Publications

2017
Working Paper

Intermediation in the Supply of Agricultural Products in Developing Economies

By: Kris J. Ferreira, Joel Goh and Ehsan Valavi

Problem Definition: Farmers face several challenges in agricultural supply chains in emerging economies that contribute to extreme levels of poverty. One common challenge is that farmers only have access to one channel, often an auction, for which to sell their crops.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries; Agricultural Supply Chain; Intermediation; Multiple Cahnels; Walrasian Auction; Developing Countries and Economies; Supply Chain; Distribution Channels; Profit; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Read Now

February 2000
Case

E2M Health Services

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Naomi Atkins

Outlines the growth of an innovative diabetes disease management organization from 1994-99. Having demonstrated the success of their model in managing diabetes populations in Texas and New York State, the CEO and president must decide the future strategy of the company... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Markets; Revenue; Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Internet; Health Industry

November 1997
Case

Microsoft Goes Online: MSN 1996

By: David B. Yoffie

Explores Microsoft's decision to enter the online services industry in the light of its competition and the growing importance of the Internet. Significant issues include the cost and availability of content, telecomm/Internet access costs, competition with the World... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Growth and Development; Market Entry and Exit; Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Web; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

April 2015
Case

Carolinas HealthCare System: Consumer Analytics

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In 2014, Dr. Michael Dulin, chief clinical officer for analytics and outcomes research and head of the Dickson Advanced Analytics (DA2) group at Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS), successfully unified all analytics talent and resources into one group over a three year... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Segmentation; Big Data; Management Information Systems; Hospital Management; Health Care and Treatment; Marketing; Segmentation; Analytics and Data Science; Information Management; Information Technology; Health; Health Industry; United States

April 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

Television Competes for a Digital Audience

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

In the face of major disruption in the industry television networks have sought new revenue sources, implemented cost-cutting measures and strategized on ways to monetize online access to content. Programming changes, new advertising strategies, and deals via online... View Details

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Marketing Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry

August 2005 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Can Bollywood Go Global?

By: Geoffrey Jones, Namrata Arora, Surachita Mishra and Alexis Lefort

Considers the opportunities and challenges facing Indian film producers in accessing the global film market. Provides a historical context by describing the history of the cinema and the rise of Hollywood to global dominance by the 1920s. Although film industries... View Details

Keywords: History; Competition; Film Entertainment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Product Development; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India

May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Melissa Wood Health: How to Win in the Creator Economy

By: Eva Ascarza

In October 2020, Melissa Wood-Tepperberg, founder of the digital subscription wellness platform Melissa Wood Health (MWH) and creator of ‘The MWH Method,’ was evaluating the strategic directions of her company. What had started as a way to share workouts and wellness... View Details

Keywords: Lifestyle Brand; Brands and Branding; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Negotiation

November 2000
Case

Geocast Network Systems, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Christina L. Darwall and Elizabeth Kind

Geocast, a venture-backed start-up, had developed innovative technology for "datacasting" broadband information and entertainment content to an external hard drive, where it was cached for later retrieval by a Web-enabled PC. By using terrestrial TV, direct broadcast... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Information Management; Technological Innovation; Marketing Channels; Corporate Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

June 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Seeking to go beyond global best practices in reducing environmental impacts, FIJI Water, a premium artesian bottled water company in the United States, launched a Carbon Negative campaign that would offset more greenhouse gas emissions than were released by the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Footprint; Carbon Offsetting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Brands and Branding; Negotiation Tactics; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Fiji

29 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Comparing the Cash Policies of Public and Private Firms

Keywords: by Joan Farre-Mensa

Program

Advanced Management Program

Summary Market volatility, digital transformation, and innovation are changing the way companies compete in every industry—and increasing the demand for business leaders who are global changemakers. Whether you are looking to move up to... View Details

December 2013
Article

Land Politics and Local State Capacities: The Political Economy of Urban Change in China

By: Meg Rithmire

Despite common national institutions and incentives to remake urban landscapes to anchor growth, generate land-lease revenues, and display a capacious administration, Chinese urban governments exhibit varying levels of control over land. This article uses a paired... View Details

Keywords: China; Land Politics; Urban Planning; Local Government; Northeast China; Property Rights; Urban Development; Property; Government and Politics; China

The global beauty business permeates our lives, influencing how we perceive ourselves and what it is to be beautiful. The brands and firms which have shaped this industry, such as Estée Lauder, Chanel, L'Oréal, and Shiseido, have imagined beauty for us.... View Details

Research Summary

Firm and aggregate volatility

US publicly traded companies have become more volatile over the postwar period. This trend has been the result of increased competition in product markets through deregulation, through more intensive innovation activity, and through easier access to capital markets.... View Details

November 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rebuilding Puerto Rico

By: Laura Alfaro, Laura Phillips Sawyer and Haviland Sheldahl-Thomason

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria swept over Puerto Rico, devastating the island’s infrastructure and agriculture. The natural disaster was layered atop years of mounting financial distress. Before the hurricane, Puerto Rico had accumulated $74 billion in debt and... View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Financial Crisis; Infrastructure; Borrowing and Debt; Economy; Strategic Planning; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Puerto Rico

February 2004
Case

Bradman and Tendulkar, LLC

By: Ananth Raman and Vishal Gaur

An investment firm is trying to project inventory turns for Radio Shack, a chain of consumer electronics stores. The investment firm has access to public financial data but not to internal operational metrics. It needs to project inventory turns because inventory... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

26 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 26

Publications International Marketing Review Achievement Motivation, Strategic Orientations and Business Performance in Entrepreneurial Firms: How Different Are Japanese and American Founders? By: Deshpandé, Rohit, Amir Grinstein, Elie... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Nov 2016
First Look

First Look - November 1, 2016

development at Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.—one of the companies owned by Godrej Group, a large Indian conglomerate—was preparing to launch an innovative low-cost refrigerator. Developed expressly for the approximately 80% of Indians who lacked View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2012 (Revised September 2013)
Case

EnerNOC: DemandSMART

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kira Fabrizio and Stephanie van Sice

EnerNOC is an energy company with an innovative business model: it serves as an intermediary between electric utilities and electricity users. It contracts with electricity users willing to reduce demand during periods of peak energy demand, and sells this as excess... View Details

Keywords: Production Planning; Productivity; Environmental Protection; Energy; Environment; Business Government Relations; Laws And Regulation; Business Model; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Opportunities; Risk and Uncertainty; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Supply Chain Management; Production; Energy Conservation; Energy Industry