tactics - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?

dealership can be effective tools, although sales staffs also know the walk-away tactic and sometimes even encourage it to put a deal in play. Experts also suggest buyers hunt down dealerships that are moving away from sales commissions... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto

March 2023
Case

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth about $4.4 million at the time) in... View Details

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31 May 2004
Research & Ideas

How Team Leaders Show Support–or Not

project across the organization, he gathered useful technical and tactical information that he then brought back to the team. He frequently recognized good work on the project, almost always in a public setting (such as a team meeting).... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Dec 2016
Research & Ideas

How The 2016 Presidential Candidates Misled Us With Truthful Statements

"Paltering" is the active use of truthful statements to influence a target’s beliefs by giving a false or distorted impression. It can pervade all kinds of personal interactions, from romantic relationships to foreign affairs, whenever people are tempted to mislead... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

25 Jan 2017
HBS Case

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

depressed, or concerned.” But these standards are merely guidelines, not laws. “These are not really regulations,” Deshpandé says. “They’re suggestions.” That leaves WOW organizers concerned that cream manufacturers can use questionable marketing View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Beauty & Cosmetics

08 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: A Sense of Urgency

The problem with using crises to reduce complacency and create urgency is that the tactic is a potential diamond sitting on a rock surrounded by quicksand and very nasty beasts. Any naiveté about the downside risks can cause disaster. Big... View Details

Keywords: by John P. Kotter

2007
Book

Negotiation Genius

By: Deepak Malhotra and M. H. Bazerman

Whether you've “seen it all” or are just starting out, Negotiation Genius will dramatically improve your negotiating skills and confidence. Drawing on decades of behavioral research plus the experience of thousands of business clients, the authors take the mystery out... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Behavior

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19 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

A Brand Manager’s Guide to Losing Control

tactical and understand living and responding in the now." The Wii Fit parody is an example of a parody video that can hurt a brand. Click to watch. This Snuggie parody video actually helps the brand, Avery says.Click to watch. View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

06 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Four Strategies for Making Concessions

strategy of demanding and defining reciprocity plays out in a variety of contexts; those who understand how to use it can profit from it immensely. A great example is a tactic consultants and contractors use. When a client praises her... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra

September 2007
Article

Investigative Negotiation

By: Deepak Malhotra and Max H. Bazerman

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. Negotiators often fail to achieve results because they channel too much effort into... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Motivation and Incentives; Perspective; Pharmaceutical Industry

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November 1995 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Luna Pen (A)

By: Kathleen McGinn and Michael Wheeler

Discusses the negotiation of a possible trademark infringement involving a German conglomerate and a Taiwanese trading firm. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Law; Negotiation Tactics; Decision Choices and Conditions; Gender; Culture; Trademarks; Power and Influence; Germany; Taiwan

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04 Jun 2012
Research & Ideas

The Business of Life

Blockbuster's historical margins. History reveals Blockbuster's tactical error, of course: the company is bankrupt, while Netflix now has more than 25 million customers. Marginal thinking can be dangerous on a personal level, too.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

02 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

The Secret of How Microsoft Stays on Top

Microsoft has been criticized as a company that relies more on predatory tactics than great products and innovation to succeed. What can you say about Microsoft's product development performance over the years? A: We analyzed the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Don't Turn Your Marketing Function Over to AI Just Yet

learning to gain new knowledge about current and potential market segments. “It might be that people on the bus use their cell phones more,” Amano posits, “so they just tend to buy cell phones more often.” Personalization vs. privacy Managers who implement marketing... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

24 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Career Advice for Minorities and Women: Sharing Your Identity Can Open Doors

career-related outcomes. “There are lots of open questions,” says Chang. “We're talking about using this tactic in a one-off interaction asking for help, but we don't know what's going to happen if it’s a prolonged interaction.” Feedback... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

06 Oct 2010
Research & Ideas

John Kotter: Four Ways to Kill a Good Idea

tipped not only toward opposing a proposal, but also toward using attack tactics that tip still more people. Anxiety then builds like an infection. People use fear-mongering strategies with voices that are beastly or, more often, ones... View Details

Keywords: by John Kotter & Lorne A. Whitehead

March 2023
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-069. On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth... View Details

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16 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting the Message: How the Internet is Changing Advertising

environment for doing marketing." Deighton, who is the coeditor of the Journal of Interactive Marketing, heads the required MBA course in marketing and teaches an interactive marketing elective. He explains that traditional marketing View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

03 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles of 2010

to Tactics Drivers such as globalization, deregulation, and technological change are profoundly changing the competitive game. Scholars and practitioners agree that the fastest-growing firms in this new environment appear to have taken... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

March–April 2024
Article

Case Study: Navigating Labor Unrest

By: Jorge Tamayo

Paulo Ferreira, the president of Luna Brazil, has an ambitious plan to turn around the dismal performance of the plant he oversees in Campinas. The wrinkle is, he needs the buy-in of the powerful local union, which is still smarting from a 10-year-old labor conflict... View Details