Brand Authenticity - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

Giving Back: Consumers Care More About How Companies Donate Than How Much

important to be authentic in your giving." “It appears that generosity is being judged from the perspective of sacrifice and what they've given up relative to what they have,” says Keenan. “So, when you see a View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

18 Sep 2017
Research & Ideas

'Likes' Lead to Nothing—and Other Hard-Learned Lessons of Social Media Marketing

Seventeen years after the dawn of social media marketing, this medium continues to be an intriguing puzzle—a place where brands are investing more time and money, but are still struggling to determine what works well and where the returns... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Advertising; Technology

October 2023
Article

Speedy Activists: Firm Response Time to Sociopolitical Events Influences Consumer Behavior

By: Jimin Nam, Maya Balakrishnan, Julian De Freitas and Alison Wood Brooks

Organizations face growing pressure from their consumers and stakeholders to take public stances on sociopolitical issues. However, many are hesitant to do so lest they make missteps, promises they cannot keep, appear inauthentic, or alienate consumers, employees, or... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Public Opinion; Social Media; Social Issues

January 2024
Case

Sprouts Farmers Market

By: Rajiv Lal, Forest L. Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

Sprouts Farmers Markets (Sprouts) is a Phoenix, Arizona-based chain of 400-plus natural foods stores in 23 U.S. states and $6.4 billion in sales as of 2022. In its product assortment, brand image, and store environment, Sprouts emphasizes freshness, health, innovation,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Strategic Planning; Sales; Business Strategy; Expansion; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Competition; Retail Industry; United States; Arizona

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29 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

ends? Anita Elberse, the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, got a behind-the-scenes look from Beckham’s team at how the organization considered an offer from Authentic View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

18 Dec 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, December 18, 2018

benign envy in addition to decreasing their perceptions of the entrepreneur’s hubristic pride (i.e., arrogance) while increasing their perceptions of the entrepreneur’s authentic pride (i.e., confidence). These findings align with... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

13 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Your Company Wants to be a 'Cognitive Referent' (Hint: SpaceX)

wanted something better. “These stories ended up being a real kind of consistent touchpoint throughout their history that they tried to share as often as possible. The nice thing about it is it not only conveys authenticity and why these... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Aerospace; Food & Beverage; Retail

21 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The Pandemic Conversations That Leaders Need to Have Now

of local leadership: An individual manager can be an authentic communicator even if their organization is not. Jennifer Petriglieri’s colleague and husband, Gianpiero Petriglieri, recommends that leaders “tell your people what will happen... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Robin Abrahams, and Katherine Connolly Baden

03 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Is the Future of MBA Education?

and inspire. That takes skill and practice. MBAs need to ask themselves, "How do I engage people to accomplish a task while I remain in the background?" At HBS, the Authentic Leadership Development course aims to teach these skills in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

03 Aug 2016
What Do You Think?

How Can We Hold the “Leadership Industry” Accountable?

profit for shareholders and directors. Pfeffer is also tired of seeing so-called leadership development services offered in a sanitized vacuum by a “leadership industry” under “brands” such as authentic leadership and servant leadership,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

01 Nov 2016
First Look

First Look - November 1, 2016

authenticity is perfect for wealthy customers looking for refinement and inconspicuous luxury in an age of ostentatious logocentric branding. Drawing upon the brand’s extensive associations with previous users, most notably Sir Winston... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Mar 2016
HBS Case

Can Customer Reviews Be 'Managed?'

question, which is for the consumers that are out there listening to this. How concerned should they be about having to filter the authentic reviews from the inauthentic? Is it a rampant problem? Are many View Details

Keywords: by Brian Kenny; Advertising; Travel

30 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

India’s Ambitious National Identification Program

people's pensions-widespread corruption that has led to huge financial losses for the government each year. The Creation Of Aadhaar Aadhaar, which means "foundation" in Hindi, is the brand name used to describe the 12-digit... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

10 Nov 2014
HBS Case

How Restaurants in Lima and Copenhagen Became Best in the World

or mission you have—and both creators found different answers to that. Acurio was maybe more pragmatic and found a way [that would] allow him through these separate brands to do his high-end restaurant but also appeal to different dining... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

16 May 2016
HBS Case

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

an effort to differentiate by being more locally sourced and thereby fresher, as perceived by consumers, Chipotle was perhaps putting its brand at greater reputational risk.” Companies are increasingly outsourcing their food inspection... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

15 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 15, 2018

Under Armour finds itself with a new record to beat: making the leap from $5 to $10 billion in sales—a feat only accomplished to date by competitors Nike and Adidas. At the heart of this challenge is how Under Armour can maintain its brand’s View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

02 Sep 2016
Op-Ed

The Twitter Election

unlikely to suffice. Many voters are now looking not just for problem-solving skills but for specific policy solutions that hold up under scrutiny.Third, Trump is under-leveraging Twitter. Though he feeds his followers a continuing diet of controversial tweets that... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch and Thales Teixeira

02 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 2

unethical. In four experiments, participants wore purportedly fake or authentically branded sunglasses. Those wearing fake sunglasses cheated more across multiple tasks than did participants wearing View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 29, 2008

result in deterioration of financial performance. Fixed- and sunk-cost conventional wisdom confers an unfair advantage on challengers and shackles incumbent firms that attempt to respond to an attack. Executives in established companies, bemoaning the expense of... View Details