Publications

December 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

21Seeds: Taking Shots at Breakout Growth

By: Elie Ofek, Julian De Freitas, Michael Moynihan and Nicole Tempest Keller

21Seeds, a female-founded flavor-infused tequila startup launched in 2019, had made inroads into the alcoholic beverage industry by focusing on an underserved consumer segment in spirits—women, primarily in their 30s and 40s, many of whom were moms—and by following a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution Channels; Sales; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2014 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Focus Financial Partners and the U.S. RIA Industry in 2014

By: Luis Viceira and Emily A. Chien

In the Spring of 2014, Rudy Adolf, CEO and founder of Focus Financial, and the two other co-founders of the firm are considering alternative growth strategies to solidify Focus Financial's position as a leading aggregator of independent wealth management firms in the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financial Services Industry

Get to better, more effective strategy.

In nearly every business segment and corner of the world economy, the most successful companies dramatically outperform their rivals. What is their secret? In "Better, Simpler Strategy," Harvard... View Details

Web

Human Behavior & Decision-Making - Faculty & Research

Decisions ; Food ; Product Marketing ; Product Positioning ; Product Launch ; Problems and Challenges ; Behavior ; Competitive Advantage ; Customization and Personalization ; Segmentation ; Internet and the Web ; Food and Beverage... View Details

11 Apr 2016
HBS Seminar

Pian Shu, Harvard Business School

Web

Topics - HBS Working Knowledge

Uncertainty (36) SWOT Analysis (5) Safety (13) Salesforce Management (18) Sales (30) Satisfaction (11) Saving (5) Science-Based Business (7) Science (237) Search Technology (22) Segmentation (1) Selection and Staffing (10) Service... View Details

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

Amazon, last decade Best Buy began with a comprehensive segmentation of its customers. As part of this initiative, the company realized that although 55 percent of its customers were women, most of these women did not enjoy their shopping... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

29 Aug 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Patent Trolls

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun & Scott Duke Kominers

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

serve this less affluent segment of the market. How consumers can protect themselves For consumers, the message is clear: Make sure you know your bank’s policy on how—and when—overdraft fees are charged. “Community-based banks also do... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

23 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Strategy-Focused Organization

weather that depressed sales of natural gas and home heating oil. As you know, this is also the first quarter we are operating with the Balanced Scorecard, so I can see performance across a broader set of indicators. Market shares in our key customer View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

30 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Should Retailers Match Their Own Prices Online and in Stores?

value of the product is low and there aren’t too many undecided consumers, to offer the price match doesn’t give you much in terms of extra profits from the segment that comes to the store,” Ofek says. “By price discriminating across... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

Web

Confronting Climate Change - Business & Environment

segments of the business community have opposed government action on climate change. More recently, some companies have begun advocating for government policies to address climate change. Electricity Shifting to sustainable electricity... View Details

01 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making

notion that a large segment of consumers might prefer automobiles that were safe and fuel-efficient. Coca-Cola ignored evidence that "New Coke" would fizzle and launched it anyway. Companies in the mechanical-watch and... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Breaking the Code of Change

Theory O change, Scott Paper operated in a highly competitive, cyclical, capital-intensive global industry. Like Champion International, it operated in two different segments of the paper industry and had several businesses in markets... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer & Nitin Nohria

16 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.

services. Firms whose customer demand for their core products and services has decreased need to find new customers for new products and services in segments experiencing steep increases in demand. Thus, Dyson, GM, Ford, Volkswagen, and... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim; Retail; Service

September 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Red Lobster

By: David E. Bell and Jason Riis

Red Lobster, a 40-year-old chain of seafood restaurants, has just completed some market research revealing an opportunity to shift its target customer segment. The chain is in the final stages of a 10-year plan of rejuvenation under CEO Kim Lopdrup. When he took over... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Research; Segmentation; Food and Beverage Industry