Publications

March 2003
Case

Zara

Fashion retailer ZARA has achieved spectacular growth via a distinctive design-on-demand operating model. This case describes this model and outlines a number of challenges facing the company, with a particular emphasis on its international expansion. Includes color... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Globalized Firms and Management; Production; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

February 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

TikTok in 2020: Super App or Supernova?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dan Maher and Dan O'Brien

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was launched in 2012 around a simple idea – helping users entertain themselves on their smartphones while on the Beijing Subway. In less than a decade, it had become one of the world’s most valuable private companies, with investors... View Details

October 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra: Cultural Entrepreneurship

By: Rohit Deshpande and Annelena Lobb

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (LA Phil), under the leadership of Deborah Borda, had enjoyed great successes in the 2000s and 2010s, even as other U.S. orchestras faltered. The architecturally acclaimed Walt Disney Concert Hall had opened its doors. The... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Arts; Music Entertainment; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Los Angeles

January 2004 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Kikkoman Corporation: Consumer Focused Innovation

By: Rohit Deshpande and Hal Hogan

In May 2003, the president and CEO of Kikkoman Corp. sat in his Tokyo office weighing various options for strengthening the company's long-term growth. Kikkoman was the world's largest producer of soy sauce, largely due to its pioneering role since the 1950s as the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Japan

August 2002 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Gillette Company (A): Pressure for Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and James Weber

After years of strong performance with market-dominating brands, Gillette's performance slips and a new CEO is selected from outside the company to lead a turnaround. This case describes the business and financial situation he inherited and asks what he should do... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Performance Consistency; Product Positioning; Selection and Staffing; Change Management; Leading Change; Competitive Strategy; Planning; Retail Industry

Web

Teaching Support for HBS Faculty | Baker Library

products and manage course-related readings. Baker Library also supports students with their coursework and independent project assignments. Students can meet with us individually or in teams to discuss... View Details

01 Dec 2009
News

Losing Our Competitive Edge

difficult than suspected. During the boom years, when all seemed well, capabilities that underpin innovation in a wide range of products were continuing to deteriorate. My HBS colleague Willy Shih and I described in “Restoring American... View Details

Keywords: Gary P. Pisano; Manufacturing

October 1981 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Walton Instruments Manufacturing--1980

Provides an opportunity for students to examine the impact of different manufacturing control methods on the manufacturing infrastructure. Information flow, inventory control, quality control and process flows interact and different trade-offs are examined. Introduces... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Infrastructure

Find at Harvard

06 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: February 6, 2018

workers; and the production of knowledge, including the idea of the economy, among other topics. Together, the essays suggest emerging themes in the field: a fascination with capitalism as it is made by political authority, how it is... View Details

01 Mar 2006
News

Faculty Books

its decision-making, marketing, brand management, innovation, acquisition strategies, corporate culture, and human-resource management. Managing Product and Service Development by Stefan H. Thomke... View Details

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

21 Aug 2019
Blog Post

Leveraging Academic Opportunities to Attain My Post-HBS Job

that event. Eventually, once I was ready to start recruiting, my previous manager who is now at Plaid introduced me to Plaid’s Head of Product, a fellow HBS graduate, and we started conversations about me potentially joining the View Details

December 2021
Case

Zoetis

By: David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Strategy; Food; Change Management; Leadership; Diversity; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Web

Strategy and Technology - Course Catalog

attributes, which make their products increasingly valuable if more consumers buy their product or if more complements become available. What are the implications for market tipping, pricing and growth... View Details

April 6, 2022
Article

In Uncertain Times, Big Companies Need to Take Care of Their Suppliers

By: Willy C. Shih

Many large original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have long been ruthless with their suppliers, demanding extremely low prices and loading them up with risks. Given that the current turmoil buffeting global supply chains is unlikely to end anytime soon, OEMs should... View Details

Keywords: Supplier Relationship; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Relationships; Risk and Uncertainty; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States