Publications

September 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Lifefont: The Case for RetailDriver

Examines how Lifefont (pseudonym), a multidivisional consumer packages goods company, develops a system to manage and measure the impact of promotional events in retail outlets. View Details

Keywords: Framework; Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Cost vs Benefits; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Customer Relationship Management; Product Marketing; Salesforce Management; Advertising; Management Systems; Information Technology; Retail Industry

25 Aug 2022
News

Action Plan: Fired Up

fundamental purpose that’s meaningful both to customers and employees,” he says. “You strive to be the best version of your customers.” That goal was relatively easy to attain in his previous role as CEO of the trendsetting headphone... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; company culture; barbecue; entertaining; food; marketing; brand

Web

Field Course: Ideation and Prototyping for Innovation - Course Catalog

can be found here . Accepted students will be notified by August 15, 2025. Learning Objectives Most early-stage ventures and new products fail because too few customers want what’s offered. Specifically, either: 1) the product doesn’t... View Details

10 Jun 2013
Research & Ideas

How Numbers Talk to People

deep statistical analysis, just good data and reporting approaches. It is often encountered in online businesses, where customer clickstreams provide plenty of data-often too much-for analysis. One expert practitioner of the CSI story... View Details

01 Dec 2017
News

2017 in Retail: Voice-Activated, One-Hour-Delivery Shopping

building. The losers have been the middle-of-the-road retail strategies—JCPenney, Kohl’s, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch—and the shopping malls they occupy. Their business models are completely outdated. Customers want convenience, they want... View Details

Keywords: Ron Johnson (MBA 1984), founder and CEO, Enjoy

01 Feb 2002
News

If You're #1, Watch Out

Where the Money Will Be," an article published in the November 2001 Harvard Business Review. "In markets where product performance is outstripping customer need, the market leader is vulnerable," write Christensen and coauthors Michael... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

18 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

How to Use Free Shipping as a Competitive Weapon

retailer profitability, and the impact of each policy on customer decisions about the size of their shopping carts and whether to purchase from particular product categories. It was written by Ngwe and Chaoqun Chen, assistant professor at... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Background Note

Note on Lead User Research

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes the Lead User concept and method (step-by-step) with brief examples from industrial practice. View Details

Keywords: Customers; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth

25 Sep 2009
News

Are You Being Served?

surprising than my unexpected win was the fact that all through the process, the state — and its oft-reviled bureaucracy — went out of its way to be fair, courteous, and forgiving. It got me to thinking: Has government been forced to become more View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Partnering and the Balanced Scorecard

diverse units, employees, and constituencies. In this chapter, we describe how effective leaders customize their organization's measurement and management system to partner with their employees for strategy implementation. We also discuss... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

December 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Olam: On a New Course

By: David E. Bell, Forest Reinhardt and Mary Shelman

From modest beginnings as a cashew trader in Nigeria, Olam, founded by Indian nationals in 1989, has grown into a leading global agricultural trading company, with annual revenues of $14 billion. The company recently has begun investing in farms and in the production... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Leadership; Customer Value and Value Chain; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Expansion; Competitive Advantage; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Nigeria

July 2004 (Revised March 2006)
Case

RosettaNet and ebXML: Betting on the Right eBusiness Standard

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Veronika Belokhvostova

A major enterprise software company must select which technologies to support, based on their long-term and short-term viability and benefits. The protagonist is involved in the release of the B2B integration component of major enterprise software whose purpose is to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technology; Customer Focus and Relationships; Markets; Standards; Science-Based Business; Situation or Environment; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Information Technology Industry

November 1994 (Revised August 1997)
Case

TV Guide (A)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

TV Guide is the largest magazine in the United States and is attaining record profitability. This case details the economics of TV Guide's success by studying its advertiser and reader relationships. Presents a detailed look at how a large magazine manages all aspects... View Details

Keywords: Journals and Magazines; Customers; Marketing Strategy; Advertising; Publishing Industry; United States