Publications

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

perk that allowed Amazon to capture market share and eventually blow past Sony, which after years of struggling, closed its e-reader store in 2014. “Without creating a competitive advantage, it is difficult for companies to produce and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Isamar Troncoso

Isamar Troncoso is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit at HBS. She teaches the Marketing course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Troncoso studies problems related to digital marketplaces and new technologies. She... View Details

Keywords: e-commerce industry; high technology; retailing

23 Jan 2024
Book

More Than Memes: NFTs Could Be the Next Gen Deed for a Digital World

School. Kominers, who coauthored the new book The Everything Token: How NFTs and Web3 Will Transform the Way We Buy, Sell, and Create with marketing expert and Web3 entrepreneur Steve Kaczynski, says despite all the open questions... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology; Financial Services

January 2013 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Barclays and the LIBOR Scandal

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

In June of 2012, Barclays plc admitted that it had manipulated LIBOR—a benchmark interest rate that was fundamental to the operation of international financial markets and that was the basis for trillions of dollars of financial transactions. Between 2005 and 2009... View Details

Keywords: Financial Systems; Financial Services; Corruption; Regulation; General Management; Management; Leadership; Economic Systems; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Culture; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

June 2013
Supplement

Montague Corporation: Unfolding the Future in Cycling (Video Supplement)

By: Jim Sharpe

This is the Video Supplement for Montague Corporation: Unfolding the Future in Cycling (HBS Case #808087). View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurs; Consumer Products; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Innovation; General Managers; Growth; Growth Management; International; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Channels; Founding; Channels Of Distribution; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Leadership; Bicycle Industry; United States

October 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Supplement

PittaRosso: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Pricing and Promotion

By: Ayelet Israeli and Fabrizio Fantini

PittaRosso, a traditional Italian shoe retailer, is implementing an AI system to provide pricing and promotion recommendations. The system allows them to implement changes that would affect both the top of funnel and bottom of funnel activities for the company: once... View Details

Leslie K. John is a Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Currently, she teaches on the topics of Negotiation, Marketing and Behavioral Economics in various Executive Education courses, including in the Program for Leadership Development.... View Details

Keywords: marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry

27 Feb 2019
News

The Hidden Cost of a Product Recall

Daniel W. Green

Daniel Green is an assistant professor of business administration in the Finance Unit. He teaches the Finance II course to MBA students.

Professor Green’s research focuses on corporate finance, capital markets, and financial intermediation. His current... View Details

Keywords: asset management; banking; private equity (LBO funds); investment banking industry

05 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting with Consumers Using Deep Metaphors

authors of Marketing Metaphoria: What Deep Metaphors Reveal about the Minds of Consumers (HBS Press, 2008). Transformation is just one metaphor that finds expression in products that satisfy deeply held consumer needs and desires. Other... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products

February 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Teaching Note

Making stickK Stick: The Business of Behavioral Economics

By: Leslie K. John and Michael Norton

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Making sticK Stick: The Business of Behavioral Economics (514019). The case focuses on a... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Behavior Change; B2B Vs. B2C; Human Resource Management; Marketing Of Innovations; Health ＆ Wellness; Weight Loss; Charitable Giving; Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Health; Business Model; Sales; Human Resources; Health Industry; United States

July 1989
Background Note

What Is Marketing?

An introductory note for MBA students on the nature of marketing and topics encountered in its study. Defines the topic then breaks marketing into two major conceptual pieces--the tools, tasks and variables of the marketer, and the marketing process. In the tools... View Details

Keywords: Marketing

February 2000 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Forever: De Beers and U.S. Antitrust Law

By: Debora L. Spar and Jennifer Burns

For over a century, the international diamond market has been dominated by one of the most successful cartels on earth. Run by the legendary De Beers Corp., the cartel has managed to keep diamond prices increasing and to prevent the defection that dooms most other... View Details

Keywords: Lawfulness; Monopoly; Luxury; Business and Government Relations; Consumer Products Industry; Mining Industry; Africa; United States

25 Jan 2017
HBS Case

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

superior to those with darker skin colors, are marketers crossing a line? Cream makers say they are merely meeting a market need, but social activists argue that these companies have an ethical... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Beauty & Cosmetics

May 2008
Case

Thomas Green: Power, Office Politics and a Career in Crisis

By: W. Earl Sasser Jr. and Heather Beckham

The case describes the dilemma of a marketing manager, Thomas Green, who, after being rapidly promoted, is harshly criticized by his boss, Frank Davis. Green and Davis disagree on work styles and market projections. Green believes the sales goals set by Davis are based... View Details

Keywords: Superior ＆ Subordinate; Performance Management; Personal Strategy ＆ Style; Management Style; Conflict Management; Communication; Rank and Position; Personal Characteristics; Power and Influence

Julian De Freitas is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit, and Director of the Ethical Intelligence Lab, at Harvard Business School. He earned his PhD in psychology from Harvard, masters from Oxford, and BA from Yale. He teaches... View Details

Keywords: marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry; marketing industry

14 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Pay Attention To Your ‘Extreme Consumers’

What do Porsche fanatics, a video game hater, and a person who cooked two weeks' worth of meals in a rice cooker have in common? They are all "extreme consumers"—those whose tastes are so out there that mainstream market researchers tend... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Jeremy Yang

Jeremy Yang is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Marketing in the MBA required curriculum. He develops data products for... View Details

Keywords: advertising; media; entertainment; information; consumer products

January 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

onefinestay: Building a Luxury Experience in the Sharing Economy

By: Jill Avery, Anat Keinan and Liz Kind

onefinestay was a two-sided marketplace that offered high-end home rentals to travelers who sought a more authentic and local experience than a typical upscale hotel might provide. After five years of rapid growth, it was time to do a comprehensive analysis of the... View Details