Publications

Article

Control, Performance, and Knowledge Transfers in Large Multinationals: Unilever in the United States, 1945-1980

By: G. Jones

This article considers key issues relating to the organization and performance of large multinational firms in the post-Second World War period. Although foreign direct investment is defined by ownership and control, in practice the nature of that "control" is far from... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Governance Controls; Performance; Business or Company Management; Ownership; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

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January 2016 (Revised May 2016)
Supplement

IKEA in Saudi Arabia (C)

By: Karthik Ramanna, Jerome Lenhardt and Marc Homsy

Supplements the (A) Case. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Values; Islam; Multinationals; Globalization; Leadership; Equality and Inequality; Multinational Firms and Management; Religion; Organizational Culture; Gender; Consumer Products Industry; Saudi Arabia; Sweden

Profile

Monica Dodi

As a cofounder and managing director of the Women’s Venture Capital Fund (WVCF), Monica Dodi (MBA 1984) backs female-led, early-stage ventures in digital media and sustainable products and services. Dodi... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital / Private Equity; Financial Services; Entertainment / Media

September 2009
Case

Culinarian Cookware: Pondering Price Promotion

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

In November of 2006, senior executives at Culinarian Cookware were debating the merits of price promotions for the company's premium cookware products. The VP of Marketing, Donald Janus, and Senior Sales Manager, Victoria Brown, had different views. Janus felt price... View Details

Keywords: Profitability Analysis; Consumer Marketing; Brand Equity; Pricing Policies; Sales Promotions; Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Decisions; Goals and Objectives; Price; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Management Teams; Sales; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

September 2023
Teaching Note

Apple’s iPhone Revolution: Pioneering the Circular Economy

By: George Serafeim

Teaching Note for HBS Case 123-089. The case describes the Trade-In system for iPhones that allow iPhones to be refurbished and reused or to be recycled. The case provides information for the students to analyze the financial attractiveness of the Trade-In system and... View Details

Keywords: Iphone; Smartphone; Technology; Business Model Innovation; Carbon Emissions; Recycling; Business Model; Product Design; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Technology Industry

2008
Other Teaching and Training Material

Interview with Reuben Mark, Chairman & CEO, Colgate Palmolive Co.

By: Joseph L. Bower

Keywords: Leadership; Management Succession; Consumer Products Industry

01 Dec 2005
News

Alumni Achievement Awards: Honorees and Victories

corporate practices in his country, championing modern concepts of production and manufacturing as well as adherence to the highest standards of governance. Nancy M. Barry (MBA ’75) For fifteen years, Nancy Barry has been president of... View Details

Keywords: Management; Management; Management; Management; Management

January 2016 (Revised May 2016)
Supplement

IKEA in Saudi Arabia (B)

By: Karthik Ramanna, Jerome Lenhardt and Marc Homsy

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Values; Islam; Multinationals; Globalization; Leadership; Equality and Inequality; Multinational Firms and Management; Religion; Organizational Culture; Gender; Consumer Products Industry; Saudi Arabia; Sweden

01 Sep 2003
News

Business Plan Contest

to the traditional track and 8 to the social enterprise track. FBC Systems, the winning team for the traditional business track, provides software that enables engineers and managers in product development... View Details

Keywords: contests; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

10 Mar 2021
News

Action Plan: Brewing Awareness

speaking, people were more defensive and pessimistic, with a strong focus on income stability,” he says.“Now there’s a greater sense of the rewards that come from doing something interesting that you enjoy.” How to: Introduce consumers to an unfamiliar View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; beer; India; leadership; COVID-19; manufacturing; marketing; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing

February 1996 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Eli Lilly and Company: Innovation in Diabetes Care

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Summarizes Eli Lilly's history of innovation in its business, describing how the dimensions along which innovations have been made in the industry have changed. Lilly's innovation strategy has been to pursue ever higher performance products, while others in the... View Details

Keywords: Change; Product; Service Delivery; Product Development; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry

01 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Sometimes Success Begins at Failure

highly valued use for the technology. The history of innovation is full of examples where the eventual best use of a new product or technology was far different from the initial intended purpose of the idea. It is time that companies... View Details

Keywords: by Henry Chesbrough; Health; Pharmaceutical

January 2004
Article

Corporate Venturing: The Origins of Unilever's Pregnancy Test

By: Geoffrey Jones and Alison Kraft

The relative ability of different sizes of firm and organisational designs to develop and sustain dynamic capabilities in innovation and create new businesses remains a matter of contention. While Chandler among many others has emphasised the pre-eminent role of large... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Organizational Design; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Brands and Branding; Multinational Firms and Management; Product Development; Product Launch; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Great Britain

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01 Sep 2005
News

WATER Ltd.

In an age of global scarcity, water has become a valuable commodity in both the industrialized and developing worlds. With governments and communities increasingly unable to manage the complexities and expense of water treatment and... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Waste Management and Remediation Services; Waste Management and Remediation Services; Waste Management and Remediation Services; Waste Management and Remediation Services

April 1985
Supplement

Cleveland Twist Drill: Jim Bartlett, Video

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Daniel F. Muzyka

Presents a question and answer session with Jim Bartlett, president of Cleveland Twist Drill. Edited into three parts. Bartlett provides additional insights into the case situation and also describes subsequent events at the company. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Policy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

December 1997 (Revised April 2000)
Case

John Trani's First Year

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

John Trani is Stanley Works' new CEO. This case describes his philosophy, communications, and actions during his first seven months in office, aiming at a major transformation of strategic postures, organizational structure, and company culture. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Communication; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Leadership Style; Management Skills; Consumer Products Industry

November 1987 (Revised January 1988)
Case

Groen: A Dover Industries Company

By: Francis Aguilar

Describes the challenges facing the president of an old-line foodservice and food processing equipment manufacturing company as it attempted to accelerate sales and profit growth through the introduction of innovative products. The introduction of a "revolutionary"... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Labor and Management Relations; Machinery and Machining; Management Style; Management Teams; Performance Efficiency; Technological Innovation; Product Development; Organizational Culture