Publications

August 2010 (Revised November 2020)
Module Note

Integrating Around the Job to Be Done

By: Clayton Christensen, Rory McDonald, Laura E Day and Shaye Roseman

Unlike traditional market segmentations that are based on a correlation of product sales or service with the attributes of the purchaser (such as age, gender, income level, and education level), jobs-based segmentation seeks to understand the causal roots of... View Details

Keywords: Integration Planning; Jobs; Market Segmentation; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing; Jobs and Positions; Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Integration; Planning

16 Dec 2015
Video

Designing a Great Community

December 1999 (Revised September 2000)
Case

Excite@Home: Betting on a Broadband Revolution

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Matthew Sandoval

In January 1999, @Home, a high-speed Internet access provider, announced the $6.7 billion purchase of Excite, the second largest of the major Internet "portals." This purchase marked a continuing consolidation of companies in the Internet "content" and "access"... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Joint Ventures; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

1982
Article

Correlates of Deficient Consumer Environments: The Case of the Elderly

By: Rohit Deshpandé and S. Krishnan

Although much research attention has been given to the format of consumer information environments, there has been little study of the effects of consumer environments lacking in information. This paper describes an empirical study of elderly consumers functioning in... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Age; Information

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October 1987 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Black & Decker Corp.: Household Products Group, Brand Transition

This rewritten version differs from Black & Decker Corp.: Household Products Group (A1) in two ways: 1) It has an explicit decision focus. Homa must decide on a program to transfer the Black & Decker name to GE small appliances; and 2) The detailed information... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

January 1973 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Tyler Abrasives, Inc.

Involves multinational pricing policy. Should a multinational industrial products supplier, with plants on several continents, grant a single worldwide price on given products to multinational customers who purchase on several continents? If so, what should the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Price; Multinational Firms and Management; Sales; Industrial Products Industry

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details

28 May 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Monopolistic Competition Between Differentiated Products With Demand For More Than One Variety

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Video Game; Web Services

October 2017 (Revised January 2018)
Case

Bitfury: Blockchain for Government

By: Mitchell Weiss and Elena Corsi

In the Republic of Georgia, legend had it their land was a precious gift from God he had intended to keep for his mother. But over time, the land had been under intermittent threat from without and within. In 2017, the Bitfury Group, which Valery Vavilov had... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

Grant uses a combination of laboratory and field experiments to harness consumers' cognitive and affective resources to increase their well-being. Consumers make countless daily decisions in the pursuit of happiness -- whether and how to spend or save their money, what... View Details

Keywords: Well-being; Judgment And Decision Making; Health; Prosocial Behavior

August 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Baskits Inc.

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Soon after Robin Kovitz (MBA 2007) acquired Baskits Inc., the largest gift basket company in Canada, she became convinced that the business needed to make significant operational improvements. In her first year as CEO, she introduced an ERP system to help with sales... View Details

Keywords: Production; Supply Chain; Performance Improvement; Consumer Products Industry; Canada

March 1993
Case

Clarion Optical Co.

By: Michael J. Roberts and Howard H. Stevenson

Focuses on two individuals' attempts to purchase Clarion Optical Co. Forces students to consider alternative proposals for financing the purchase; generate pro forma cash flows to assess the feasibility of these proposals; estimate the sources and magnitude of... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Financing and Loans; Investment Return; Cash Flow; Forecasting and Prediction

16 Sep 2021
News

OpenSea, Amid Insider Trading Controversy, Rolls Out NFT Marketplace App

23 Aug 2018
News

Why recent stock market gains might not benefit the economy

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 09 Feb 2017
Webinars: Career

Leading Diversity: What Top Managers Need to Know

Workforce diversity is a reality. If you are not addressing the challenges of a diverse workforce today, then demographic change, globalization, the purchasing power and demands of diversity markets, as well as the advantages of a diverse workforce mean that you will... View Details

17 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 17

process is impacted by a consumer's motivation to purchase the rebated product. In particular, we propose the anchor employed will be driven by the valence of a consumer's underlying motivation. Specifically, a consumer that is motivated... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 2022
Technical Note

Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework

By: George Serafeim

The transition to a low carbon economy introduces many risks and opportunities for businesses. Risks emerge from regulatory actions, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, technological innovation that develop alternatives for customers making existing... View Details

Keywords: Risk Assessment; Opportunities; Environmental Sustainability; Carbon Footprint; Risk Management; Competitive Dynamics; Business Analysis; Climate Change; Accounting; Finance; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technological Innovation; Transition; Product Positioning; Renewable Energy; Analysis

September 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Harley-Davidson, Inc.: Motorcycle Manufacturer or Financing Company?

Harley-Davidson manufactures and sells motorcycles. It also provides financing for retail purchases and dealer stock. Although Harley's performance has been very strong, analysts and the press have questioned its use of a special-purpose entity to sell securities... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business or Company Management; Corporate Disclosure; Financial Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Financial Services Industry; Motorcycle Industry; Retail Industry