Publications

10 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink

near 20 percent online market share. Apparel, greeting cards, party supplies, and office products have reached double-digit penetration as well while sporting goods and cosmetics will likely reach double-digit share in 2011. Pet products... View Details

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Jose B. Alvarez; Retail

06 Feb 2018
First Look

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

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53857 First Quarter 2018 Dialogue Beyond Engagement By: Hallowell, Roger, Hervé Coyco, and Randall White Abstract—No abstract available. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53796 forthcoming... View Details

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

10 Nov 2015
First Look

November 10, 2015

contemplating how to do just that—but not by tackling a new frontier of the geographic variety. Rather, the firm was further exploring the digital frontier via a new distribution channel that would allow it to better compete in the online... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 17

expropriated American investments, but in almost every case the U.S. government's employment of economic sanctions or covert action obtained market value or more in compensation-despite the growing strategic risks. The advent of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

06 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: June 6, 2017

forthcoming American Economic Journal: Economic Policy Selection and Market Reallocation: Productivity Gains from Multinational Production By: Alfaro, Laura, and Maggie X. Chen Abstract—Assessing the productivity gains from multinational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Webvan: Groceries on the Internet

By: John A. Deighton and Kayla Bakshi

What are the prospects for grocery shopping on the Web? This case invites a comparison of seven business models, with particular emphasis on Webvan. Why does the investment community value Webvan at $7.8 billion after less than six months of operating experience, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Experience and Expertise; Investment; Information; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Cognition and Thinking; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; Service Industry

02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

the practice of business strategy for 30 years. The problem lies instead in what strategic leaders are not trained to do. In caricature, Porter's view casts strategists as practitioner economists who expertly analyze and manage market... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 1988 (Revised October 1989)
Teaching Note

Atlas Copco (A): Gaining and Building Distribution Channels, (B) and (C): The Conflict Episode, Teaching Note

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Teaching Note for (9-588-004), (9-588-020), and (9-588-021). View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Conflict Management; Distribution Industry

April 1990
Supplement

Philip Morris Companies' ""Bill of Rights"" Sponsorship Program, Responses

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Describes the reactions of public interest groups, members of the House of Representatives, and others. Further documents reactions to the choice of Philip Morris (PM) as a sponsor. Invites students to weigh the corporate pluses and minuses for PM, given these... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Behavior; Public Opinion; Segmentation

20 Dec 2004
Research & Ideas

How an Order Views Your Company

the order management cycle? Benson Shapiro: In the late 1970s, when I was teaching the Industrial Marketing course in the MBA program at Harvard, it began to become clear to me that to really manage many businesses, one needed to deal... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston

September 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

IBM: Ordering Midrange Computers in Europe

IBM Europe is trying to expand business-to-business (B2B) efforts with its large distributors of midrange systems. These efforts aim to automate many transactions and business processes, removing the need for human involvement. IBM has completed an initial project with... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry; Germany; United States

August 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Shindigz

By: Frank Cespedes

Shindigz provides party and celebratory items for various occasions and events through its branded online channel, through third-party retail and wholesale channels, and external online marketplaces. The case focuses on pricing challenges facing a venture with an... View Details

Keywords: Ecommerce; Pricing; Price; Strategy; Decision Making; Brands and Branding; Distribution Channels; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry