Publications

01 Dec 2017
News

2017 in Retail: Voice-Activated, One-Hour-Delivery Shopping

Walmart and Amazon are in the middle of an epic competition that is going to be thrilling to watch. The startups that have been most successful have targeted a specific category—Peloton in exercise, Casper in mattresses, Warby Parker in eyeglasses—and focused on View Details

Keywords: Ron Johnson (MBA 1984), founder and CEO, Enjoy

May 2005
Supplement

Otis Elevator: An Interview with Ari Bousbib (video)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey

CEO Ari Bousbib talks about how IT is transforming Otis and the practical challenges they are overcoming. Visibly demonstrates what appropriate CEO involvement is in an IT-enabled business transformation. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

19 Oct 2011
News

A Good Look

Levy: Ingredients for beauty from an unlikely source. Photo courtesy Kerty Levy A company that manufactures the nutritional ingredients used in animal feed doesn’t seem like the most likely incubator for a beauty products division. But... View Details

Keywords: Health and Personal Care Stores; Retail Trade

Barbara G. Proctor

Proctor launched the first adverting agency owned and managed by an African-American woman in 1970. She gained a strong reputation for integrity by refusing to accept assignments for objectionable products... View Details

Keywords: Services

01 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

How Much Time Should CEOs Devote to Customers?

product managers spent on average only three percent of their time in contact with end consumers. Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco, the UK supermarket chain, spends two days a week in stores interacting with... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

April 1995 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Kraft General Foods: The Merger (B)

By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth Wynne Johnson

Discusses the recent decision to blend the previously separate Kraft and General Foods units into one operating company with a focus on the creation of a single massive sales force. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Salesforce Management; Corporate Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

21 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Loyalty: Don’t Give Away the Store

25 percent of your sales, you have a big problem. By using rewards programs, retailers give away things for free that their best customers would have bought anyway. With such a large volume of customers purchasing off the card, you have to worry about having a... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

October 2009
Teaching Note

GE Money Bank: The M-Budget Card Initiative (TN)

By: Michael L. Tushman, Sebastian Raisch and Christian Welling

Teaching Note for [410052]. View Details

Keywords: Time Management; Change Management; Problems and Challenges; Projects; Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Product Launch; Knowledge; Experience and Expertise; Value; Competition; Operations; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry

March 1996 (Revised November 1997)
Case

Dewar's (C): Exploring New Media Opportunities

By: Alvin J. Silk and Lisa Klein Pearo

Dewar's is considering employing new media options. The company had committed resources to a new CD-ROM magazine, Launch, in 1994, as its first experiment with new media. During 1994, a number of additional opportunities have been presented to both Leo Burnett and S&S... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Cost Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Media; Corporate Strategy

08 Nov 2021
Blog Post

Building an Internship Program at Your Startup: An Interview with Facily’s Diego Dzodan (MBA 1999)

where his passion for entrepreneurship was reignited and he founded a software company, Certant, in 1999 after graduation. Shortly thereafter, the dotcom bubble burst and Certant ran out of funding. However, the co-founders and team View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail; Consumer Products / Retail

29 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Leni Peterson R. (MS/MBA 2023): Solving Big Problems Through Entrepreneurship

Who are you & what are you building? I am Leni Peterson R. (MS/MBA 2023), CEO and cofounder of Celeste. My background is in Mechanical Engineering and Human Centered Design, product leadership, and innovation consulting. I am... View Details

01 Sep 2004
News

Faculty Research

How to Avoid a Price Increase Manufacturers usually pass on any cost increases in their materials to consumers. The result is often a price increase (gasoline) or, less often, a smaller amount of product at the same price (potato chips).... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

18 Nov 2009
HBS Case

Customer Feedback Not on elBulli’s Menu

"We have turned eating into an experience that supersedes eating," he has said. "If the product is merely food, Adrià should move the restaurant to Barcelona or Madrid," says Norton, who has written a case on elBulli... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage

16 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Confronting the Reality of Web Services

What's next for Web services? In his case summary "Will Web Services Really Transform Collaboration?" published in the Winter 2005 edition of MIT Sloan Management Review, HBS associate professor Andrew P. McAfee argues that the... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant

April 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Laura Ashley (A): A New CEO Takes Charge

By: Richard L. Nolan

In a turnaround situation, a new CEO must take actions in the short term to gain control and exercise executive leadership and lay groundwork to formulate a long-term strategy to rebuild a viable business. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

01 Feb 1999
News

Short Takes

Bulletin. In her working paper, "Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams," Edmondson presents field research she conducted at Office Design Incorporated (ODI), a midwestern manufacturer of office systems and furniture known for its innovative View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

29 May 2013
Blog Post

Reflections and learnings

really know who your direct manager will be and make sure they are someone who will support and champion you. It makes all the difference. Be uncomfortable: This one was actually my own personal goal when starting my MBA but has continued... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

May 2022
Supplement

Maestro Pizza (B): The Competition Awakens

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details