brew needed to achieve sales and market share goals. The trick is that each marketing effort affects consumer behavior in different ways,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

2022
Working Paper

Consumer Demand with Social Influences: Evidence from an E-Commerce Platform

By: El Hadi Caoui, Chiara Farronato, John J. Horton and Robert Schultz

For some kinds of goods, rarity itself is valued. "Fashionable'" goods are demanded in part because they are unique. In this paper, we explore the economics of rare goods using auctions of limited-edition shoes held by an e-commerce platform. We model endogenous entry... View Details

Keywords: Rare Goods; Scarcity; E-commerce; Consumer Behavior; Auctions

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June 2011
Teaching Note

Reed Supermarkets: A New Wave of Competitors (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Carole Carlson

Teaching note for brief case 4296. View Details

Keywords: Consumer Marketing; Market Positioning; Market Segmentation; Demand and Consumers; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Segmentation

2010
Chapter

Consumer Policy: Business and the Politics of Consumption

By: Gunnar Trumbull

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Policy

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August 2012
Article

Consumer Response to Versioning: How Brands' Production Methods Affect Perceptions of Unfairness

By: Andrew Gershoff, Ran Kivetz and Anat Keinan

Marketers often extend product lines by offering limited-capability models that are created by removing or degrading features in existing models. This production method, called versioning, has been lauded because of its ability to increase both consumer and firm... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Production; Competency and Skills; Welfare or Wellbeing; Cost vs Benefits; Perception; Customers; Performance Evaluation; Fairness; Business Ventures

Find at Harvard

22 Feb 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Consumer Demand for Prize-Linked Savings: A Preliminary Analysis

Keywords: by Peter Tufano, Nick Maynard & Jan-Emmanuel De Neve; Financial Services

November 1999 (Revised July 2000)
Case

Roly International: Consumer Licensed Products in China

In this case Roly International, the largest Disney apparel licensee in China, considers how to adapt their distribution channel strategy to the downturn in the Chinese market. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Distribution Channels; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China

2020
Working Paper

Consumers Punish Firms That Cut Employee Pay in Response to COVID-19

By: Bhavya Mohan, Serena Hagerty and Michael Norton

Two experiments, including one incentive compatible study, examine the impact of cutting pay for executives versus employees in response to COVID-19 on consumer behavior. Study 1 explores the effect of announcing cuts or no cuts to CEO and employee pay, and shows that... View Details

Keywords: Employee Furloughs; CEO Pay Cuts; Pay Ratios; Purchase Intention; Health Pandemics; Employees; Wages; Executive Compensation; Consumer Behavior

SSRN

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01 Jun 1996
News

Reinventing Marketing

such as telecommunications and financial services are replacing the consumer goods industry as the testing ground of marketing innovation. To keep pace with these dramatic shifts in the business world, says... View Details

Keywords: Mary Jane Higgins; Illustration by Peter Hoey

January 2004
Background Note

Why Developers Don't Understand Why Consumers Don't Buy

By: John T. Gourville

Looks at the psychological biases developers bring to the new product development process. Identifies three reasons why developers may do a poor job of identifying the demand for an innovative, new concept or product: (1) the self-selection bias, (2) differing initial... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Management; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Product Development; Perspective; Prejudice and Bias

February 2006 (Revised September 2007)
Background Note

Winner-Take-All in Networked Markets

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Discusses platform structure in new networked markets, that is, whether a market that exhibits network effects will be served by a single platform or by rival platforms. Defines "platforms" and "platform structure"; describes factors that influence the odds that a... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Growth Management; Network Effects; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web

01 Apr 2000
News

Marketing Muscle

marketing experience. Branding, Edwards believes, is the best defense against competition. "It's not technology, because you can leapfrog that or acquire it," she said. "At the end of the day, consumers are... View Details

June 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Classic Knitwear and Guardian: A Perfect Fit?

By: John A. Quelch and Patricia Girardi

Classic Knitwear manufactures and distributes casual apparel, either unbranded or under a private-label brand name. Partly because Classic has no brand recognition with consumers, gross margins are low. To improve margins, the company considers partnering via a... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Forecasting; Consumer Marketing; New Product Marketing; Product Lines; Merchandising; Branding; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Marketing Strategy; Forecasting and Prediction; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

22 Oct 2018
Blog Post

HBS Marketing Club Presents: The Brand Summit

and a competitive edge in the market. Of course, this is easier said than done. In a world of rapid technology advancements and changing consumer preferences, marketers are constantly tested on how quickly... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

11 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Does Democracy Need a Marketing Manager?

marketing can be used to create a political process that entices consumers (voters) rather than makes them cynical. "We wanted to elevate understanding of the power and importance of View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

April 2009
Article

How to Market in a Downturn

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine Jocz

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. Because no two recessions are exactly alike, marketers find themselves in poorly... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Spending; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Segmentation