Publications

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2018
Working Paper

Learning to Become a Taste Expert

By: Kathryn A. Latour and John A. Deighton

Evidence suggests that consumers seek to become more expert about hedonic products to enhance their enjoyment of future consumption occasions. Current approaches to becoming an expert center on cultivating an analytic mindset. In the present research the authors... View Details

Keywords: Hedonic; Wine; Expertise; Holistic; Analytic; Sensory; Taste; Learning; Experience and Expertise; Analysis; Perception

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21 Jun 2023
Blog Post

Building a Better World: The Harvard Builders Club

2022) and Tomer Avni (MS/MBA 2022) We – Yarden and Tomer – are graduates of Harvard’s MS/MBA Engineering Sciences program. The program was founded in 2018 by Harvard Business School and Harvard John View Details

winter 2009
Journal Article

Interactivity's Unanticipated Consequences for Markets and Marketing

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

The digital interactive transformation in marketing is not unfolding, as some thought it would, on the model of direct marketing. That model anticipated that marketing, empowered by digital media using rich profiling data, would intrude ever more deeply and more... View Details

Keywords: Communication Intention and Meaning; Interactive Communication; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology

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January 2000 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Alloy.com: Marketing to Generation Y

By: John A. Deighton and Gil McWilliams

A profitable dot com company? Alloy.com retails clothing to teens by catalog. Alloy uses a Web site to convert prospects and build community. The result is a business with the economics of a direct marketer and the market capitalization of an Internet start-up. The... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Internet and the Web; Business and Community Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry

April 2015 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Instacart and the New Wave of Grocery Startups

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Instacart is testing an Uber-style solution to the challenge of building a home-delivered grocery business. It is backed by $220 million of venture funding. Will this model succeed where businessses like Webvan failed? What are the questions that this exploratory... View Details

Keywords: Food Retailing; Outsourced Grocery Delivery; Online Ordering; Dynamic Pricing; Data Analytics; Marketing Strategy; Food; Distribution Channels; Business Startups; Food and Beverage Industry; California

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Historical Data & Sources - Business History

Notes: Literacy rates are based on population surveys which were not conducted on a regular basis and did not cover many developing countries. Download Data Set in Excel Apollo Hospitals Apollo Hospitals Map created by View Details

2021
Report

The Economic Impact of the Market-Making Internet Advertising, Content, Commerce, and Innovation

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

This research about the economic value of the Internet is conducted approximately every four years and highlights the importance of the internet ecosystem, which enables job creation and market-making opportunities. This highly valued, extensive piece of economic... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Communication Technology; Social Media; Advertising; Value; Brands and Branding

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March 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

NIKE, Inc. in the 1990s (C)

In 1998, Nike's earnings and sales growth slowed. Management faced new competition from Adidas. This case asks students to review the various strategies (including diversification into sports equipment) pursued by Nike to resuscitate corporate growth. View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Competition; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Growth and Development Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

October 2008 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Obama versus Clinton: The YouTube Primary

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

What was the role of the Internet in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination between Senators Obama and Clinton? How does the role change in the shift from the Primary to the National election? The case examines media and content choices by each... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Marketing Channels; Media; Internet; United States

June 1990 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Sorrell Ridge: Slotting Allowances

Management is attempting to penetrate the California retail grocery market with the company's line of all-fruit preserves. Substantial up-front fees (slotting allowances) have been requested by the chains. Management must decide how to respond. View Details

Keywords: Food; Distribution; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; California

22 Jul 2024
News

Viral Marketing’s Early Muse

Illustration by John Weber In 2008, Canadian musician Dave Carroll saw United Airlines employees manhandling his $3,500 Taylor guitar on the tarmac in Chicago. When he arrived at his destination, the guitar... View Details

Web

Faculty & Researchers - Managing the Future of Work

de Chalendar. Managing Talent Pipelines in the Future of Work , Harvard Business School case, 2019. With William R. Kerr, Manjari Raman and Carl Kreitzberg. The Caring Company: How Employers Can Cut Costs And Boost Productivity By Helping... View Details

December 1998 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Vivendi (A): Revitalizing a French Conglomerate

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and John M. Turner

Examines corporate strategy for a diversified firm in the French business context. Issues include corporate governance, vision, and the management of unrelated diversification. After the company's first loss ever, the Vivendi board elected a new chairman who completed... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Telecommunications Industry; France

December 1980 (Revised July 1991)
Case

Loctite Corp.: Industrial Products Group

A new product introduction strategy covering all elements of the marketing mix must be planned for equipment designed to dispense industrial adhesives. The equipment and adhesives are manufactured by the same company. View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry

April 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Supplement

Google in China (B)

In a January 2010 public statement, Google threatened to stop censoring its search results on its Google.cn website, as required by Chinese authorities. Should Google exit China? Or attempt a compromise with the Chinese government? View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Crisis Management; Market Entry and Exit; Business and Government Relations; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; China

July 2001 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Centra Software

By: John A. Deighton and Laetitia Pouliquen

Centra is a pioneer in software eLearning. It is debating how to modify its go-to-market strategy, adding telesales to improve sales force productivity. At the same time, its market is evolving, and management thinks it may be about to "cross the chasm" in Geoffrey... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Learning; Emerging Markets; Growth Management; Salesforce Management; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Education Industry

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Events - Business History

will be hosted in person at HBS. Please RSVP by email to bhi@hbs.edu to attend. Dec 2 02 Dec 2024 Business History Seminar Seth Rockman, (Brown University) “Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery" Co-Sponsored View Details

June 17, 2016
Comment

Companies Need to Start Marketing Security to Customers

Recent events in Orlando underscore an important marketing truth: consumer safety and security are mission critical. A popular nightclub, Pulse, known as a safe place for the LGBT community, is put out of business at least temporarily by a terrorist act. Not far away... View Details