Publications

October 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Cost of Capital at Ameritrade

By: Mark L. Mitchell and Erik Stafford

Ameritrade Holding Corp. is planning large marketing and technology investments to improve the company's competitive position in deep-discount brokerage by taking advantage of emerging economies of scale. In order to evaluate whether the strategy would generate... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Asset Pricing; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Investment; Marketing; Mathematical Methods; Competition; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Financial Services Industry

June 2018
Case

Meridian Systems

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Michael J. Roberts

The Meridian Systems case focuses on a start-up in the restaurant point of sale (POS) systems market. In early 2018, Meridian is getting ready to roll out a POS system based on a new technology—a tablet-based, Wi-Fi-enabled POS system (the "tablet" system, or... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Sales; Strategy; Salesforce Management; Organizational Structure; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy

17 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 17

Government Inspections: Evidence from Restaurant Hygiene Inspections and Online Reviews By: Kang, Jun Seok, Polina Kuznetsova, Yejin Choi, and Michael Luca Abstract—Restaurant hygiene inspections are often cited as a success story of public disclosure. Hygiene grades... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 30

that takes into consideration a variety of customer specific characteristics to set optimal pricing for quotations. On "go live" day, the sales force "is up in arms" requesting that their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2007
Article

Grist: A Strategic Approach to Climate

By: Michael E. Porter and Forest Reinhardt

Climate change will affect everything businesses do, as government efforts to mitigate carbon emissions cause their prices to rise steeply. This special edition of Forethought takes a hard-nosed look at the risks and opportunities of climate change. Michael E. Porter... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Leadership; Logistics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Improvement; Climate Change; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy

Find at Harvard

Web

Marketing - Doctoral

Jacqueline Ng Lane George Serafeim Isamar Troncoso Shunyuan Zhang Big data Alberto F. Cavallo Business marketing Das Narayandas V. Kasturi Rangan Consumer behavior Leslie K. John Michael I. Norton Consumer psychology Julian De Freitas Michael I. Norton View Details

Web

Unique Value Proposition - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

value propositions based on needs appeal to a mix of customers who might defy traditional segmentation. Instead of belonging to a clear demographic category, the company’s customers will be defined by the... View Details

August 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Luckin Coffee (A): Caffeine-fueled Growth?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the founding of Chinese coffee chain Luckin Coffee in 2017 and its path to surpassing Starbucks as the largest coffee chain in China (by number of stores) in 2019. Unlike Starbucks stores, which were designed to be welcoming “third places” for... View Details

08 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 8, 2008

of luck is the share of the oil industry in the state's economy multiplied by the price of oil. The correlation is negative, suggesting that more reliance on luck is correlated with less individualism. We provide three short models that... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

09 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 9

Experimentation By: Thomke, Stefan, and Jim Manzi Abstract—The data you already have can't tell you how customers will react to innovations. To discover if a truly novel concept will succeed, you must subject it to a rigorous experiment.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 5

School Case 811-064 Aardvark is an online social search service that allows users to pose questions and receive answers from other users in their extended social network. The case explores the process that Aardvark's founders used to design and develop their product... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

How Mercadona Fixes Retail’s ’Last 10 Yards’ Problem

Imagine a retail chain that offers customers not only the lowest prices but also personalized customer service. Employees receive above-average wages and 20 times more training... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail; Food & Beverage

02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

examples of successful and failed leaders, with stories to illustrate their experiences and the author's advice to readers who may face similar crises. Purchase this book: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-55338.html Reorganize for Resilience:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

28 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 28

argue that competition can lead organizations to provide illicit quality that satisfies customer demand but violates laws and regulations and that this outcome is particularly likely when price competition... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Groupon

By: Sunil Gupta, Ray Weaver and Dharmishta Rood

On November 4, 2011, Groupon, a marketing services company that promoted local businesses by selling deeply discounted vouchers for their products and services, completed its initial public offering that valued the company at $17 billion. Within a year Groupon's share... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development; Marketing Channels; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation