Publications

07 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

The Business of Biotech

Lately, competition in the biotech industry has become more heated than ever, as a steadily increasing number of companies enter a market that, despite its risky nature, has the potential for enormous rewards in the future. "It may... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Biotechnology; Health; Technology

2017
Working Paper

Merchants and the Origins of Capitalism

By: Sophus A. Reinert and Robert Fredona

N.S.B. Gras, the father of Business History in the United States, argued that the era of mercantile capitalism was defined by the figure of the “sedentary merchant,” who managed his business from home, using correspondence and intermediaries, in contrast to the earlier... View Details

Keywords: Economic Systems; History; Business History

SSRN

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November 2024
Case

Dr. Bombay Ice Cream

By: William R. Kerr, Alexis Brownell and Michael Liu

This case examines the creation, launch, and rapid growth of Dr. Bombay Ice Cream, a joint venture between Happi Co., a consumer packaged goods incubator, and entertainment mogul Snoop Dogg, with his son, Cordell Broadus. The brand was inspired by a Bored Ape Yacht... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Distribution Channels; Disruptive Innovation; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

March 2014 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Can Mexico Make Democracy Work?

By: Gunnar Trumbull and Jonathan Schlefer

Enrique Peña Nieto, the presidential candidate of the old Mexican ruling party elected in 2012, passed the most fundamental reforms in at least two decades. They included allowing private competition in the energy sector, including with the state-owned oil company,... View Details

Keywords: Democratization; Economic Development; Competition Policy; Exchange Rates; Comparative Advantage; Growth and Development; Government Legislation; Political Elections; Economic Growth; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Latin America; Mexico

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Alessi: Evolution of an Italian Design Factory (A)

By: Youngme E. Moon, Vincent Dessain and Anders Sjoman

Alessio Alessi, head of distribution at family-run Alessi S.p.A., is facing price and brand confusion among customers and is considering reorganizing Alessi's worldwide network of distributors. By describing the challenges facing Alessi, an internationally acclaimed... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transition; Cost Management; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution; Production; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Consumer Products Industry

March 2007
Supplement

Bain & Company, Inc.

In late 2001, the consultancy Bain must decide whether to launch information technology as a practice area within the firm. The senior executives who are Bain's clients have been asking more and more IT-related questions of the firm's partners, who find themselves... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry

May 1986
Supplement

Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (C), Video

Designed for use in class as an epilogue to the story of the struggle to solve creative problems on Gillette's Dry Idea antiperspirant. The videotape announces the bake-off competition winner: BBDO. It also shows excerpts from interviews conducted a year and a half... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Consumer Products Industry

October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Background Note

Running and Growing the Small Company: Course Overview

Addresses challenges facing managers, presidents, and owners in generating and sustaining superior performance, especially as a company broadens its mix of goods and services, increases the volume of its sales, and enlarges the size of its workforce. The critical... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Talent and Talent Management

Find at Harvard

November 1991
Case

Magic Johnson: Endorsements ""After""...?

By: Stephen A. Greyser

On Thursday, November 7, 1991, Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced his retirement from basketball in the wake of having tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Magic Johnson was one of the most popular figures in sports, both... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Value; Sports; Advertising; Alliances; Problems and Challenges; Decision Choices and Conditions; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

Goals Challenges Traditional Organizational Designs By: Battilana, Julie, Michael Fuerstein, and Michael Lee Abstract—For an extended period during the first half of the 20th century, industrial democracy was a vibrant movement, with... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Research Summary

Buyers, Sellers, Manufacturers in China’s Emerging Market around 1900

Ever since the economic reforms in the post-Mao period China’s economy as an emerging market has attracted much interest. However, we tend to forget that China was already an emerging market at the turn of the 19^th century, if not earlier. This... View Details

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

Complementary goods have more value when used together than separately. Complementarity may be strong or weak. Strong complements are specific and unique goods that have no value (or greatly diminished... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

March 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Supplement

STRIVR (B): Moving into the Enterprise

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

STRIVR, a company focused on virtual reality training, has decided to shift focus from sports to enterprise customers. The change in strategy requires the CEO to solve a number of issues. The company initally offered training for hard skills, but clients have been... View Details

Keywords: Strivr; Virtual Reality; Soft Skills; Hard Skills; VR; Applications and Software; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Training; Sports; Technology Industry; Technology Industry; United States

January 1993 (Revised April 1993)
Case

Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The pharmaceutical division of a diversified company has been asked to develop a Balanced Scorecard. Research and development projects take about ten years to bring a new product to the marketplace and the division depends on good relations and active feedback from its... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Performance Evaluation; Customer Relationship Management; Goals and Objectives; Customer Satisfaction; Research and Development; Marketplace Matching; Financial Condition; Product Launch; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2014 (Revised February 2015)
Case

Pfizer and AstraZeneca: Marketing an Acquisition (A)

By: John A. Quelch and James Weber

In 2014, Pfizer proposed a friendly acquisition of AstraZeneca, but the AstraZeneca board resisted over price and strategy concerns. Was this good for pharmaceutical consumers? Pfizer, like pharmaceutical companies in general, faced difficulties in growing sales due to... View Details

Keywords: Health Care Policy; Mergers And Acquisitions; Marketing; Government Relations; Crisis Management; Decision Making; Growth and Development; Management; Markets; Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United Kingdom; United States

February 2007 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Li Ning - Anything is Possible

A leading sporting goods company in China competes aggressively against global brands Nike and Adidas, with marketing strategies adapted to geographic segments. In the main cities, where competition takes place at a very conceptual level, Li Ning has chosen to adopt a... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Global Strategy; City; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; China

25 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

How Do Incumbents Fare in the Face of Increased Service Competition?

Keywords: by Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell & Frances X. Frei; Banking

June 2024
Article

Oral History and Business History in Emerging Markets

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article describes the motivation, structure and use of the Creating Emerging Markets (CEM) oral history-based project at the Harvard Business School. The project consists of lengthy interviews with business leaders from emerging markets. By June 2024 183... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Economies; Oral History; Emerging Markets; Business History; Research