Publications

August 2021 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Perfect Diary (完美日记)

By: Shunyuan Zhang and Sunil Gupta

Jinfeng (David) Huang founded Yatsen Holding Limited in 2016 and launched the first direct-to-consumer (DTC) cosmetic brand, Perfect Diary, in 2017. Perfect Diary used social influencers or key opinion leaders (KOL) to successfully build brand awareness and to grow... View Details

Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Social Influencers; Marketing; Digital Marketing; Competitive Strategy; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Asia

Web

Campus & Community | About

Campus & Community Map & Directions Take A Tour A Vital Residential Community A Campus Built on Philanthropy A Commitment to Sustainability 1927 Harvard Business School campus constructed 270 + Full-time faculty and 1,450+ staff 37... View Details

February 2005 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever's Project Shakti--Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Rohithari Rajan

With liberalization of India's economy and the opening up of markets to foreign multinationals such as Procter & Gamble, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever--Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)--was under pressure to grow revenues and profits. HLL had a long and stellar record of... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Subsidiaries; Revenue; Profit; Market Participation; Programs; Rural Scope; Poverty; Multinational Firms and Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; India

04 Mar 2024
Research & Ideas

Want to Make Diversity Stick? Break the Cycle of Sameness

conducted experiments online, telling participants the makeup of a board of directors, as well as the identity of a departing board member, and asking them to recommend a replacement from a list of available... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2021 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Farfetch: Digital Transformation for Luxury Brands

By: Sunil Gupta, Jill Avery, Elena Corsi and Federica Gabrieli

Farfetch, a global luxury technology platform and digital marketplace had been surfing the wave of digital transformation in the luxury fashion industry since 2008. While the company’s stock price and market valuation had fluctuated since its IPO in 2018, it had... View Details

24 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

restaurants that received the label were white, compared to the racial makeup of reviewers of the same restaurants prior to the introduction of the feature. The authors also used voting and Census data to... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Food & Beverage

2023
Book

Deeply Responsible Business.: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

By: Geoffrey Jones

Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase the challenges and upside of deeply responsible business. Should... View Details

Portrait Project

Emma Beck

But more importantly, no matter how my career evolves, I’ll be chronically pursuing ways for people to wake up each day, collect pebbles, and get lost in the beauty of nature, if they so choose. View Details

Web

Founders & Investors - Entrepreneurship

The Founders & Investors Discover Rock alumni and students who are turning opportunity into reality. Entrepreneurs Investors Companies Gilbert Addo CEO, RubiconMD MBA 2011 Pratik Agarwal Founder, Accel MBA 2014 Shantanu Agarwal Founder,... View Details

Benson P. Shapiro

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

11 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

A World of Difference: What Keeps Companies from Becoming More Inclusive

is often something small, sometimes even costless to fix, but unknowable without talking about it. Gino: What I love about this is that we think that we understand each other, but we don’t. You’re reminding me of a beautiful paper by... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint

January 1981
Case

Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.

By: John P. Kotter

Introduces the student to Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc., its business, its strategy, and its organization. Provides the necessary background for understanding the contributions of Mary Kay Ash, the company's founder and chairman. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Business Strategy; Organizations; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry