Publications

07 Nov 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Less Becoming More?

phenomenon benefits producers and consumers alike. But a recent Harvard Business Review article by consultants Mark Gottfredson and Keith Aspinall questions whether there are benefits for producers, particularly those producing increasingly varied products targeted for... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Consumer Products

03 Apr 2019
Book

Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small Business

already in numerous areas such as marketing and customer acquisition. These same capacities will be the foundational elements for creating an intelligent small business financial platform or dashboard. Excerpted from Karen G. Mills,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Banking; Financial Services

August 2005 (Revised January 2012)
Case

McKinsey and the Globalization of Consultancy

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Alexis Lefort

Considers McKinsey's strategy during the first stage of the globalization of the management consultancy industry between the 1950s and 1973. Briefly reviews the history of management consulting before considering the factors that led McKinsey to open its first... View Details

Keywords: History; Demand and Consumers; Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Service Operations; Consulting Industry

Fall, 2024
Article

Sixty Years of the Voting Rights Act: Progress and Pitfalls

By: Andrea Bernini, Giovanni Facchini, Marco Tabellini and Cecilia Testa

We review the literature on the effects of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA), which removed formal restrictions to Black political participation. After a brief description of racial discrimination suffered by Black Americans since Reconstruction, we introduce the goals... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Equality and Inequality; Race; Political Elections; Voting; Policy; Outcome or Result; Government Legislation

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22 Dec 2014
News

The absolutely, positively best quotes of 2014

25 Aug 2015
First Look

First Look Tuesday

Working Papers Patent Publication and the Market for Ideas By: Hegde, Deepak, and Hong Luo Abstract—In this paper, we study the effect of invention disclosure-through patent publication-on the market for... View Details

September 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

MAYA Capital

By: Robert F. White, Carla Larangeira and Pedro Levindo

MAYA Capital co-founders Lara Lemann and Monica Saggioro raised $41.5 million through a series of closings for their early-stage Latin American venture capital fund. The two women had met for the first time in mid-2016 when Lemann was contemplating scaling her angel... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage; Portfolio Construction; Fund Management; Investment; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Strategy; Business Startups; Management; Investment Funds; Latin America

2020
Working Paper

Reinventing Retail: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This study examines how community-based brick-and-mortar retailers can achieve sustained market growth in the face of online and big box retail competition. The appearance of Amazon.com in 1995 led to a significant decline in the number of independent bookstores in the... View Details

Keywords: Bookstores; Competitive Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Customization and Personalization; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; United States

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January 2025
Technical Note

Get Cool: Air Conditioning Industry Background

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small

The “air conditioning paradox” is tied to climate change: the more the planet warms, the greater the need for cooling (due to the dangers of extreme heat as well as comfort within buildings), but the use of electricity-powered AC contributes to further warming. There... View Details

Keywords: Appliances; Global Warming; Energy Efficiency; Climate Change; Venture Capital; Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Green Technology; United States; Asia

Forest L. Reinhardt is the John D. Black Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and HBS’s Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Promotions and Tenure.

Professor Reinhardt is interested in the relationships between market and nonmarket... View Details

Keywords: agribusiness; agriculture; beverage; biotechnology; chemical; energy; federal government; food; food processing; forest products; nonprofit industry; oil ＆ gas; paper; petroleum; tourism; transportation

April 1990 (Revised April 1992)
Supplement

Ad Council's AIDS Campaign (B): Program Adoption

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Janet Montgomery

The answer to the (A) case. Explains Ad Council's plan. Outlines alliance with American Advertising Federation to enlist support of local Ad clubs, media presentation, and implementation strategy. View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Advertising Campaigns; Advertising Industry

March 2025
Case

Intuit: Lobbying to Save TurboTax

By: Joseph L. Badaracco and Tom Quinn

Intuit’s TurboTax software held a dominant market position in the online tax preparation market. Many politicians over the years had proposed changes that would have harmed Intuit’s business—notably, allowing the Internal Revenue Service to develop a government-owned... View Details

Keywords: Lobbying; Fairness; Moral Sensibility; Government Legislation; Taxation; Business and Government Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Reputation; Civil Society or Community; Public Opinion; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Rank and Position; Power and Influence; Technology Industry; United States; Europe

May 2000
Supplement

Launching the BMW Z3 Roadster

By: Robert J. Dolan and Susan M. Fournier

Contains two BMW Z3 television commercials used at launch, a Jay Leno Tonight Show segment, a Bryant Gumbel Today Show segment, Central Park PR event coverage, and Go: An American Road Story (promotional video from BMW). View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Auto Industry

December 1994 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Jensen Shoes: Jane Kravitz's Story

Jane Kravitz (Caucasian female), strategic product manager, and Lyndon Twitchell (African American male), a member of her staff at Jensen Shoes, a successful producer and marketer of casual, athletic, and children's footwear, are assigned to new positions and to each... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Race Characteristics; Attitudes; Personal Development and Career; Performance Evaluation; Gender Characteristics; Apparel and Accessories Industry

17 Jun 2019
Research & Ideas

What Hospitals Must Learn to Compete

holds true in most health care service markets in the United States: You should think about what market position you occupy, how it is differentiated from others’, and whether you are fulfilling the needs of... View Details

Keywords: by Alumni Bulletin Staff; Health

Caroline M. Elkins

Caroline Elkins is the Thomas Henry Carroll/Ford Foundation Professor of Business Administration in the Business, Government and International Economy unit at HBS. She is also Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, an... View Details

May 2020 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Brand Storytelling at Shinola

By: Jill Avery, Giana M. Eckhardt and Michael B. Beverland

Detroit, Michigan, aka “The Motor City,” is most known as the birthplace of most of the American classic automotive brands. It is a city filled with the rich history of the industrial age, the pride of American manufacturing, and of the soulful sounds of Motown music.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Advertising; Luxury; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Detroit; United States; North America