Publications

2022
Working Paper

Getting on the Map: The Impact of Online Listings on Business Performance

By: Michael Luca, Abhishek Nagaraj and Gauri Subramani

We evaluate the extent to which small businesses maintain an online presence, looking at restaurant listings on a major online review platform. While the majority of restaurants have an online presence, we find that roughly 18 percent in our sample have no presence as... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Internet and the Web; Revenue; Digital Marketing; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2019
Case

JTC: Stronger Together with Shared Ownership

By: Ethan Bernstein and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of Jersey-based financial services firm JTC, firmly believed that "shared ownership" was at the heart of his company’s successful track record. The firm had seen its revenues, profits, and number of clients and staff grow steadily throughout its... View Details

Keywords: Ownership; Employee Ownership; Leadership Style; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Going Public; Mission and Purpose; Management Practices and Processes; Human Resources; Financial Services Industry; Channel Islands; Europe; United States

Other Article

Online Discounting: Who is Leading the Race to the Bottom?

By: Ayelet Israeli, Eric Anderson and Anne Coughlan

A short review of the finidings in: Israeli, Ayelet, Eric Anderson, and Anne Coughlan. "Minimum Advertised Pricing: Patterns of Violation in Competitive Retail Markets." Marketing Science 35, no. 4 (July–August 2016): 539–564. View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Price Policies; Pricing Policies; Discounting; Retailing; Retailing Industry; Minimum Advertised Price; Ecommerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Price; Distribution Channels; Distribution; Digital Marketing; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

December 2013
Case

Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home

By: Frank V. Cespedes and James Kindley

The Clique Pens Writing Implements division of U.S. Home is a manufacturer of a full line of pens, pencils, markers, and art supplies. Despite solid sales, division president Elise Ferguson has seen gross margins drop from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012 as a... View Details

Keywords: Production; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

September 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Chai Point: Disrupting Chai

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Ramana Nanda and Rachna Tahilyani

Chai Point is India’s largest organized chai retailer. It has missed its target for retail store openings by approximately 25%, goals that are very important to its investors who are also board members. However, it has developed an exciting new internet-based tea... View Details

July 2006
Article

Bringing History (Back) into International Business

By: G. Jones and Tarun Khanna

We argue that the field of international business should evolve its rhetoric from the relatively uncontroversial idea that 'history matters' to exploring how it matters. We discuss four conceptual channels through which history matters, illustrating each with a major... View Details

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07 Feb 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Attracting Flows by Attracting Big Clients: Conflicts of Interest and Mutual Fund Portfolio Choice

Keywords: by Lauren H. Cohen & Breno Schmidt; Financial Services

2009
Report

Clusters, Cluster Policy, and Swedish Competitiveness

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

Proximity enables firms to take advantage of knowledge spill-overs and exploit supplierdemand linkages with other entities engaged in related activities. Cluster strength thus seems to be one of the important determinants of prosperity differences across geographies.... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Industry Clusters; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Sweden

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March 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Vestas' World of Wind

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Elena Corsi

The wind turbine manufacturer Vestas launched the industry's first highly localized and customized new product launch campaigns which used also new tools such as web 2.0 platforms. Used to operate in a market where demand exceeded supply, Vestas had lost contact with... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Channels; Internet and the Web; Product Launch; Demand and Consumers; Advertising Campaigns; Global Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Finance; Product Marketing; Technology Adoption; Energy Industry

24 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 24, 2008

cluster size and degree of specialization is measured along 3D: absolute number of employees (>10,000 jobs is used as cut-off for a regional cluster), degree of specialization (regional sector employment is at least two times expected levels) and degree of regional... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Henry W. McGee

Henry McGee joined the HBS faculty in 2013 after retiring as President of HBO Home Entertainment, the digital and DVD program distribution division of Home Box Office, the pioneering premium television company. A member of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit,... View Details

Keywords: television; motion pictures; media; e-commerce industry; entertainment; broadcasting; distribution; health care; journalism; wholesale; arts; nonprofit industry

July 2005 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Idea Village (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Dan Heath

Andy Khubani, the CEO of Idea Village, a company that markets to consumers via direct-response TV ads, must decide whether to launch a campaign touting a hair removal product for women. Explains the direct-response industry and contrasts its methodology with... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Gender; Consumer Products Industry

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details

August 1991 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

What Is Industrial Marketing?

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Discusses the key distinguishing aspects of industrial as compared to consumer marketing. These differences are highlighted for organizational as well as marketing mix aspects. View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Marketplace Matching; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Core Relationships; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry

August 2019
Case

Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes Walmart's omnichannel strategy in 2018 as it battled Amazon for online retail market share. The case discusses Walmart's early forays into online retail, as well as its 2018 strategy, which aimed to integrate Walmart's enormous brick and mortar... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competition; Retail Industry; Bentonville; Arkansas; New Jersey; Seattle; United States