Publications

27 Oct 2015
News

Sweet Success

agriculture, and Lydia had a background in the food industry. “It seemed a good match,” he says. “And if you do it right, harvesting maple sap is a totally sustainable agricultural practice.” Good Timing and Good Chemistry Doing it right... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

15 Mar 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

More Than 900 Examples of How Climate Change Affects Business

This word cloud is composed of blog posts by more than 900 students describing how individual organizations are likely to be affected by climate change. Image by Patrick Clapp Last fall, first-year MBA students at Harvard Business School received a new assignment in... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Green Technology

Web

2022 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

session, we will discuss the case of Olay, which is facing declining sales. In the second half, we will expand our discussion to explore how firms should think about their digital journey. Can Consumers, Big Tech, and Retailers Fix Health... View Details

06 Dec 2017
What Do You Think?

Is It Time To Break Up Amazon, Apple, Facebook, or Google?

it has acquired Whole Foods, the market value of US big name retailers selling foods immediately drops 10 to 20 percent. The exchange of information and news, fake or fact, among large segments of the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology; Web Services

October 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

McDonald's Russia: Managing a Crisis

By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman

In August 1998, George Cohon, founder and senior chairman of McDonald's Russia, is facing an economic state of emergency. Russia is in the midst of a severe currency crisis--the ruble has plummeted in value, creating massive inflation and widespread economic disarray.... View Details

Keywords: Currency; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Russia

05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

Eiichi Shibusawa continues to gain influence in Japan—even though he died almost a century ago. Japan’s government announced earlier this year that the 19th century business leader would be the face on 10,000 yen ($90) bank notes—the highest value denomination in... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

28 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

How to Avoid a Price Increase

that along to consumers in one form or another, the most common being an increase in the retail price. Other times, they may redesign the product to lower production costs or replace more expensive ingredients with less expensive... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

June 2011
Case

Reed Supermarkets: A New Wave of Competitors

By: John A. Quelch and Carole Carlson

Reed Supermarkets is a high-end supermarket chain with operations in several Midwestern states. Meredith Collins, vice president of marketing, visits stores located in Columbus, Ohio, an important region with the largest market and the greatest impact on revenue... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Ohio

September 2013
Teaching Note

Trader Joe's

By: David L. Ager and Michael A. Roberto

Based on a variety of metrics, Trader Joe's ranked as one of the most successful grocers in the United States in 2013. Experts estimated that the company had the highest sales per square foot of any major grocery chain, even significantly higher than top performer... View Details

Keywords: Comparative Advantage; Core Competencies; Growth Strategy; Strategic Positioning; Industry Analysis; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

September 2023
Case

Trilling Foods: Managing People with Data

By: Alexandra C. Feldberg and Jeffrey T. Polzer

Trilling Foods, a regional bricks-and-mortar grocery chain, has recently provided its frontline managers with new tools for using data. Allison Andersen, Trilling’s VP of Data Science, has spearheaded these efforts. Yet, as she works with Kent Wade, the general manager... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Management Practices and Processes; Training; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

13 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Your Company Wants to be a 'Cognitive Referent' (Hint: SpaceX)

When Rory M. McDonald was working on his PhD at Stanford University in 2007, it was the heyday of the lean startup in Silicon Valley. “It seemed like pretty much every week there was some new market category being touted as the next big thing,” says McDonald, an... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

27 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

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

spell out the name of the retailer after visiting a tennis ball factory in Korea where the workers did a company cheer and calisthenics together every morning. "My feeling is that just because we work so hard, we don't have to go around... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

Technology & Operations Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Michael W. Toffel : Finalist for the 2021 MSOM Responsible Research Award from the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society (MSOM) for his article with Maria Ibanez, “How Scheduling Can Bias Quality Assessment: Evidence from View Details

December 2022
Case

Mission Produce in 2022

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Founded by CEO Steve Barnard in 1983, California-based Mission Produce was a leading supplier of Hass avocados with a global sourcing, marketing, and distribution network and $892 million in 2021 sales. Barnard had been influential in the global avocado trade’s... View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; California; Peru; Guatemala; Colombia; Mexico; Chile

17 Dec 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’

both ways. Peter Levitt, a lawyer in Boston, says that his father often fine-tuned discussion points while eating breakfast at a diner on Western Avenue. After a big meal, Levitt père would skip lunch: "Dad enjoyed food so much that... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Retail

February 2022
Case

Toraya

By: Lauren Cohen and Akiko Kanno

Mitsuharu Kurokawa was the 18th generation leader of a family firm that produced and sold premium Japanese sweets, Toraya Confectionery Co., Ltd. He had succeeded the business from his father, Mitsuhiro Kurokawa who had led the firm for thirty years. Mitsuharu was... View Details

Keywords: Branding; Luxury Brand; Succession; Family Business; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Marketing; Expansion; Globalization; Innovation and Invention; Customer Satisfaction; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan