Publications

22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Important Management Trends of the (Still Young) Twenty-First Century

the last decade is the dramatic increase in the number of companies concerned with corporate social responsibility, and the resultant rise in the range and variety that such efforts have taken. From "old"... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

25 Oct 2016
First Look

October 25, 2016

outlet store use. Consumers who shop at outlet stores also do not differ significantly from those who shop at regular stores in terms of income. I use a structural demand model to show that View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 26, 2006

in the consumer electronics, personal computer, and entertainment industries. Set at a time when companies were starting to release products for each format, this case includes a brief history of the format... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2009 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Elkay Plumbing Products Division

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The vice president of sales learns that the most profitable 1% of the division's customers generate 100% of profits, and that two of the division's largest customers lose 50% of profits. The division has just finished a project to install a time-driven activity-based... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Management Systems; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

2010
Chapter

The Impact of Employer Matching on Savings Plan Participation under Automatic Enrollment

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

Existing research has documented the large impact that automatic enrollment has on savings plan participation. All the companies examined in these studies, however, have combined automatic enrollment with an employer match. This raises a question about how effective... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Consumer Behavior; Personal Finance; Investment Funds; Microeconomics; Compensation and Benefits

2013
Article

Optimizing the Amount of Entertainment in Advertising: What's So Funny about Tracking Reactions to Humor?

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Horst Stipp

Humor and other entertaining content, as opposed to demonstrations of product features and "selling," are increasingly used in advertising, such as TV commercials, to attract and keep consumers' attention. This study uses facial tracking to explore how marketers can... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Content; Entertainment; Face Perception; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Television Entertainment; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Find at Harvard

04 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 4, 2007

Working PapersThe "Fees Savings" Link, or Purchasing Fifty Pounds of Pasta Authors:Michael I. Norton and Leonard Lee Abstract Many consumers have had the experience of entering discount... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2012
Case

Introducing iSnack 2.0: The New Vegemite

By: Anat Keinan, Francis Farrelly and Michael Beverland

Vegemite is an iconic Australian breakfast spread and is often seen as a quintessential Australian product. This case focuses on Kraft's decision to revitalize brand performance through the introduction of a brand extension. Drawing on extensive social media analysis... View Details

Keywords: Food; Product Launch; Conflict and Resolution; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

May 1986 (Revised August 1987)
Supplement

Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (A), Video Introduction

Provides an overview of video contents and three attachments: 1) chart discussed at meeting shown in video, 2) historical Dry Idea copy strategies, and 3) graphic comparison of Dry Idea share trends and airing history. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Consumer Products Industry

February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

LeapFrog Enterprises

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Explores the success factors leading to the company's rise to the number three ranking in the aggressively competitive toy industry. LeapFrog has made the strategic decision to expand beyond the toy industry and enter the educational technology and services industry.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

October 2004 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Alibris in 2004

Alibris, an online marketplace for rare, used, and out-of-print books, is trying to communicate to the professional book dealers who are its main suppliers that they are in the middle of a crisis. Supply is flooding the market, in part from individuals who simply want... View Details

Keywords: Price; Books; Crisis Management; Supply and Industry; Service Operations; Online Technology; Consumer Products Industry

02 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 2, 2009

and Copyright Authors:Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf Abstract The advent of file sharing has considerably weakened effective copyright protection. Today, more than 60% of Internet traffic consists... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 1986
Supplement

Kedaung Industrial Ltd., Video

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Presents an interview with the Indonesian partner of Corning Glass Works' investment in Indonesia. The first part of the interview sets out the original decisions made by the partners. It serves to introduce the partners to the class and to help them decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Decisions; Investment; Consumer Products Industry; Indonesia

Find at Harvard

20 Oct 2015
First Look

October 20, 2015

fluctuations. We first exposit that in the presence of Cobb-Douglas production functions and consumer preferences, there is a specific pattern of economic transmission whereby demand-side shocks propagate... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2009 (Revised April 2020)
Case

VIZIO, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Elizabeth A. Kind

William Wang, CEO of VIZIO, Inc., was proud of his company's success in providing affordable flat screen TVs. Since its founding in 2002, VIZIO had grown to over $2 billion in revenue and was one of the top three flat panel TV brands, along with Samsung and Sony. Faced... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Financing and Loans; Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

12 Oct 2016
Research & Ideas

Break the Rules of How Business is Done

companies have challenged the standard on how business are “supposed” to run. One could argue that these attempts to be different are distracting and time consuming when the work just needs to get done.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

12 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

The Broadband Explosion: Thinking About a Truly Interactive World

potential to supercharge innovation, because we can prototype more ideas and share them with each other much more rapidly. That's on the supply side of the economy. On the demand or marketing side, the new... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

11 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 11, 2006

hair care. By 1980 there remained strong differences between consumer markets. Although American influence was strong, it was already evident that globalization had not resulted in the creation of a stereotyped American blond View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2002
Case

Dell Computer Corporation

By: Vijay Govindarajan and Julie Lang

The world's largest direct-selling computer company grew from its philosophy that customers know what they want and Dell can deliver it through custom assembly of outsourced components. Through a combination of financial and non-financial measures, Dell turned itself... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Hardware; Customization and Personalization; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry