Publications

09 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Moving From Bean Counter to Game Changer

and consumer lending. The researchers chose to study risk-management experts because their role has risen in importance with demands for improved corporate governance and the need for better forecasting and modeling. After the financial... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Banking

August 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 1

By: John A. Deighton and Das Narayandas

How does a $2 million software sale happen? This case traces efforts by Siebel Systems to sell lead management software to discount broker Quick & Reilly. The buying process is mapped out over four years. Covers in detail the last six months—from Siebel's initial... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Competition; Applications and Software; Technology Industry

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

labels (vs. text warning labels, calorie labels, and no labels), provided insight into psychological mechanisms driving effectiveness, and assessed consumer sentiment. Study 1 indicated that graphic warning... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Amway Japan Limited

In April 1997, the president of Amway Japan (AJL, Tokyo, Japan), pondered how to reverse the first performance decline the company has experienced since entering the Japanese direct selling market in 1979. Established as the tenth overseas subsidiary of Amway Corp. of... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Business Subsidiaries; Distribution Channels; Customer Satisfaction; Consumer Products Industry; Michigan; Tokyo

January 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Affinity Labs: Valuing Customer Growth

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. That month, Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster, which he had sold... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology

09 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria

seemed obvious. Q: Customers are ruled by these four drives, just like everyone else. So what product, or product strategy, is needed to attract the four-drive customer? A: Those who study brands have found that great brands are based on a strong emotional connection... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

August 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Cork'd: Building a Social Network for Wine Lovers

Lindsay Ronga and Gary Vaynerchuk are launching Cork'd, an online social network for wine lovers. Despite Gary's status as a celebrity wine connoisseur, the team faces a significant challenge: several other wine social networks are well established and already have... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

19 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019

health-economics literature has done a better job documenting consumer-choice mistakes in insurance and treatment choices than explaining why those mistakes occur, it is clear that we should not ignore these mistakes in our analyses. We document evidence showing that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jan 2012
First Look

First Look: Jan. 24

during and after World War I, as well as demonstrating the rapidly changing market for dental hygiene in the interwar period. New marketing strategies based on psychological science and consumer protection... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2016 (Revised November 2018)
Supplement

Moleskine (B)

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Raffaella Sadun and Kathy Qu

This case discusses the decisions and outcomes of CEO Arrigo Berni and founder Maria Sebregondi that the Moleskine (A) case laid out. View Details

Keywords: Creative Industries; Brand Building; Digital Innovation; Digital Services And Strategy; Process Improvement; Organization Change And Adaptation; Culture; Identity Construction; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Creativity; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

09 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

For Better Ideas, Bring the Right People to the Brainstorm

and wrote down as many innovative ideas as they could think of, with the average person coming up with 4.5 new ideas. These ideas were then anonymously scored by other participants and Indian consumers on a variety of measures, including... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles, Papers of the Decade

much better. In this article, professor and Balanced Scorecard guru Robert S. Kaplan introduces BSC Customer Profitability Metrics. From Balanced Scorecard Report. Marketing Your Way Through a Recession Published: March 3, 2008 In a recession, View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2009
Working Paper

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search? - Companion Paper

By: Andrei Hagiu and Bruno Jullien

This companion paper contains several extensions of the model presented in our main paper - Hagiu and Jullien (2009). View Details

Keywords: Market Intermediation; Search; Two Sided Markets; Platform Design; Demand and Consumers; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

Read Now

July 2008 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Affinity Labs, Inc.

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

In November 2006, Chris Michel left Military.com, which he founded in 1999, to start Affinity Labs, a global network of online communities. That month, Michel raised a Series A round of venture funding and established a partnership with Monster, which he had sold... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Social and Collaborative Networks; Online Technology

March 2015
Teaching Note

CVS Health: Promoting Drug Adherence

By: Leslie John, John Quelch and Robert Huckman

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: CVS Health: Promoting Drug Adherence (515010). The case finds Helena Foulkes, Executive... View Details

May 2003
Background Note

How to Induce Retailers to Reduce Stockouts?

By: V.G. Narayanan

Describes how the lack of incentive alignment between retailers and their vendors can lead to stockouts. Also describes various means to reduce incentive misalignment and hence stockouts. View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Supply Chain Management; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution; Alignment; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

29 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 29

http://books.simonandschuster.co.uk/Art-of-Negotiation/Michael-Wheeler/9781451690446 August 2013 Current Directions in Psychological Science Prosocial Spending and Happiness: Using Money to Benefit Others Pays Off By: Dunn, Elizabeth W.,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1984
Case

Henkel Corp.: International Sealants Brand SISTA (A)

By: Robert J. Dolan

Corporate headquarters wishes to expand sales of a sealant product currently sold only in the West German market. Regional affiliates, operating on a profit center basis, are not enthusiastic about taking on the new product. The case describes the company's... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Globalization; Expansion; Profit; Conflict Management; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Europe; West Germany