Publications

01 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Better by the Bundle?

separately. "Bundling is pervasive in several markets, and it works in many cases," says Vineet Kumar, an assistant professor in the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School. People appreciate bundles even at places like McDonald's,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales. These results were in marked contrast... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

19 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Birth of the American Salesman

same degree as the United States by the early twentieth century. There were many reasons for this: The emergence of salesmanship in the U.S. depended on a stable currency, the rule of law, the protection of private property, and the... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Porter’s Perspective: Competing in the Global Economy

with the local economy. Another approach to cluster development is to attract multinationals that will become demanding customers of local suppliers. After that, it's essential to create specialized training programs in the local... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter

June 2020
Article

Real-time Data from Mobile Platforms to Evaluate Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure

By: Omar Isaac Asensio, Kevin Alvarez, Arielle Dror, Emerson Wenzel, Catharina Hollauer and Sooji Ha

By displacing gasoline and diesel fuels, electric cars and fleets reduce emissions from the transportation sector, thus offering important public health benefits. However, public confidence in the reliability of charging infrastructure remains a fundamental barrier to... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Transportation; Infrastructure; Behavior; AI and Machine Learning; Demand and Consumers

Find at Harvard

February 2021 (Revised July 2024)
Case

White Claw: Defending Market Share as Competition Encroaches

By: Jill Avery

By the end of 2019, two brands accounted for 84% of hard seltzer sales, a segment that had recently taken the U.S. beer market by storm, growing from $3 million in 2015 to over $2.7 billion by the start of the summer of 2020. White Claw was the dominant market leader... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Alcoholic Beverages; Beer/brewing Industry; Brand Positioning; Growth; Competitive Positioning; Consumer Products; Beverage Industry; Value Proposition; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Competition; Product Positioning; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

09 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

6 Lessons from Donald Trump's Winning Marketing Manual

Donald Trump's victory may be a surprise—but not to astute marketers. Here are six important lessons from Trump's brand marketing playbook: Give consumers a job. The best marketing campaigns always call on consumers to do something. For example, View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch

06 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Technology Re-Emergence: Creating New Value for Old Innovations

the country was producing only 10 percent of the world's watches. Yet Switzerland has reemerged as the global leader of watch exports (by export value), due to a newfound market demand for old-style mechanical watches. This curious... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Apparel & Accessories; Technology; Consumer Products

28 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

Remote Workers Spend More on Housing. Do They Deserve Higher Pay?

To executives expecting to save on office space when some employees continue working remotely post-pandemic: Not so fast. Makeshift desks and kitchen tables have sufficed for many people working from home to avoid COVID-19. However, permanently remote workers tend to... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

08 Apr 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

The Life of Luxury and How to Sell It

stuffed in their products, getting the price right is a crucial decision. Research Papers Reinventing the American Wine Industry: Marketing Strategies and the Construction of Wine CultureSince the 1960s, the United States has seen... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto; Retail; Fashion

04 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 4

allocation within an economy. The theory predicts that GAAP's principal focus, as shaped by the demand for and supply of financial information, is on the use of the income statement and balance sheet for performance measurement and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

14 Jan 2019
Op-Ed

These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

earned him the United Nations Foundation’s Champion for Global Change Award in 2014. Polman faced his toughest test when Kraft Heinz launched a hostile takeover bid in 2017. Within 48 hours, Polman rejected the bid and convinced Kraft... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Health; Banking; Food & Beverage; Consumer Products

09 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

War in Ukraine: Soaring Gas Prices and the Return of Stagflation?

from Russia and a lot of oil from Russia. We in the United States don’t buy a lot natural gas from Russia because no pipeline infrastructure connects Russia and the United States, whereas a dense pipeline... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Energy

August 2018 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing

By: Jill Avery and Ayelet Israeli

As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a valuation of $200 million and debating... View Details

February 2013 (Revised September 2013)
Case

Elasto Therm: The Next Step

By: Jim Sharpe and James Weber

Julia and Nate Burstein were living their dream running their own business and balancing the demands between their work and family obligations while creating a company that was responsive to their employees' and their customers' needs. The Bursteins had joined a large... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Pricing; Pricing Policies; Pricing Strategy; Pricing Structure; Sales Force Management; Acquisitions; Work/family Balance; Family-owned Business; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Work-Life Balance; Manufacturing Industry; Rubber Industry; United States

09 Nov 2022
In Practice

COP27: What Can Business Leaders Do to Fight Climate Change Now?

The US government’s newly passed Inflation Reduction Act will direct $370 billion toward advancing renewal energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions—the country's largest investment in fighting climate change so far. As business and government leaders around the... View Details

Keywords: by Lynn Schenk and Danielle Kost

September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Pricing Strategy

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As a he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Consumer Behavior; Management Teams; Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Price; Brands and Branding; Decision Making; Retail Industry; United States