Publications

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12 May 2014
News

The Alibaba Effect

January 1974 (Revised January 1987)
Case

Gillette Safety Razor Division: Blank Cassette Project

Gillette is trying to decide whether to enter the fast-growing blank recording cassette business. The vice president of new business development is charged with developing a marketing plan to be used as the basis for a go/no go decision. In part, the issue is whether... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Consumer Products Industry

12 May 2010
News

Venture Financing and Entrepreneurial Success

September 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Grafica, Inc.: Winning the New Jersey Lottery (A)

Debra Taeschler, CEO of Grafica, is considering how to structure her agency's bid for the New Jersey Lottery account. The Lottery is facing declining sales in all major categories and plans to slash its 1999 marketing budget by 32%. Taeschler is debating whether to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Decision Making; Public Administration Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; New Jersey

12 Mar 2019
Blog Post

What I Learned in the Africa Rising Short Intensive Program

forced to scale back their plans or exit markets entirely. Because of a combination of cultural context and a lack of robust systems to ascertain the trustworthiness of unknown View Details

May 20, 2024
Article

Porter’s Five Forces and Competitive Advantage in Web3

By: Scott Duke Kominers and Liang Wu

Competitive strategy — the art of crafting and executing plans to achieve an advantageous position in the market — is integral to any business, and especially relevant for platforms because it determines their ability to achieve network effects and scale. But web3... View Details

Keywords: Five Forces Framework; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Network Effects; Digital Transformation

Read Now

October 2023
Case

Leading Transformation at IHCL

By: Krishna G. Palepu, V.G. Narayanan and Malini Sen

In November 2017, Puneet Chhatwal, took charge as MD and CEO of IHCL, popularly referred to as the Taj Hotels. Despite being India’s largest hospitality company by market capitalization and respected for its values and service, IHCL had made losses for the last seven... View Details

Keywords: Turn Around Management; Hospitality Industry; Brand Management; Financial Strategy; Business Model; Restructuring; Asset Management; Leadership Style; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Segmentation; Asia; India

March 2005 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Comergent Technologies Inc.: Enterprise E-Commerce

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Coming out of the 2001 high-tech industry recession, this venture capital start-up has to come up with a marketing plan to break even and grow. Its innovative e-commerce software provides unique customer relationship management solutions, but it has to convince... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Financial Crisis; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Software; Information Technology Industry

23 Sep 2021
Video

Racial Equity Discussion

July 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Kansai Digital Phone: Zutto, Gaining Japanese Loyalty

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and James Robert Dillon

Ted Katagi, marketing strategy manager of Kansai Digital Phone (KDP), utilizes customer lifetime value as a key metric to prioritize initiatives in an emergency plan to turn around the company. KDP is a regional phone company in Japan with less than stellar... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Telecommunications Industry; Electronics Industry; Japan; United States

March 2020
Case

Forbidden City: Launching a Craft Beer in China

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Carole Carlson

This case describes a difficult choice faced by Victor Wang, Managing Director of Singapore-based Eurasian Brewing Company (EBC), concerning the competing product launch plans of Le Jie, Vice President of EBC's China and East Asian operations, and Vivian Chin, EBC's... View Details

Keywords: Subsidiary Management; Craft Brewing; Strategy; Decision Making; Organizational Structure; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Management Style; Food and Beverage Industry; China; East Asia

Becoming an Entrepreneurial Leader
Recognizing and Shaping Opportunities
Developing Business Plans and Pitching Opportunities
Attracting Talent and Building Ecosystems
Financing Entrepreneurial... View Details

August 1996 (Revised December 1999)
Case

J Boats, Inc.

By: Robert L. Simons

During the 20-year evolution of a family-owned, entrepreneurial sailboat company, two founders leverage their design and marketing skills to build one of the most recognized brands in the recreational boating industry. The founder then considers management succession... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Family Business; Risk Management; Financial Management; Leveraged Buyouts; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Capital Markets; Valuation; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry

January 1978 (Revised February 1983)
Case

Polaroid-Kodak (B1)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes additional events in battle between Polaroid and Kodak outlined in Polaroid-Kodak. Includes the competitive actions taken by the companies such as the introduction of customer rebates and bonus plans with dealers. Details the new products of each company and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry

December 2011 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Brasil Foods

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

In mid-2011, the management of Brasil Foods, a leading Brazilian branded foods producer and protein exporter, is evaluating strategies for international and domestic growth. The team has just received approval from Brazil's antitrust authorities to complete the merger... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil

January 1971 (Revised August 1984)
Case

Dansk Designs Ltd.

Dansk Designs Ltd., a supplier of high quality, highly designed tableware products, plans to enter a new product area in housewares. Past growth and anticipated future expansion make organizational changes necessary. Overseas operations, design changes, supplier... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Expansion; Organizational Structure; Consumer Products Industry

February 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Hewlett-Packard Imaging Systems Division: Sonos 100 C/F Introduction

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Marie Bell

The marketing manager for the Imaging Systems business unit (ISY) at Hewlett-Packard Medical Products Group is considering channel strategy and channel management issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new cardiac imaging product. Product marketing's plans... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Distribution Channels; Sales; Competitive Strategy

16 Feb 2016
First Look

February 16, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50588 forthcoming Marketing Science Minimum Advertised Pricing: Patterns of Violation in Competitive Retail Markets By: Israeli, Ayelet, Eric Anderson, and Anne... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1984
Case

Henkel Corp.: International Sealants Brand SISTA (A)

By: Robert J. Dolan

Corporate headquarters wishes to expand sales of a sealant product currently sold only in the West German market. Regional affiliates, operating on a profit center basis, are not enthusiastic about taking on the new product. The case describes the company's... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Globalization; Expansion; Profit; Conflict Management; Consumer Products Industry; Construction Industry; Europe; West Germany