Publications

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27 Nov 2017
Blog Post

Joining a Start-up: 10 Lessons Along the Way

join a start-up and the lessons she learned. 1. No pressure, no diamonds.In the cash-strapped environment of a start-up there is pressure to deliver direct results; there's no hiding behind the delayed consequences and layers of View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail; Consumer Products / Retail

19 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Should Compete for Your Privacy

improve their automated product recommendations. These recommendations are often presented as ''inspired by your browsing history'' or ''recommended for you,'' and help consumers discover new products or... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

May 1984 (Revised August 1987)
Case

Raymond Mushroom Corp.

By: Benson P. Shapiro

In April 1984 Deborah Raymond, president of Raymond Mushrooms was deciding whether or not to raise prices on Raymond canned mushrooms in conjunction with an advertising promotional program to build consumer preference. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Advertising; Decisions; Price; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Cheap, Fast, and In Control: How Tech Aids Innovation

different levels: technical (can it work?), production (can it be produced?), need (does it address customer needs?), and market (is it big enough to justify the investment?). So managers need to assess at... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild

24 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

The FDA: What Will the Next 100 Years Bring?

medicine, and health-care providers to resolve current dilemmas around post-market drug safety and consumer product safety. Historically, the United States oriented its regulation to pre-market testing, but the time has come to more... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

01 Sep 2018
News

Research Brief: Where Top-Down Tops Out

recent study, “The Impact of CEOs in the Public Sector: Evidence from the English NHS,” Associate Professor Raffaella Sadun and her coauthors conclude that a singular leader is far less effective in these large and complex public hospitals. The decentralized View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Myers

25 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons Customers Might Resist Windows 8

feel incompetent. And some early reviews of Windows 8 indicate that it's not much of an ego booster. In the comments section of a review on cnet.com, beta-testing computer science teacher 'jabnipnip' vented: "Sure it loads fast, but you lose View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

01 Jun 2007
News

34,000 Pages and Counting

Relations has had direct contact with more alumni — or read more birth announcements and vacation travelogues. Over the years, the Class Notes production process has evolved from handwritten and typed notes to Web submissions. “Back in... View Details

Keywords: class notes; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

April 1988 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Tektronix: Portable Instruments Division (B)

Describes the new material-burdening system they have implemented and the cycle-time-burdening system they are proposing. Asks students to analyze the new cost system. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Production; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry

09 Sep 2024
News

Basket Chase

through this very long search. You described yourself as being quite particular about the company you bought. What was it that arrested your attention at Baskits? You certainly have told us one thing, which is there are big barriers to entry here. It’s a complex View Details

07 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

Rocket Science Retailing

forecasting; supply chain speed; inventory planning; and gathering accurate, available data. The following excerpt from their report in the Harvard Business Review shows how some of these companies are making the most of the data available to them to improve View Details

Keywords: by Marshall L. Fisher, Ananth Raman & Anna Sheen McClelland; Retail

March 2008
Case

Novartis AG: Science-Based Business

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

Novartis is a science-based drug company, which has important implications for its business strategy. It is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with over $38B in sales in 2007. Pharmaceuticals account for slightly over $24B of that total. In 2007,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Resource Allocation; Product Development; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Pharmaceutical Industry

February 2024 (Revised March 2024)
Teaching Note

X: The Foghorn Decision

By: Kyle Myers and Walter Frick

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 618-060. View Details

July 1991 (Revised August 1991)
Case

Philip Morris Companies, Inc. (B)

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

Looks at the company's plans for a new debt offering under the Rule 415 shelf underwriting provision--in this instance from the vantage point of the lead investment banker for the deal. The decision-maker must assess the risks of the issuer, the tone of the market, the... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Stocks; Initial Public Offering; Consumer Products Industry; United States

July 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Supplement

Erik Peterson at Biometra (B)

By: John J. Gabarro, Thomas J. DeLong and Jevan Soo

This one-paragraph case adds to the data presented in the (A) case. A redisguised and updated version of earlier case 494-006. View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Leadership; Management; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges

Keywords: Laura Singleton; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices

01 Dec 2001
News

Corporate Governance Conference Addresses Global Challenges

governance, discussed in a presentation by HBS professor Krishna G. Palepu and associate professor Tarun Khanna. They suggested that the need to compete in global product and labor markets actually preceded capital-market concerns as a... View Details

June 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Ducati

Focuses on the turnaround and strategic repositioning of Ducati, an Italian maker of high-end sport motorcycles, and describes the current concerns with the growth prospects of the company. Federico Minoli, the CEO and strategic mind behind the turnaround, knew that... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Product Positioning; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Motorcycle Industry

January 2000
Case

Talbots - A Classic

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

This case traces why the $1 billion women's clothing retailer decided to attract younger customers, what went wrong, and the actions taken to recover. By the end of 1999, the company has reestablished itself and faces several growth opportunities and must decide on the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Crisis Management; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Segmentation; Fashion Industry