Publications

December 1992 (Revised October 1993)
Case

BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine Seeks to De-Yuppify Itself

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Wendy Smith Schille

Tracks changes in the luxury auto market during the 1980s and early 1990s. Shifts in target consumer behavior--particularly the yuppie lifestyle--serve as the basis for manufacturer modifications of product line, positioning, and advertising. The climax of the case is... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Change Management; Transformation; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Production; Luxury; Segmentation; Auto Industry

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

November 1997
Case

Case Corporation

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

A successful turnaround global farm machinery company is attempting to redefine its role in the global food system and develop a strategic plan for the company. View Details

Keywords: Change; Machinery and Machining; Global Strategy; Growth and Development; Strategic Planning; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

December 1993 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Sarah Gant

Manville Corp.'s senior managers must decide how to respond to a new scientific study suggesting that fiberglass, the source of 75% of the company's profits, may be another asbestos and must act under conditions of great uncertainty. In particular, when should a... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Health Disorders; Risk Management; Marketing Communications; Product; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Safety; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

August 1990 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Eli Lilly and Co. (B): Europe

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Examines the challenges facing the company in light of the changing economic, regulatory, and competitive environment in the European pharmaceutical industry. Examines the steps taken by the company adapting to this changing situation as part of a total globalization... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Economics; Global Strategy; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Adaptation; Competition; Pharmaceutical Industry; Europe

July – August 2008
Article

When Virtue Is a Vice

By: Anat Keinan and Ran Kivetz

Choosing duty over pleasure today can cause regret down the road—whereas regret over the reverse is fleeting. Marketers of luxury products and services should consider prompting customers to predict their future feelings about choices made now. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Moral Sensibility; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Emotions; Luxury

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winter 2003
Article

Massively Categorical Variables: Revealing the Information in Zip Codes

We introduce the idea of a massively categorical variable, a variable such as zip code that takes on too many values to be treated in the standard manner, and show how to use it directly as explanatory variables in an econometric model. In an application of this... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Analytics and Data Science; Behavior; Marketing; Standards; Finance

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Read Now

02 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Leading Professional Service Firms

motivated you and your HBS colleagues to develop a course specifically for leaders of professional service firms? Lorsch: Professional service firms represent an $80 billion industry worldwide. In the US and Europe, they comprise 17... View Details

Keywords: Re: Jay W. Lorsch; Service; Consulting; Accounting

May 2007 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Dollar General (A)

By: Willy Shih, Stephen P. Kaufman and Rebecca McKillican

Dollar General Corporation (DG) operates one of the leading chains of extreme value retailers in the United States. 2006 revenues reached $9.2 billion, making DG the 6th largest mass retailer in the country. With revenues growing at 9% annually over the five-year... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Family Business; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; United States

Archie Jones is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School, where he currently teaches Venture Capital and Private Equity, Field... View Details

03 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 3

Business Review 89, no. 5 (May 2011) Abstract Although there's ample research to guide marketers in naming new products, little of it has addressed follow-on offerings, even though these make up the bulk of new products in many... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2005 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Tad O'Malley: December 2004

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon and Sean Klimczak

Tad O'Malley, a second-year student at Harvard Business School, must choose among three offers from private equity firms. Each firm presents a unique combination of history, culture, and compensation. Traces Tad's strategy in obtaining these offers and lets students... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Job Offer; Negotiation Tactics; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career

October 2001 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Chiang-Sho Ltd.

Chiang-Sho Ltd. is a joint venture producing agricultural machinery in China. The CEO must decide how to respond to pressure from the Chinese partner--also the joint venture's largest customer--to increase production and lower prices. The CEO must choose either a... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; China

Program

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

platform businesses and markets, this program will help you maximize the value and minimize the costs of creating, managing, or engaging with digital platforms. Details Compete in the age of digital platforms Develop global View Details

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

"gospel" of organic production to consumers. Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/search/314019 Harvard Business School Case 214-025 Bardhaman (A) & (B) A real estate developer decides whether to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 5, 2007

response, Beijing Hualian developed a new "Family Store" format targeted at the nation's growing middle class, made up of younger consumers with more fashionable tastes. Like hypermarkets, Hualian Family Stores include both food... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Positions - Faculty & Research

research influencing both academics and practitioners. The position entails case method teaching and teaching in graduate and executive education programs and creative development of appropriate teaching materials. Accounting and... View Details

September 2009
Case

Peter Schultz at The Scripps Research Institute

By: H. Kent Bowen, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Courtney Purrington

Peter Schultz, Professor of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute, managed an extremely productive lab. This case examines how Schultz recruited, motivated and inspired the students and scientists that worked with him. View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Research and Development; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership Style

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January 2009 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Sydney IVF: Stem Cell Research

By: Robert L. Simons, Kathryn Rosenberg and Natalie Kindred

This case examines the strategy implementation and risk management decisions at Sydney IVF, a research-based in vitro fertilization and stem cell company based in Australia. Drs. Robert Jansen and Jock Anderson, who co-founded Sydney IVF in 1986, developed novel... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Genetics; Commercialization; Health Industry; Australia