Publications

November 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Michael Rubin and Fanatics (A)

By: Robert F. Higgins and John Masko

In 2016, Michael Rubin’s Fanatics was the U.S.’ largest sports e-commerce company and operator of the official online store for all the major American sports leagues. That year, Fanatics began to dabble in manufacturing licensed sports merchandise, securing limited... View Details

Keywords: Fanatics; Licensed Merchandise; E-commerce; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Sports; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

January 2017 (Revised April 2018)
Background Note

Introduction to Incentive-based Sales Compensation Systems

By: Willy Shih

This background note explains the structure of incentive-based sales compensation systems. View Details

Keywords: Sales Compensation; Sales Force Compensation; Sales Force Management; Sales; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

12 Jul 2013
News

First Non-family Member to Head Ford Is Dead at 93

Keywords: Philip Caldwell (MBA 1942); Retail Trade; Retail Trade; Retail Trade

17 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 17, 2017

Employees, the Head Office or the Unit Manager? Consequences of Centralizing Hiring at a Retail Chain By: Deller, Carolyn, and Tatiana Sandino Abstract—We examine whether centralized hiring (in this study, by the head office of a U.S.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 1998
News

Running Up the Score

Dodgers will give us the capability and flexibility to build related businesses and programming," Carey says. The sports franchise, he elaborates, will furnish the stimulus and content for derivative ventures such as TV stations, a cable TV channel, sports bars, and... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

commoditized. As consumers, we see this in the ever-decreasing retail selling price of flat panel TVs. The screen sizes get bigger, the resolution moves from HD to Ultra HD to 4K, and the prices keep dropping. This happens in spite of the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

04 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 4

would want to restrict sellers from charging buyers more for transactions it intermediates. With this restriction an intermediary can profitably raise demand for its services by eliminating any extra price buyers face for purchasing through the intermediary. We show... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Jun 2020
In Practice

Are Digital Organizations Better at Overcoming COVID?

solved by technology, no matter how good. Anybody in retail or entertainment or education has a difficult situation to handle. Anybody delivering medical services faces an entirely different and unprecedented set of problems. For business... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

28 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

While Waiting for Japan’s Recovery, Let’s Enhance Supplier Competitiveness at Home

Connection on January 31. Other major manufacturers and retailers are soon to join, and IBM intends to find other ways to enhance small business growth. Imagine the possibilities for a national campaign to reduce unemployment and grow the... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

The Challenge of the Multi-site Nonprofit

Why is it more difficult for nonprofit organizations than, say, retail chains, to run efficient multi-site operations? A recent Harvard Business Review story concluded that nonprofits waste $100 billion a year through inefficient... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

Class Profile | MBA

Average GPA (based on US schools that use a 4.0 grading system) Undergraduate Majors Arts / Humanities 5% Business / Commerce 24% Economics 19% Engineering 22% Math / Physical Sciences 18% Social Sciences 12% 5 Years Average Work Experience Pre-MBA Industry Consulting... View Details

March 2024
Case

Unintended Consequences of Algorithmic Personalization

By: Eva Ascarza and Ayelet Israeli

“Unintended Consequences of Algorithmic Personalization” (HBS No. 524-052) investigates algorithmic bias in marketing through four case studies featuring Apple, Uber, Facebook, and Amazon. Each study presents scenarios where these companies faced public criticism for... View Details

Keywords: Race; Gender; Marketing; Diversity; Customer Relationship Management; Prejudice and Bias; Customization and Personalization; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

June 2021
Teaching Note

Amazon: Cult or Culture?

By: Boris Groysberg, Kerry Herman and Amy Klopfenstein

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 421-008. Amazon was one of the first entrants in e-commerce. Under the leadership of founder Jeff Bezos, Amazon had expanded beyond books to manufacturing and selling a wide range of products and services globally. Bezos had built a... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Growth Management; Information Technology; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Supplement

Zara: An Integrated Store and Online Model (A) and (B)

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

Keywords: Stores; Integration; Operations; Business Model; Strategic Planning; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Europe

December 2016
Article

The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales, Revisited

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf

Even as we approach the twentieth anniversary of widespread file sharing, its impact on the sale of copyrighted material remains in dispute. We contributed to this debate with an early study, “The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis,” that was... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Copyright; Sales; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

June 2014 (Revised March 2016)
Teaching Note

Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal

By: Nancy F. Koehn

May 1993
Teaching Note

Alexander Hospital Gift Shoppe TN

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

September – October 2011
Article

The Manufacturer's Incentive to Reduce Lead Times

By: Santiago Kraiselburd, Richard Pibernik and Ananth Raman

It is generally a well acknowledged fact that, ceteris paribus, reducing the lead times between downstream and upstream parties in a supply chain is desirable from an overall system perspective. However, an upstream party (e.g., a manufacturer) may have strong... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Demand and Consumers; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Production; Supply Chain Management; Sales; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

February 2009
Case

HP: The Computer is Personal Again

By: Rajiv Lal and Cathy Ross

In September 2008, Todd Bradley, executive vice president of Hewlett-Packard Company's Personal Systems Group (PSG), gathered his thoughts before a meeting with his top executives and managers for product design and marketing. On the agenda was a discussion of... View Details

Keywords: Revenue; Product Positioning; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry