Publications

February 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Estee Lauder and the Market for Prestige Cosmetics

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Opens with a brief history of the U.S. cosmetics market and its rapid development in the 1920s. Also recounts Lauder's initial involvement in the sector, making skin care products and selling them in Manhattan beauty parlors during the Great Depression. Pays particular... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Luxury; Business Strategy; Society; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States

2010
Working Paper

Does Product Market Competition Lead Firms To Decentralize?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

There is a widespread sense that over the last two decades firms have been decentralizing decisions to employees further down the managerial hierarchy. Economists have developed a range of theories to account for delegation, but there is less empirical evidence,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Employees; Managerial Roles; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Asia; Europe; North America

Read Now

April 2007 (Revised May 2007)
Case

John Mackey and Whole Foods Market

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Katherine Miller

Traces the history of organic agriculture from its pre-industrial roots to the present day, and examines the growth of Whole Foods Market in the context of the broader growth of the organic industry. Also investigates John Mackey's role as a founder and leader of the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Food; Entrepreneurship; Agribusiness; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

March 2022 (Revised April 2022)
Teaching Note

Spotify's Audio-First Strategy: Leading the Podcasting Market

By: Hong Luo and Carol Lin

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 721-439. Within 15 years, CEO Daniel Ek had led Spotify from an ambitious startup to a multi-billion dollar company that had transformed the music industry. As part of Spotify’s next phase of growth, the platform would invest heavily in... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Divisions; Customer Relationship Management; Revenue; Music Industry

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge. The signs of... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

01 Sep 2017
News

A Jolt for the African Coffee Industry

offset a decades-long slump in output. BCG finds that consumer preferences in different countries shape different purchasing habits: Kenyans prefer to purchase coffee and tea at supermarkets, while Ethiopians prefer kiosks. Learn more about hot drink View Details

Keywords: Sasha Issenberg; cafe; Cafe Neo; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

Research Summary

Corporate Investment and Stock Market Listing: A Puzzle?

In joint work with John Asker and Alexander Ljungqvist, we investigate whether short-termism distorts the investment decisions of stock market listed firms. To do so, we compare the investment behavior of observably similar public and private firms using a new... View Details

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

To other functional departments such as finance and operations, the sales and marketing functions look alike. After all, they are both "outward looking," focused on the customer and the market. But, creating a strong View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

February 2023
Supplement

Nexus Market (B): After the Ultimatum

By: Tsedal Neeley and Jeff Huizinga

This case reveals how the situation with Nexus Market and its Ukrainian and Russian subcontractors was resolved. The conclusion to the story of a Silicon Valley start-up executive facing an ultimatum from a team of Ukrainian subcontractors to cut ties with a separate... View Details

Keywords: International Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Technology Industry; United States; Ukraine; Russia; Europe

09 Oct 2015
Blog Post

Students, Alumni, and Colleagues Gather to Discuss Leadership in the Energy Industry

The energy industry has been shaken over the last year as oil prices have dropped from over $110 to below $50, with OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) promising no relief to the supply glut and American producers... View Details

February 2002 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Volvo Trucks (A): Penetrating the U.S. Market

By: Michael E. Porter and Orjan Solvell

Volvo Trucks has worked on a global strategy for several decades. Beginning in the mid-1970s, the company decided to enter the largest market for trucks: the United States. Over time, the company has struggled to get a significant share of the U.S. market and at the... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Five Forces Framework; Truck Transportation; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Europe

May 2015 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Philips Healthcare: Marketing the HealthSuite Digital Platform

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In June 2014, leading healthcare and consumer technology company, Royal Philips ("Philips"), announced its HealthSuite Digital Platform to house healthcare data and enable applications used by physicians and patients. Philips had strong equity in the healthcare... View Details

Keywords: Health; Healthcare; Digital; Platform; Ecosystem; Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Product Development; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Health Industry; Health Industry; Netherlands; United States

March 2025
Case

Stagwell: AI and the Future of Marketing

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Radhika Kak

In early 2025, Mark Penn, Founder, CEO and Chairman of Stagwell, a global marketing company with a network of over 70+ agencies that served over 4000 blue-chip customers across 40 countries, was looking at ways that marketers should navigate the disruption emanating... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Innovation Strategy; Change Management; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation; Technology Adoption; Marketing Strategy; Service Delivery; Creativity; Business Model; Advertising Industry; Advertising Industry

May 2017
Supplement

Betfair (B), (C), and (D) Case Slides

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and John Heilbron

Contains slides related to the Betfair B, C, and D cases.
Abstracts:
B) Buoyed by success in the market for gambling contracts, Betfair attempts to enter the market for financial products using its exchange model.
C) Prompted by a takeover bid from... View Details

Keywords: Betfair; Exchange; Betting; Leisure Industry; Betting Markets; Market Design; Digital Platforms; Diversification; Business Model; Laws and Statutes; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

July 2010 (Revised December 2011)
Background Note

Marketing Analysis Toolkit: Pricing and Profitability Analysis

By: Thomas J. Steenburgh and Jill Avery

Pricing is one of the most difficult decisions marketers make and the one with the most direct and immediate impact on the firm's financial position. This toolkit will introduce the fundamental terminology and calculations associated with pricing and profitability... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Price; Profit; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Measurement and Metrics; Strategic Planning; Mathematical Methods; Retail Industry

June 2009
Supplement

Mary Kay Inc.: Asian Market Entry (B)

By: John A. Quelch

By 2008, over half of Mary Kay Cosmetics' $2.8 billion sales were from outside the U.S. Sales from China exceeded $500 million in 2008 through over 450,000 beauty consultants. China was Mary Kay Cosmetics' second most important national market with revenues growing at... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Asia; China

May 1998
Article

Market Structure, Innovation and Vertical Product Differentiation

By: Shane Greenstein and Garey Ramey

We reassess Arrow's (1962) [Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention, in NBER, The Rate and Direction of Innovative Activity (Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ)] results concerning the effect of market structure on the returns from process... View Details

Keywords: Product; Market Design; Innovation and Invention; Monopoly; Competition