Publications

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October 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Supplement

Cottle-Taylor: Expanding the Oral Care Group in India, Faculty Spreadsheet (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh

Keywords: Forecasting; Budgeting; International Marketing; Product Planning ＆ Policy; Sales Promotions; Marketing Plans; Products; Consumer Behavior; Marketing; Product Design; Emerging Markets; Forecasting and Prediction; Budgets and Budgeting

June 2012
Class Lecture

Why You're Not Buying Venezuelan Chocolate: The Provenance Paradox

By: Rohit Deshpandé

A product's country of origin establishes its authenticity. This is the provenance paradox. Consumers associate certain geographies with the best products: French wine, Italian sports cars, Swiss watches. Competing products from other countries - especially developing... View Details

Keywords: Global Business; Branding; Strategic Planning; Strategic Positioning; Emergent Countries; Consumer Perception; Developing Markets; Brands and Branding; Geographic Location; Globalized Markets and Industries; Perception; Emerging Markets; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Venezuela

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November 2014 (Revised February 2016)
Case

DoubleDutch

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Matthew G. Preble

Lawrence Coburn and Pankaj Prasad, co-founders of the event solution startup DoubleDutch, have to make a significant decision about their young company's sales function. DoubleDutch's key product was a mobile application (app) and event management platform that... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Marketing Management; Strategy Implementation; Business Marketing; Sales Force Management; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Technology Industry; United States; Europe; Asia

February 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Case

AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jamie Merkrebs

AptDeco, a used furniture marketplace, was growing rapidly in the tri-state area. The co-founders were confident that the business model, financial position, and unit economics positioned AptDeco for scaling in the massive $120 billion furniture market, despite its... View Details

November 2017
Technical Note

21st Century Populism

By: George Serafeim and David Freiberg

While the first decade of the 21st century saw a massive financial crisis that led to significant economic downturn, the second decade saw the rise of political leaders, who built their support upon a political message that championed the common person against the... View Details

Keywords: Populism; Market Efficiency; Market Liberalization; Political Influence; Political Instability; Capital Controls; Partnerships; Coalition; Inequality; Role Of Business In Society; Government Intervention In The Markets; Labor Market; Equality and Inequality; Financial Markets; Social Issues; Immigration; Financial Crisis; Capital Markets; Business and Government Relations

March 2014 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Teach For China and the Chinese Nonprofit Sector

By: William C. Kirby and Erica M. Zendell

Teach For China was founded in 2008 with the mission of expanding educational opportunity across China. By 2013, Andrea Pasinetti's lofty dream had taken flight: over 300 graduates from top American and Chinese universities were participating in its 2-year teaching... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit; China; Business And Government Relations; Business And Poverty; Business And Society; Emerging Market Entrepreneurship; Emerging Market; NGO; Education; Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Emerging Markets; Non-Governmental Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry; China

May 2020
Teaching Note

Shiseido: Reinvesting in Brand

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-026. 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 that had led to a vicious cycle of declining customer support and brand value. Would... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Marketing ROI; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Growth Strategy; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Japan; Asia

Article

Putting the 'Relationship' Back into CRM

By: Susan Fournier and Jill Avery

Many managers think that the way to capture value through relationship marketing is to focus on the 'good' customers and get rid of the 'bad' ones. But there is a lot more to best practice relationship management than maximizing revenues on individual customers and... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; CRM; Customer Relationship Management; Brand Building; Brand Management; Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

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January 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

Perfect Diary (完美日记)

By: Shunyuan Zhang and Sunil Gupta

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 522-030. View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Marketing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China

May 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Teaching Note

Reliance Baking Soda: Optimizing Promotional Spending (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

Teaching Note to Briefcase 4128 View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Consumer Marketing; Marketing Planning; Product Management; Sales Promotions; Program Budgeting; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Mathematical Methods; Advertising; Budgets and Budgeting; Product Marketing; Communication Strategy

2023
Working Paper

Scapegoating and Discrimination in Times of Crisis: Evidence from Airbnb

By: Michael Luca, Elizaveta Pronkina and Michelangelo Rossi

We present evidence that discrimination against Asian-American Airbnb users sharply increased at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a DiD approach, we find that hosts with distinctively Asian names experienced a 20 percent decline in guests relative to hosts... View Details

Keywords: Discrimination; Behavioral Economics; Market Design; Health Pandemics; Prejudice and Bias; Digital Platforms; Design

January 2015
Case

Aura Light: From a Light Bulb Manufacturer to an Energy Savings Solutions Provider

By: Krishna Palepu and Elena Corsi

A Swedish light bulb manufacturer reviews its strategy to better compete against large global multinationals. View Details

Keywords: Outsourcing; New Markets; Lighting Industry; Global Strategy

22 Nov 2020
News

Kazakh Fintech a Pandemic Bright Spot

Keywords: fintech; IPO; developing markets; COVID-19; Finance

16 Jun 2023
News

On the Move: Adam Laitsas (MBA 2016)

Our “On the Move” series highlights HBS alumni who are taking on new roles and responsibilities. Here we speak with Adam Laitsas (MBA 2016), who was announced as EVP of International Strategy & Business Operations for the Professional Fighters League (PFL) MENA region... View Details

Keywords: marketing; career changes; mixed martial arts; sports; MENA; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

March 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Out of Hand Theater: Monetizing Creativity

By: Christina Wallace, Henry McGee, Rohit Deshpandé and Max Hancock

Ariel Fristoe co-founded the Out of Hand Theater ensemble (OOH) in Atlanta in 2001. OOH began as a traditional theater nonprofit, which Ariel and her colleagues ran on a shoestring budget. But over the years, the group transformed: First, around 2010, OOH pivoted to... View Details

Keywords: Business Transformation; Theatre-company; Arts Marketing; Transformation; Theater Entertainment; Social Marketing; Business Model; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Atlanta

April 2011
Teaching Note

Designs by Kate: The Power of Direct Sales (Brief Case)

By: John A. Deighton and Sarah Abbott

Teaching Note to 4277. View Details

Keywords: Direct Sales; Consumer Marketing; Marketing Management; Personal Selling; Sales Compensation; Sales Organization; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales

February 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM

By: Jill Avery and Thomas Steenburgh

HubSpot, an inbound marketing, sales, and customer relationship management (CRM) software provider, announced that it had acquired Motion AI, a software platform that enabled companies to easily build and deploy chatbots, fueled by artificial intelligence, to interact... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

When information is digitized, it can be aggregated and shared nearly instantly. I am interested in how this acceleration in the aggregation and availability of information, via digitization, affects firms and firm strategy. Platforms have emerged as marketplaces for... View Details

September 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Doing Business in Brazil

By: Aldo Musacchio, Gustavo A. Herrero, Ricardo Reisen de Pinho, Cintra Scott and Jill Avery

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Brazil. It highlights Brazil's ongoing economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2014 in the context of its historical, political, and cultural background. The case summarizes some of... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Market Finance; Emergent Countries; Business History; Economic History; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; Brazil