Publications

Web

Reconceiving Products & Markets - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Three Levels of CSV Reconceiving Products & Markets Redefining Productivity in the Value Chain Improving the Local & Regional Business Environment Reconceiving Products & ... Reconceiving Products & Markets... View Details

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

“Analysts were viewed as second-class citizens, some reporting they were told to fetch coffee for agents,” the researchers write. “Conversely, agents working on conventional law enforcement cases, previously the heroes of the FBI, felt their View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

June 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Membership Rewards® from American Express

By: Shelle Santana, Frances X. Frei and Lauren G. Pickle

Credit and charge card issuer American Express (Amex) had developed a strong reputation among consumers due in part to its Membership Rewards (MR) loyalty program, first established in 1991. Through MR, all Amex cardholders could accumulate and redeem “points” based on... View Details

Keywords: Financial Services; Customer Loyalty; Credit Cards; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Customer Value and Value Chain; Value Creation; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; North America; United States

28 Mar 2016
Research & Ideas

What's a Boss Worth?

them look better. But how much of an effect does a good or bad boss have on workers, really? Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Christopher Stanton sets out to ask that question in The Value of Bosses, a paper recently published... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Service

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

producers who supply the industry. Equally hit are supply chain partners who move goods across the country. "It’s going to take some time to retool operating models to be able to succeed in this new environment.” Coming into 2020,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

Benson P. Shapiro

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

With COVID-19 cases growing worldwide, business leaders are scrambling to deal with a wide variety of problems, from slumping sales and stalling supply chains to keeping employees healthy and making sure they can continue working. We... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

Business History - Faculty & Research

Management ; Business Earnings ; Financial Statements ; Change Management ; Disruption ; Volatility ; Transition ; Crime and Corruption ; Cost vs Benefits ; Decision Making ; Decision Choices and Conditions ; Decisions ; Demographics ; Ethics ; View Details

27 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 27

model for explaining how network resources contribute to organizational performance. Reach is the extent to which an organization's network connects it to diverse and distant partners. Richness represents the potential value of the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Online Business Strategy Course | HBS Online

Predicting Competition in Local Markets Competing Against Dominant Platforms Platforms in Your Value Chain Serial Acquirers Show Hide Details Concepts Understanding Network Effects Which Markets Will Tip... View Details

August 2020
Case

Zoom Video Communications: Eric Yuan's Leadership During COVID-19

By: Scott Duke Kominers, Christopher Stanton, Andy Wu and George Gonzalez

In the first half of 2020, worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought explosive growth to the Zoom Video Communications platform, as people replaced in-person work and social events with videoconferencing. Months into the pandemic, CEO Eric Yuan... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Communication Technology; Customer Value and Value Chain; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Health Pandemics; Technology Industry; United States; California

10 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker

customer values of convenience, availability, product or service functionality, and relationship, creates a reason for the customer to buy. But, you also must eliminate reasons for the customer not to purchase. Various adjunct services,... View Details

Keywords: by Benson P. Shapiro

Web

Business for Social Impact | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

markets to create both economic and social value. Publications How Firms Respond to Worker Activism: Evidence from Global Supply Chains By: Yanhua Bird, Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel 2025 | Faculty Research Social movement pressures... View Details

Web

Strategy for Universities & Nonprofits - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

helps leading universities and nonprofits develop a strategic focus and deliver more value to the people and communities they serve. Strategy for Non-Profits The Museum Value View Details

April 2021
Teaching Note

Drinkworks: Home Bar by Keurig

By: Sunil Gupta and Jonathan Levav

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-010. In the summer of 2018, Drinkworks CEO Nathaniel Davis needed to make a number of go-to-market decisions ahead of his company’s upcoming product launch. Formed through a joint venture between Keurig Dr. Pepper and Anheuser-Busch... View Details

October 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Lyra Health: Transforming Mental Health

By: Rembrand Koning and Nicole Keller

In January 2022, Lyra Health was deciding between several different alternatives to grow the business. Founded in 2015, Lyra Health, was a digital mental health platform that combined technology with human therapists and coaches to deliver high quality mental health... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Health Care and Treatment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Customer Value and Value Chain; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Health Industry; Technology Industry; San Francisco