Publications

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September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Pricing Strategy

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As a he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Consumer Behavior; Management Teams; Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Price; Brands and Branding; Decision Making; Retail Industry; United States

June 2008
Case

From xiaonei to hainei: The Quest for the Social Networking Service Market in China

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Wang Xing, the founder of Hainei.com, one of the fastest growing social networking service (SNS) providers in China, was preparing to raise funds from venture capitalists. Since late 2003, Wang had established several Internet startups in China. Xiaonei.com, which he... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Internet; China

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August 2003 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Marketing at The Vanguard Group

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Senior executives at Vanguard are evaluating their marketing strategy. In particular, they are looking at their approach to market segmentation, the organization of the marketing function, and the weight placed on marketing metrics in the corporate dashboard in light... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Segmentation

21 Oct 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Market Interest in Nonfinancial Information

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles, Michael P. Krzus & George Serafeim

October 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Volkswagen do Brasil: Driving Strategy with the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

A new management team at VW do Brazil develops and deploys a strategy map and Balanced Scorecard to accomplish a turnaround and cultural change after eight consecutive years of financial losses and market share declines. The team uses the strategy map to align... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Developing Countries and Economies; Management Teams; Leadership; Balanced Scorecard; Strategic Planning; Balance and Stability; Motivation and Incentives; Communication Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Auto Industry; Brazil; Germany

June 2012
Case

Innovating at AT&T: Partnering to Lead the Broadband Revolution

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Phillip Andrews and Kerry Herman

In 2010, the U.S. retail market value for next-generation non-handset wirelessly-enabled devices was just over $1 billion. By 2011 it had grown 1,141% to $13.2 billion and was forecast to reach $24.7 billion in 2015. At the same time, user demand for data was surging... View Details

Keywords: Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Team Leadership; Emerging Technologies; Business Models; Business To Business; Corporate Vision; Growth Strategy; Corporate Culture; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Leadership; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Business Model; Technology Industry; United States

Cold Call Podcast

Innovating in the Feminine Care Market

Keywords: Re: Rembrand M. Koning

25 Apr 2013
News

The business strategy in plausible deniability

09 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Location, Location, Location: The Strategy of Place

Going Global Expanding operations to another country brings a whole new set of complications, says Alcácer. For one, businesses that expand internationally need to adjust their... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Cyberdyne: A Leap to the Future

By: Doug J. Chung and Mayuka Yamazaki

Cyberdyne Inc. was a Japanese technology venture that wanted to commercialize a hybrid assistive limb (HAL). HAL was a robotic exoskeleton system for people who had difficulty walking due to nervous system disabilities resulting from stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI),... View Details

Keywords: Go-to-market Strategy; Pricing; Sales Channel; Technological Innovation; Marketing; Sales; Distribution; Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

together at every level—from the core central concepts of the strategy to the minute details of execution. New World, New Roles When companies generally made their money in a large number of mid-sized... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

October 2014 (Revised July 2016)
Supplement

Gilead: Hepatitis C Access Strategy (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

While the "Gilead: Hepatitis-C Access Strategy (A)" case (HBS No. 515-025) poses questions on what the company should do with respect to hard-hit countries like Egypt and India, the (B) case provides the answer. In both cases, the company chose to pursue a proactive... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

07 Jan 2002
Research & Ideas

How Marketing Can Reduce Worldwide Poverty

spur agriculture. Or the supermarket going up in the inner city. What can a marketing background say to you when your goal is not to sell... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

26 Jul 2016
News

Alumni Capture the Essence of Pokemon GO Craze

can be derived from the phenomenon. To gather alumni thoughts and takeaways, we went on social media with a question: “How can other brands replicate the breakout success of Pokemon GO or can they?” Here are... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment

Article

How Market Power Affects Dynamic Pricing: Evidence from Inventory Fluctuations at Car Dealerships

By: Ayelet Israeli, Fiona Scott-Morton, Jorge Silva-Risso and Florian Zettelmeyer

This paper investigates empirically the effect of market power on dynamic pricing in the presence of inventories. Our setting is the auto retail industry; we analyze how automotive dealerships adjust prices to inventory levels under varying degrees of market power. We... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Pricing; Market Power; Pricing; Price Discrimination; Inventory Production; Marketing; Price; Competitive Strategy; Auto Industry; Retail Industry

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17 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

‘Chick Beer’ for Women? Why Gender Marketing Repels More Than Sells

green,” she says. “But as soon as you put the label on the calculator, women tend to avoid it. Marketers may think that just because I’m a woman, I’m going View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

08 Dec 2020
News

Uber’s Strategy for Global Success

August 2020 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Digital Marketing at HBS Online

By: Sunil Gupta and Rajiv Lal

In July 2020, the management team of Harvard Business School Online (HBS Online) had to decide how to allocate its marketing budget for fiscal year 2021 between various digital channels and its portfolio of courses. Since its launch in 2014, HBS Online had grown to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Marketing Channels; Brands and Branding; Business Education; Education Industry; United States; Boston

March 2012 (Revised February 2013)
Background Note

The Hybrid Vehicle Market

By: Michael W. Toffel and Nazli Z. Uludere Aragon

This note describes the hybrid electic vehicle market, the results of different automaker strategies, and the environmental regulatory issues that can promote or inhibit market growth in the United States. Introduces students to the technologies and regulatory aspects... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Product Development; Information Technology; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; United States