Publications

Find at Harvard

January 1996 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Exploring Brand-Person Relationships: Three Life Histories

The idea that "relationships" exist between consumers and products has implicitly occupied a central place in brand marketing thought and practice. Now as relational (one-on-one) marketing is said to be replacing transactional (mass) marketing as the dominant paradigm... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Relationships; Brands and Branding

12 PM – 1 PM EST, 09 Jan 2019
Webinars: Trending@HBS

How Better Immigration Policies Foster Business Innovation and Growth

Talent is a critical factor in driving innovation in science, engineering, and today's knowledge economy. Professor Bill Kerr explores the data and ideas that should drive the next wave of policy and business practice around high-skill immigration. View Details

25 Apr 2016
News

Meet The New Mavericks: An Inside Look At America's Drone Training Program

14 Jan 2016
Blog Post

Liberal Arts Major Pursues an MBA

I could prove myself before being swallowed whole by the swarm of finance wizards. I can’t help but smirk when I think back on this vivid memory, as I couldn’t have been more misguided in my anxiety. It was a matter of hours, not days, before I realized the View Details

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Bank of America (A)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes how Bank of America is creating a system for product and service innovation in its retail banking business. Emphasis is placed on the role of experimentation in some two-dozen real-life "laboratories" that serve as fully operating banking branches and as... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Problems and Challenges; Innovation and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Failure; Banks and Banking; Learning; Banking Industry

22 Dec 2020
Blog Post

The Forward Fellowship Convinced Me That I Belong at HBS

up, I did not have any idea what an MBA was or why anyone would need one. Enjoying Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland from the pontoon It was years after leaving my beloved hometown that I would hear that all-empowering phrase: “The answer is... View Details

08 Feb 2019
Video

Building Innovation Capacity

September 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Angels and Devils: Best Buy's New Customer Approach (A)

By: Anita Elberse, John T. Gourville and Das Narayandas

In November 2004, The Wall Street Journal reported that consumer electronics retailer Best Buy's new customer approach was to shun the "devils" among its customers. The "customer centricity" initiative, which was led by Best Buy's CEO Brad Anderson, was based on an... View Details

Keywords: History; Customer Relationship Management; Opportunities; Marketing Strategy; Leadership Style; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Electronics Industry

05 Jul 2006
News

Corporate Governance Activists are Headed in the Wrong Direction

13 Aug 2015
News

The Example Larry and Sergey Should Follow (It’s Not Buffett)

October 2018
Case

Accomplice: Scaling Early Stage Finance

By: Ramana Nanda, Raffaella Sadun and Olivia Hull

Accomplice, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Boston, is raising its second fund in November 2017. Since 2009, the firm has followed a seed-led investment model, investing in tech companies at the earliest stages, often when products and business models are... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage Finance; Seed Finance; Scouts; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships; Networks; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Technology; Financial Services Industry; Massachusetts; Boston; Cambridge; United States

June 2012
Class Lecture

Why You're Not Buying Venezuelan Chocolate: The Provenance Paradox

By: Rohit Deshpandé

A product's country of origin establishes its authenticity. This is the provenance paradox. Consumers associate certain geographies with the best products: French wine, Italian sports cars, Swiss watches. Competing products from other countries - especially developing... View Details

Keywords: Global Business; Branding; Strategic Planning; Strategic Positioning; Emergent Countries; Consumer Perception; Developing Markets; Brands and Branding; Geographic Location; Globalized Markets and Industries; Perception; Emerging Markets; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Venezuela

Find at Harvard

In the fast-moving digital world, even experts have a hard time assessing new ideas. Case in point: At Bing a small headline change an employee proposed was deemed a low priority and shelved for months until one engineer decided to do a quick online controlled... View Details

September 2011 (Revised August 2013)
Case

The Pepsi Refresh Project: A Thirst for Change

By: Michael I. Norton and Jill Avery

In 2010, for the first time in 23 years, PepsiCo did not invest in Superbowl advertising for its iconic brand. Instead, the company diverted this $20 million to the social media-fueled Pepsi Refresh Project: PepsiCo's innovative cause-marketing program in which... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Advertising Campaigns; Investment Return; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Social Marketing; Cost vs Benefits; Food and Beverage Industry

October 1993 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Jack Welch: General Electric's Revolutionary

By: Joseph L. Bower and Jay Dial

Describes the work of Jack Welch as CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 1992, focusing particularly on his transformation of the company's portfolio through extensive dispositions and acquisitions and the company's culture through a mandated process called "work out."... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Transformation; Investment Portfolio; Leadership Style; Management; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career

27 Sep 2017
News

What Happens When Ordinary People Get Creative?

February 1992
Background Note

Resources: The Essence of Corporate Advantage

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Introduces the idea that a firm's resources are at the heart of corporate advantage. Identifies six characteristics of a resource that together describe its potential for creating value for the firm. View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation