Publications

27 Nov 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Secrets for Creating a Long-Lasting Brand

built from the ground up and rebuilt again when the competitive landscape shifts. A Good Place to Start Super Bowl Ads Sell Products, but Do They Sell Brands?Super Bowl advertising is increasingly about using storytelling to sell corporate brands rather than products.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

October 2016
Case

The Quiet Ascension of LA Fitness

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, LA Fitness was the largest chain of non-franchised fitness clubs in North America, operating 676 clubs, serving 4.9 million members, and generating revenues of over $1.9 billion. Founded by Chinyol Yi, Louis Welch, and Paul Norris in 1984, the privately held... View Details

Keywords: LA Fitness; Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Exercise; Personal Training; Retention; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; Planet Fitness; Buildings and Facilities; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Demographics; Age; Gender; Income; Residency; Borrowing and Debt; Capital; Capital Structure; Cash; Cash Flow; Cost; Private Equity; Financial Condition; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Employees; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Operations; Leasing; Private Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Technology Platform; Health Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles

04 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

How a Juicy Brand Came Back to Life

marketing, having developed Gatorade into a powerhouse national brand by skillfully executing a plan drawn straight from the marketing textbooks. After purchasing the sports drink from Stokely-Van Camp in 1983, Quaker introduced it into... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Food & Beverage

August 2005 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Coach K: A Matter of the Heart

By: Scott A. Snook, Leslie A. Perlow and Brian DeLacey

Successful college basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski faces the decision whether to accept a lucrative offer to coach a professional basketball team or continue to coach at Duke University. Provides a context for discussing various styles of power, influence, and... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Strategic Planning; Decisions; Personal Development and Career; Interpersonal Communication; Management Teams; Goals and Objectives; Decision Choices and Conditions; Sports Industry; North Carolina

28 Jun 2022
Book

The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose

How can government and business work together in this fractious political moment, when finding solutions to pressing problems like inequality and climate change are more urgent than ever? Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University’s John and Natty McArthur University... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

November 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Mount Everest-1996

Describes the events that transpired during the May 1996, Mount Everest tragedy. Examines the flawed decisions that climbing teams made before and during the ascent. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Groups and Teams; Crisis Management; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Nepal

January 2014 (Revised August 2017)
Case

StepSmart Fitness

By: Robert J. Dolan, Benson P. Shapiro and Alisa Zalosh

StepSmart Fitness, a manufacturer of exercise equipment, is undergoing a sweeping reorganization. The new CEO has terminated the District Sales Director and Regional VP and promoted 30-year-old Benjamin Cooper to manage the underperforming New England district. A... View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Restructuring; Salesforce Management; Management Succession; Performance Improvement; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; New England

August 2021 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Data Science at the Warriors

By: Iavor I. Bojinov and Michael Parzen

The case explores the development and early growth of a data science team at the Golden State Warriors, an NBA team based in San Francisco. The case begins by explaining the initial rationale for investing in data science, then covers a debate on the appropriate team... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Analysis; Forecasting and Prediction; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Analytics and Data Science; Sports Industry; San Francisco; United States

19 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

A Brand Manager’s Guide to Losing Control

sports some 80 million likes. Nutella has 23 million on its Facebook page. If fan communities feel supported by their brand, they are that much more likely to come to its defense when attacked. "Your best defense against the haters... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

20 Aug 2014
Research & Ideas

Why the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a Social Media Blockbuster

Sports teams are not far behind. In fact, almost everyone who is challenged by a friend, coworker, or family member joins in. If ice buckets can help fund research to shed light on a terrible disease, such as ALS, more power to them, and... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton

21 Aug 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively

to reshape their companies, and explored how they can put data to work for them in ways that create value for their own businesses. The data advantage in sports Big data is already being used heavily in the View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Jackie Robinson: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of Jackie Robinson from the poor streets of Pasadena, California to one of the most famous people in America after he overturned the color barrier in baseball. The case describes how as a youth he excelled at basketball, football, baseball,... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Power And Influence; Personal Characteristics; Values And Beliefs; Mission And Purpose; Sports; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Leading Change; Personal Development and Career; United States

12 Dec 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Clocky, the Runaway Alarm Clock

this growth phase?" The case describes the prototypes that Nanda developed as potential complements to Clocky: Ticky, which sported digital minute and hour hands as opposed to a standard digital interface; and Tocky, which had the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

04 Nov 2009
What Do You Think?

What is the Role of Government Vis-à-Vis Capitalism?

sports analogy apply here, with government setting and enforcing the rules even-handedly through officials in its employ? Or is government's role instead to let market mechanisms and the "invisible hand" do their best? Have... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

08 Apr 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

The Life of Luxury and How to Sell It

subject of a case study showing that luxury and sustainability need not be mutually exclusive. The Ferrari WaySecretive sports car maker Ferrari opens up about how it bucked industry trends to achieve success. How Would You Price One of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto; Retail; Fashion

30 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Repugnant Markets and How They Get That Way

disease, and if you thought it was associated with injury—of which there is no evidence—you could pass laws requiring the use of a helmet. It's interesting that some activities that seem repugnant strike me as very similar to other activities that are not repugnant.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

07 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

The Better Way to Forecast the Future

Political science has seen a rise in probability forecasts for geopolitical events, with forecasting competitions and blogs like Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight.com offering probabilities of election results, outcomes of sporting events,... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Air Transportation; Transportation

October 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

The NFL's Digital Media Strategy

By: Anita Elberse, C. Kelsey Calhoun and Daven Johnson

In late 2009, Brian Rolapp, senior vice president of media strategy and digital media for the NFL, was faced with the challenge of determining the league's strategic approach to the wireless market—and presenting his views to NFL team owners. What was the league's best... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Media; Distribution Channels; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Sports Industry