Publications

May 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Camposol

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

With $289 million in 2015 revenues, Camposol is a Peruvian grower, exporter, and marketer of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the high-growth, high-margin blueberry category. Camposol aspires to become Peru’s first multinational branded produce company. It... View Details

May 2017
Teaching Note

Promontory, Inc. (Brief Case)

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Handlin

Teaching Note for HBS No. 917-535. The Promontory teaching note covers a) how and why buying processes in Promontory’s market generate the array of selling approaches illustrated in the case; b) the impact of incremental sales increases on the firm’s cost structure and... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Salesforce Management; Marketing Strategy

Market capitalism, a system that has proven to be a remarkable engine of wealth creation, is poised for a breakdown. That sounds dire, and it is. Increasing income inequality, migration, weaknesses in the global financial system, environmental degradation, and... View Details

September 2012 (Revised November 2014)
Case

Cialis Lifecycle Management: Lilly's BPH Dilemma

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

How should Eli Lilly further develop and market a new indication of its highly successful erectile-dysfunction (ED) drug, Cialis, without confusing Cialis's hard-won brand equity with physicians and patients? With the final stages of clinical trials for the new... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Attitudes; Brands and Branding; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

March 1982 (Revised April 1989)
Background Note

Industrial Buyer Behavior

May be used as background material for courses in industrial marketing and industrial procurement. Surveys the economic, behavioral, and organizational influences that shape buying decision-making in corporations and other institutions. Also describes the kinds of... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Marketing; Decision Making

February 2011 (Revised November 2013)
Case

The Cheezburger Network

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Cheezburger Network was a Web publisher of humorous, user-contributed content, using social media for dissemination, and selling advertising against the traffic of 1 billion page views per quarter. In January 2011, it raised $30 million in venture capital for the... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Digital Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Strategic Planning; Sales; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry; Web Services Industry

08 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

Black Employees Not Only Earn Less, But Deal with Bad Bosses and Poor Conditions

A racial salary gap has persisted in the US for more than 50 years among minority groups, with Black people currently earning 30 to 35 percent less than Whites. Now new research shows that in addition to receiving smaller paychecks, Black... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

06 Oct 2009
First Look

First Look: October 6

http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?R=710410-PDF-ENG&conversationId=264137&E=1234203 Daqi Harvard Business School Case 309-113 In 2008, Daqi was one of the largest Internet portals for user-generated content and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 1994 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

Commercializing Technology: Imaginative Understanding of User Needs

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

The transformation of technology into commercially successful products is a process fraught with risk and uncertainty, and increasing pressure on time to market is exacerbating the difficulties. This note first describes a study conducted by Hewlett-Packard to improve... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Communication Strategy; Customers; Design; Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Product Development; Research; Risk and Uncertainty; Commercialization; Technology Adoption

July 2010
Article

Board Interlocks and the Propensity to Be Targeted in Private Equity Transactions

By: Toby E. Stuart and Soojin Yim

In this paper, we examine the propensity for U.S. public companies to become targets for private equity-backed, take-private transactions. We consider the characteristics of 483 private equity-backed deals in the 2000-2007 period relative to public companies, and find... View Details

Keywords: Board Interlocks; Board Networks; Social Networks; Private Equity; Corporate Governance; Public Ownership; Market Transactions; Governing and Advisory Boards; United States

Find at Harvard

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Analyst Disagreement, Forecast Bias and Stock Returns

Keywords: by Anna Scherbina; Financial Services

Cannibalization and Option Value Effects of Secondary Markets: Evidence from the US Concert Industry

We examine how reducing search frictions in secondary markets affects the value appropriated by firms in primary markets. We characterize two effects on primary-market firms caused by intermediaries entering secondary markets: the “cannibalization” and “option value”... View Details

January 2009 (Revised March 2010)
Case

LeBron James

By: Anita Elberse and Jeff McCall

In 2005, to the astonishment of many sports industry insiders, superstar basketball player LeBron James fired his agent and established his own firm, LRMR, to handle all aspects of his business ventures and marketing activities and named his childhood friend Maverick... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry

May 2009 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Verne Global: Building a Green Data Center in Iceland

Verne Global, a pioneering startup created to build the first large-scale data center in Iceland, faces critical challenges regarding its green strategy. Verne Co-Founder Isaac Kato is tasked with evaluating how the company can most successfully market and sell the... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Business Startups; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Sales; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants; Green Technology Industry; Service Industry; Iceland

19 Apr 2018
Video

Magma Final Pitch New Venture Competition 2018 Alumni Track

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

March 2008 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Blogging at BzzAgent

BzzAgent is a word-of-mouth marketing firm. The founder, Dave Balter, sees blogs as an important way to communicate BzzAgent's unique positioning: transparency. He sees the firm's blog--the BeeLog--as a way for the firm to participate in conversations with clients,... View Details

Keywords: Blogs; Marketing Communications; Social and Collaborative Networks; Advertising Industry