Publications

March 2016
Case

IC Group A/S

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

IC Group owned several of Scandinavia's leading premium fashion brands. How should it respond to the decline of its primary wholesale distribution channels (independent fashion boutiques and department stores)? Should it open more physical stores or focus on... View Details

25 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

MNCs in Asia: Investing in the Future

use their particular brand of shampoo after decades of investment in product development and marketing. The dot-com bubble brought practices, ambitions, and goals to China that are here to stay— Nicholas Howson, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

09 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 9, 2010

presents the results of a study that investigated the use of the underdog effect in marketing. The idea of triumphing over disadvantages by impassioned determination is said to be a powerfully positive image, which can lead consumers to choose a View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Relevent and LaLiga: Bringing Spanish Soccer to America

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

“Barcelona backs out of proposed LaLiga match in Miami.” It is December 2018, and Daniel Sillman, chief executive officer of sports and entertainment company Relevent, is tasked with finding a way forward after a significant setback. Relevent had found success by... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Superstars; Talent; Talent Development; General Management; Marketing; Entertainment; Sports; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Globalization; Strategy; Sports Industry

May 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Marks & Spencer: The Phoenix Rises

By: Joseph L. Bower

The great U.K. retailer fell on hard times in 1998. In 2001, a new CEO was recruited who appears to have succeeded in turning around this world-renown company. This case examines the steps he took (strategic, structural, and recruiting key people) and highlights a... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Recruitment; Leadership Development; Crisis Management; Supply and Industry; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Segmentation; Retail Industry

12 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 12

714-409 Coffee Wars in India: Café Coffee Day Takes on the Global Brands Café Coffee Day (CCD) is contemplating how to respond to the entry of Starbucks into the Indian coffee chain market. The case study... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

519-011 Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2008 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Chocolates El Rey

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Gustavo Herrero and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

In late November 2006, Jorge Redmond, CEO of Chocolates El Rey, called a meeting with senior management to discuss the company's growth strategy. A relatively small firm with sales of around $14 million, El Rey produced top quality chocolate made with single origin... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Venezuela

September 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

STARZPLAY: Shooting for the Stars

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini and Alpana Thapar

In mid-2021, Maaz Sheikh, cofounder and CEO of STARZPLAY, a Dubai-based subscription video on demand (SVOD) provider that catered to the Middle East and North Africa region, was wrestling with how to find the right balance between continued subscriber growth and... View Details

January 2014 (Revised February 2014)
Teaching Note

Rana Plaza: Workplace Safety In Bangladesh (A) and (B)

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

On April 24, 2013 the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Over 1,100 people were killed in the worst industrial accident since the Union Carbide plant gas leak in Bhopal, India. Most of the victims worked for garment factories,... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Multinational Firms and Management; Labor Unions; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Working Conditions; Corporate Accountability; Crisis Management; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh

April 1994 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Planet Reebok (A)

By: John A. Quelch

Reebok International Ltd. is preparing to launch its first global advertising campaign for "Planet Reebok" in three European countries--France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Planet Reebok was recently launched in the United States during the 1993 Superbowl. The... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; France; Germany; United Kingdom

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

friends’ purchasing. Third, they looked at whether liking affects things other than purchasing (for example, whether it can persuade people to engage in healthful behaviors). And fourth, they tested whether boosting likes by paying to have View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

How SHEIN and Temu Conquered Fast Fashion—and Forged a New Business Model

under globally recognized brand names, including the private labels of mass merchants such as Walmart, Costco, and Target. Most of those profits accrued to the brands, rather than the Chinese suppliers.... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Fashion; Retail; Consumer Products

Article

When the Name Is the Game

By: Marco Bertini, John Gourville and Elie Ofek

In Romeo and Juliet, the fair maiden asks, "What's in a name?" When it comes to marketing next-generation products for the global marketplace, we have done extensive research and found that names can play an enormous role in a product's success. View Details

Keywords: Next-generation Products; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Global Range

Find at Harvard

December 2018
Case

Corporate Transformation at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Tonia Labruyere

When Stefan Oschmann became CEO and chairman of the executive board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in 2016, the company had started its transformation from a mid-tier traditional German industry player to a global modern science and technology player. The... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance With Family Ownership; Transformation; Change Management; Restructuring; Corporate Governance; Family Ownership

January 2008 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Club Atlético Boca Juniors

By: Anita Elberse, Alberto Ballve and Gustavo Herrero

Club Atlético Boca Juniors is the most popular soccer club in Argentina and one of the most decorated clubs in the world. Throughout its storied history, the club has recruited and developed dozens of star players. In his eleven years at Boca Juniors, president... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Talent and Talent Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry; Argentina

20 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 20

circumstances, including human purposes, evolved. While the invisible hand of the pricing mechanism can balance supply and demand on a global basis, or in subunits thereof, the visible hand of political authority is essential to the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2001 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Nestle S.A.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

Peter Brabeck wants to focus Nestle as a wellness company in the global food system and do so in a way that provides both growth in sales and margins in both developed and developing countries. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Supply Chain Management; Food; Multinational Firms and Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Sales; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland