Publications

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2000

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2000, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) was the second-largest and most global player in the fashion retail business. It operated 682 stores, 80% of them outside its home country of Sweden, and achieved revenues of $3.0 billion and operating profits of $375 million. In 1999,... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Strategy Alignment; Strategic Planning; Fashion; Risk Management; Competition; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Globalized Firms and Management; Expansion; Distribution Channels; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Sweden

Career Coach

Matt Spielman

Matt (Columbia ’94, HBS ’99) is the Founder and Managing Partner of Inflection Point Partners, an executive coaching and leadership development View Details

Keywords: Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management

March 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Merck Latin America (C): Brazil

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Examines Merck's change effort in Brazil from the perspective of the local employees. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Employees; Operations; Perspective; Pharmaceutical Industry; Brazil

February 5, 2009
Comment

In Praise of Marketing

By: John A. Quelch

Many dismiss marketing as manipulative, deceptive, and intrusive. Marketing, they argue, focuses too much of our attention on material consumption. More recently, Benjamin Barber, in his 2007 book Consumed, claims that marketing is "sucking up the air from every other... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Loyalty; Local Vs. Global Branding; Multi-national Brands; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Satisfaction; Globalized Economies and Regions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning

Read Now

October 2023
Case

JPMorgan Chase in Paris

By: Joseph L. Bower, Dante Roscini, Elena Corsi and Michael Norris

In 2019, Daniel Pinto, President and COO of JPMorgan Chase, has to make a recommendation to the bank’s Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, about where to physically locate the bank’s European trading operations after Brexit takes effect in 2020. The decision-making process... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Banks and Banking; Financial Markets; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Decisions; Banking Industry; Europe; European Union; France; United Kingdom; Paris

09 Feb 2016
First Look

February 9, 2016

The firm has also innovated in sourcing capital from a variety of limited partners. Blackstone's culture of centralized investment processes and risk management coupled with... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Business IT Innovation is so Difficult

and Operations Management Unit at HBS. "The longer we take to figure this out, the more likely we're going to have a few of the best firms pulling way ahead based on this... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

June 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Royal DSM N.V.: Information Technology Enabling Business Transformation

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Edward Watson and Mara Vatz

Describes how Royal DSM NV, an $8 billion dollar global corporation, leveraged information technology to enable a major corporate portfolio transformation between 2000 and 2006. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology

26 May 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Market Research in a Recession

most firms are reducing spending on the market research that would help manage that uncertainty. In the United States, spending on market research has dipped for four consecutive quarters, View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

21 Jan 2015
News

Tootsie Roll Chief, Committed to Keeping Company Independent, Dies at 95

Keywords: Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

November 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Iceland: Small fish in a global pond

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

Describes the economic development of Iceland since 1945, focusing in particular on the years since 2000, when Iceland experienced strong growth and Icelandic companies aggressively internationalized. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Competition; Macroeconomics; Iceland

01 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Sometimes Success Begins at Failure

discovered these negative results, some firms might have thrown in the towel and moved on to other projects. But Pfizer's scientists picked up on—and decided to pursue—what they thought might be an... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough; Health; Pharmaceutical

01 Oct 2001
News

Making a World of Difference

having been promoted to partner, Slifka founded Alan B. Slifka and Company, an asset management firm that specializes in event investing. Today, the View Details

Keywords: Young, Susan; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management of Companies and Enterprises

01 Apr 2002
News

Q&A - Mark Fields

unsuccessful growth strategies, and a brand image — Mazda was once synonymous with innovation and excitement — that had become blurred. To fix those things, we had to win the support of the View Details

Keywords: auto; Mazda; Ford; Mark Fields; Machinery Manufacturing; Manufacturing

March 2007
Teaching Note

Latvia: Economic Strategy after EU Accession (TN)

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

Teaching note to 707515. View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Perspective; Opportunities; Retail Industry; Latvia; Russia; China; Germany; India

30 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 30

enterprise in management and organization research, the lack of a cohesive knowledge base in this area is concerning. In this chapter, we propose that the underdevelopment of the attendant research... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2009
Case

Putting Sparkle Into Soda-Club's European Partnerships

Daniel Birnbaum, new CEO of Soda-Club, has taken charge of a company with significant market penetration, brand equity, and revenues in certain European markets. The company is also plagued with hostile relationships with major distributors. He needs to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Distribution; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Distribution Industry; Europe