Restaurants - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

real ones raised consumers’ eyebrows, while programs that helped the brand’s employees or suppliers were applauded, such as Miller Lite’s virtual tip jar for bartenders or Yum Brands $1,000 bonuses to its Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC general managers during mandated... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

allocation of resources was difficult. There was also the past legacy of vertical and horizontal integration, which left Unilever owning considerable parts of the value chain. Its trawlers caught the fish that was eventually sold in its View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

22 May 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

A Luxury Industry Veteran Teaches the Importance of Aesthetics to Budding Business Leaders

laundromat called “Linens and Lattes” that would let customers drink coffee, socialize, and surf the web while waiting for their clothes to dry). Well into the night, the judges discussed the presentations over dinner at Harvest View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Beauty & Cosmetics; Apparel & Accessories; Auto; Tourism

07 May 2020
Research & Ideas

The One Good Thing Caused by COVID-19: Innovation

makes consumers more willing to pay for safety features." Already during the pandemic, companies have been creative in identifying "low-hanging fruit" that could be quickly implemented in their operations. Grocery stores install plexiglass shields at... View Details

Keywords: by Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso

08 May 2023
Research & Ideas

How Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Crushed Crowdfunding for Minority Entrepreneurs

Index from 2009 to 2021 to efforts by minority entrepreneurs to raise money on Kickstarter, which has raised $7.3 billion for popular projects such as opening restaurants and publishing comic books. “You can compare quarters within the... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

27 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

Rituals Strengthen Couples. Here’s Why They’re Good for Business, Too

says. "If they know people are going to a certain restaurant every week or using a certain product at home regularly, they could find ways to promote repeated purchases by sending coupons, subscription plans, or even gift cards to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

07 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

What Customers Need to Hear from You During the COVID Crisis

as Miller Lite’s virtual tip jar for bartenders or Yum Brands $1,000 bonuses to its Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC general managers during mandated restaurant closures and emergency medical relief fund for employees diagnosed with... View Details

Keywords: by Jill Avery and Richard Edelman

10 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

The COVID Two-Step for Leaders: Protect and Pivot

their employees working. Some are big, like General Motors, a car company that's making ventilators. Others are small, mom-and-pop restaurants that are making up fruit-and-vegetable boxes for people and delivering them door-to-door.”... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

complete existing development projects. In a few weeks, the company developed a new product to help restaurants manage increasing delivery and take-away demand sparked by the pandemic. The new product included, for example, the management... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

15 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

The Unspoken Messages of COVID-19 Restrictions

fact, Harvard University research suggests that reopening restaurants last spring, shortly after the pandemic’s first wave, may have led some people to assume that eating out was safe—despite the now-documented links between indoor dining... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Food & Beverage

08 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The Civic Benefits of Google Street View and Yelp

Yelp restaurant reviews to target hygiene inspections? “There is so much data now, it’s exhilarating—and frightening” “There is all sorts of data that is coming in now,” says Luca, “and if you use it carefully you could revamp the way... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

18 Nov 2009
HBS Case

Customer Feedback Not on elBulli’s Menu

"We have turned eating into an experience that supersedes eating," he has said. "If the product is merely food, Adrià should move the restaurant to Barcelona or Madrid," says Norton, who has written a case on elBulli... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

09 Feb 2012
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Online Marketing

Yelp Factor: Are Consumer Reviews Good for Business? In a new study, Assistant Professor Michael Luca shows just how much restaurant reviews on Yelp affect companies' bottom lines. The more difficult question: Are these ratings reliable... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Technology

03 Apr 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 3, 2018

the Minimum Wage on Firm Exit By: Luca, Dara Lee, and Michael Luca Abstract—We study the impact of the minimum wage on firm exit in the restaurant industry, exploiting recent changes in the minimum wage at the city level. We find that the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Mar 2017
Research & Ideas

Hiding Products From Customers May Ultimately Boost Sales

way to handle assortment rotation strategy—even restaurants. “For example, some sushi restaurants serve unique sushi rolls on a conveyor belt that passes in front of customers,” Ferreira and Goh write in the paper. “Customers must decide... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Fashion

23 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

It’s Called ‘Price Coherence,’ and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers

restaurant versus on Grubhub.com, or paying cash versus using a credit card. In many cases, consumers pay the same price for a given product or service, whether buying it directly from its source or through an intermediary. Economists... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Air Transportation; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation

09 Jan 2013
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Understanding Customers

Customer Feedback Not on elBulli's Menu At its height, Chef Ferran Adrià's elBulli restaurant may have been the most popular in the world, but why? In professor Michael Norton's course, students learn about marketing from a business owner... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

15 Aug 2005
HBS Case

Classic Cases Live On at HBS

mistrustful of exotic foods." He also determined that labor cost and availability was the key problem in the U.S. restaurant business and that eliminating the conventional kitchen could address that. From these fundamental... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

29 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 29

client portfolios. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/410139-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 317-121 Pho Hoa Dorchester Pho Hoa is a traditional, family-owned Vietnamese restaurant in Dorchester,... View Details