Publications

December 2012 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Rodan + Fields Dermatologists

By: Das Narayandas, Michael Roberts and Liz Kind

The case focuses on issues involved in managing the direct multilevel marketing sales consultants who sell R+F skin care products. The company is trying to better manage the inconsistent and highly variable recruitment behavior of the sales force i.e., the degree to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Salesforce Management; Recruitment; Compensation and Benefits; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; California

Educators

17 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 17

Publications September 2013 Management Science Diasporas and Outsourcing: Evidence from oDesk and India By: Ghani, Ejaz, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2020
Teaching Note

Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Bailey McAfee

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 820-104. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Human Capital; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Human Resources; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

15 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Rethinking E-Leadership

gets you through such times. 4. Design your culture primarily around the needs of Gen X and Gen Y employees. "E-leadership demands heroic behavior," writes Nextera consultant Susan Annunzio in... View Details

Keywords: by Melissa Raffoni

13 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 13, 2007

isolate the effects of channel expansion. We argue for advantages to using zip code level data for methodological and consumer data privacy reasons. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

1999
Chapter

Frequency Programs in Service Industries

By: J. A. Deighton

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Consumer Behavior; Service Industry

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

The Future of the Venture Capital Cycle

implies that the side effects associated with periods of rapid growth generate sufficient difficulties that periods of retrenchment are sure to follow. Neoclassical economics teaches us to examine not just the short-run supply and View Details

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Josh Lerner; Financial Services

2004
Chapter

Consumer-Driven Health Care: Management Matters

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Amy C. Edmondson and Gary P. Pisano

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Demand and Consumers; Management; Health Industry

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Doing Business in Nairobi, Kenya

By: Archie L. Jones, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Kuria Kamau

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Nairobi, Kenya. It highlights Kenya's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa

Educators

May 4, 2023
Article

Falling Insulin Prices—What Just Happened?

By: Leemore S. Dafny

Recently, more than 100 years after insulin was developed, manufacturers announced price reductions for insulin products. Pressure to reduce prices had long been building, so why would they act now? View Details

Keywords: Price; Health Care and Treatment; Public Opinion; Demand and Consumers; Pharmaceutical Industry

Register to Read

16 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Resolving Patent Disputes that Impede Innovation

for demanding "excessive" licensing royalties for SEPs related to Wi-Fi and video compression. Samsung, Apple, Nokia, and Ericsson also have been involved in major... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology; Legal Services

November 1992 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Process Control at Polaroid (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Steven C. Wheelwright

Describes the initial efforts at a film production plant to shift from a traditional QC inspection mentality to a worker-based process control mentality. Students can prepare SPC charts, propose actions needed, and combine steps into an overall action plan. View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Operations; Quality; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business Processes; Change Management; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Educators

May 2011
Article

Think Customers Hate Waiting? Not So Fast...

By: Ryan W. Buell and Michael I. Norton

Managers typically look for ways to reduce wait time to increase customer satisfaction. New research suggests there's a better approach: showing customers a representation of the effort, whether literal or not, being expended on their behalf while they wait. (The... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Service Delivery; Consumer Behavior; Performance Effectiveness; Customer Satisfaction

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Research Summary

Overview

I am a field researcher studying the relational nature of work. Organizations are inherently social institutions and provide myriad opportunities for relationship formation. My work begins with the simple insight that all relationships are not equal: interpersonal... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Motivation; Feedback; Personal Development; Needs; Organizational Design; Performance Productivity; Social and Collaborative Networks; Networks; Groups and Teams; Family and Family Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

June 1995 (Revised July 2006)
Supplement

Barilla SpA (D): JITD Problem Resolution

By: Janice H. Hammond

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Sales; Demand and Consumers; Fluctuation; Problems and Challenges

Article

Payment Depreciation: The Behavioral Effects of Temporally Separating Payments from Consumption

By: J. T. Gourville and Dilip Soman

Keywords: Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Money

22 Mar 2016
First Look

March 22, 2016

volunteering if this history is public rather than private. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50190 Observability Increases the Demand for Commitment Devices By: Exley, Christine L., View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 1978 (Revised January 1986)
Case

Pepsi-Cola (A)

By: Walter J. Salmon and Steven R. Palesy

Combining aspects of a functionally organized marketing management system, with a franchised channel of distribution network. Focuses on extending an innovative promotional program to a market where competitive conditions differ. View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Management; Marketing; Marketing Reference Programs; Network Effects; Distribution; Organizational Design; Franchise Ownership; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry

September 2015
Teaching Note

Sustainability at IKEA Group

By: Michael W. Toffel

Can IKEA Group double its global sales within a decade by expending in emerging markets while implementing on its ambitious sustainability strategy that included focusing on raw material sourcing and suppliers’ production processes? The case focuses on IKEA Group’s... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Emerging Markets; Environmental Sustainability; Globalized Markets and Industries; Consumer Products Industry