Publications

Program

Strategic Marketing for Driving Growth

changes in technology, regulations, and customer behavior Assess the economic impact and viability of social media and digital strategies Ensure marketing activities contribute to company success Align marketing strategies with your... View Details

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Duolingo: On a 'Streak'

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Nicole Tempest Keller and Nicole Luo

In December 2024, Severin Hacker, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Duolingo, reflected on the remarkable evolution of the language-learning app he helped launch in 2011. As the #1 most downloaded education app in the world, Duolingo had over 100 million... View Details

Keywords: Learning; AI and Machine Learning; Growth and Development Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Diversification; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Technology Industry; Education Industry; United States

12 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 12, 2008

2001. In 1990 the German consumer goods company Benkiser began acquiring fragrance and cosmetics brands with the intent of developing a beauty business. These included the long-established, but relatively small, U.S. fragrance company... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2011 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (Abridged)

By: Anita Elberse

The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate its marketing strategy. In June 2004, only six years after the company emerged from bankruptcy, Marvel has amassed a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Intellectual Property; Rights; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Program

The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports

driving revenue and success in today's entertainment environment. Through an up-close examination of why some creative businesses thrive while others fail to survive, you will learn when to make smaller versus blockbuster bets, the best... View Details

Keywords: Media & Entertainment; Media & Entertainment

June 2024
Module Note

Value Creation Potential of New Business Models

By: David J. Collis

A business model is composed of three elements. These describe a generic way of creating value and identify the maximum potential value of that model for customers. The elements of a business model are the “job to be done” for the customer, the asset configuration, or... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

14 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing

half hour as the children tried to work the milkshake through a straw. In that case, a different, thinner milkshake was in order. Proven Success And Purpose Branding Several major companies that have... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Service; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

03 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 3, 2007

realize liquidity from its successful investment in American Seafoods Corp., Inc. An apparently innovative solution is developed, which calls for issuing Income Deposit Securities. Does this innovation make sense, and is it practical?... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Design Driven Innovation

By: Roberto Verganti

Firms, managers and scholars have often balanced between two approaches to innovation: user centered (where incremental innovation is pulled by the market) and technology push (where innovation comes from breakthrough development in technologies). However there is a... View Details

25 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

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

methods. “The success of Amazon, Shopify, and social commerce sites such as Instagram convinced consumers to move much of their purchasing power online. ” That the model was born in China is not surprising because China has long had the... View Details

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

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

entrepreneurs from other candidates. To address that problem, Butler compared the psychological testing results of over 4,000 successful entrepreneurs and of approximately 1,800 business leaders who described themselves as general... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2009 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Bono and U2

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox

This case traces the 30-year development of the rock band U2 and the development of its four members as artists, business leaders, and humanitarians (with particular attention paid to lead singer Bono's global humanitarian work). The case examines the beginnings of the... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Personal Development and Career; Social Enterprise; Music Industry

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

Helper's brand management team resulted in two potential solutions: (1) to reduce production costs through the simplification of the Hamburger Helper line by reducing the complexity of the product and eliminating the less View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Joseph L. Bower

JOSEPH L. BOWER, Donald K. David Professor Emeritus, has been a leader in general management at Harvard Business School for 51 years. He also served on the faculty of the Harvard Kennedy School during its first decade. He has served in many administrative roles... View Details

Keywords: banking; chemical; electronics; financial services; home appliances; hotels ＆ motels; information technology industry; insurance industry; private equity (LBO funds); retailing

Web

Placement - Doctoral

Placement Tradition of Success The demand for faculty at business schools has never been greater. Graduates of the HBS Doctoral Programs have gone on to become prominent scholars in a wide range of disciplines at many of the world’s most... View Details

Web

Managing the Future of Work

expanding into brand sponsorships, licensing, and product ownership. By 2024, she and her twin daughters had amassed over 40 million followers and launched two successful brands. As McKnight prepared to... View Details

21 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 21

reporting's current state of play, the authors provide guidance to ensure wider adoption of the practice and success of the movement, starting with how companies can improve their own reporting processes. But the support of investors,... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel & Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Moving Beyond Direct-to-Consumer

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Changing consumer behaviors have redefined what it means to be direct to consumer ("DTC"). What once began online a decade ago as a distribution and disintermediation strategy has since evolved into a multifaceted approach for the modern-day brand.

The... View Details

September 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Kaspi.kz: Building Trust through Innovation

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Fares Khrais and Marilyn Morgan Westner

This case is written to help students explore how companies can maintain and develop trust while innovating, how to identify and respond effectively to warning signs that they may not be as trusted as they believe, and how being trusted can aid in expanding and growing... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Trust; Technology Adoption; Innovation and Invention; Banking Industry