Publications

April 2020 (Revised June 2022)
Technical Note

Quantitative Analysis in Marketing

By: Sunil Gupta

Marketing is a combination of art and science that requires both qualitative and quantitative analysis to arrive at effective decisions. This note highlights how quantitative analysis can help in the following marketing decisions: estimating market size, determining... View Details

Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Marketing; Decision Making; Analysis

Web

Impact Stories - Impact Stories

Play Making better decisions when it comes to your health Leslie John Going Beyond the Clinical Sphere Azalea Kim Passionate about Technology to Empower Patients as Consumers Laura Mackay Improving... View Details

13 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

The Case Against Racial Colorblindness

In trying to prevent discrimination and prejudice, many companies adopt a strategy of "colorblindness"—actively trying to ignore racial differences when enacting policies and making organizational decisions. The logic is simple: if we... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

April 2009 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Gucci Group: Freedom within the Framework

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, Elena Corsi and Vincent Marie Dessain

Gucci Group's CEO had to decide if his decentralized management style was the most effective philosophy in an economic downturn. The sharing of customer information across units and its use in the creative process are key initiatives analyzed in the case. CEO Robert... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Globalized Firms and Management; Knowledge Sharing; Leadership; Management Style; Management Systems; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry

January 2020
Case

Hurtigruten: Sailing into Warm Water?

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Kerry Herman

As this case opens in 2019, CEO Daniel Skjeldam and his team have successfully reinvigorated Hurtigruten, a storied but struggling Norwegian ferry and cruise operator, and have established it as the leading provider of polar expedition cruises. They now face a critical... View Details

Keywords: Relative Cost Analysis; Market Attractiveness; Diversification; Decision Making; Expansion; Tourism Industry; Norway

13 Jan 2020
News

The Business Case for Becoming a Jack-of-All-Trades

September 2010
Article

How Firms Respond to Being Rated

By: Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

While many rating systems seek to help buyers overcome information asymmetries when making purchasing decisions, we investigate how these ratings also influence the companies being rated. We hypothesize that ratings are particularly likely to spur responses from firms... View Details

Keywords: System; Information; Decisions; Cost; Opportunities; Performance; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Economics; Theory; System Shocks; Rank and Position

Find at Harvard

Read Now

08 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team

Google and Groupon, for instance, a higher percentage of employees work in sales than engineering or data mining. And at Facebook the salesforce's ability to translate 'likes' into advertisers will make or break that company's valuation... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

29 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 29, 2008

Authors:Yonca Ertimur, Fabrizio Ferri, and Stephen R. Stubben Abstract We document the frequency of implementation of non-binding, majority-vote (MV) shareholder proposals and analyze the determinants and consequences of Boards' decisions... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2008
Case

Four Products: Predicting Diffusion (2008)

By: John T. Gourville

An updated "Four Products" case. This 2008 version includes: sliced peanut butter, foldable bicycle tires, high-end wooden puzzles, and artificial dirt for thoroughbred race tracks. These four products form the basis to assess the drivers of new product adoption. In... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Adoption

05 Jul 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is “Executive Intelligence” for Leaders?

information that produces decisions Execution is the basic ingredient that makes a great leader." On the other hand, Philip Derrow argued, "Executive intelligence, particularly as Mr. Menkes... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

Gulati: The difference between the outside-in and inside-out perspectives is central to the book's arguments. When I began this research, I naively assumed that all firms must indeed have an outside-in orientation whereby they put their customers first in all their... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

August 2, 2016
Article

Uncalculating Cooperation Is Used to Signal Trustworthiness

By: Jillian J. Jordan, Moshe Hoffman, Martin A. Nowak and David G. Rand

Humans frequently cooperate without carefully weighing the costs and benefits. As a result, people may wind up cooperating when it is not worthwhile to do so. Why risk making costly mistakes? Here, we present experimental evidence that reputation concerns provide an... View Details

Keywords: Social Evaluation; Experimental Economics; Moral Psychology; Cooperation; Reputation; Decision Making

Read Now

01 Jun 2000
News

Going Public: Margaret M. Crotty

Twenty-four hours after almost drowning in a ferryboat disaster in Indonesia, Margaret Crotty agreed to a telephone interview with the Today show to discuss how she survived -- and helped save others as well. Her decision to be on... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

20 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Getting the Marketing Mix Right

retaliation happens and that companies worry about that," Steenburgh says. "But nobody benefits when both companies are retaliating. One effort just offsets the other." Measuring the different effects of these marketing strategies can help brand managers... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

03 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Succeed With Your New Boss

she prefer to be communicated with? Face-to-face? In writing? By voice mail or e-mail? How often? What kinds of decisions does he want to be involved in and where can you make the call on your own? How do... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

December 2023
Case

Davivienda Bank's Upskilling and Reskilling Strategy in Colombia

By: Jorge Tamayo, Raffaella Sadun and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2022, this case describes the digital transformation strategy of Davivienda— a leading player in Colombia’s commercial banking and one of the companies belonging to Grupo Bolívar, a major Colombian financial conglomerate—and the bank’s upskilling and reskilling... View Details