Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(4,031)
- Faculty Publications (1,270)
- Winter 2016
- Article
Analytics for an Online Retailer: Demand Forecasting and Price Optimization
By: Kris J. Ferreira, Bin Hong Alex Lee and David Simchi-Levi
We present our work with an online retailer, Rue La La, as an example of how a retailer can use its wealth of data to optimize pricing decisions on a daily basis. Rue La La is in the online fashion sample sales industry, where they offer extremely limited-time... View Details
- 2016
- Book
Consumers, Corporations, and Public Health: A Case-Based Approach to Sustainable Business
By: John A. Quelch
The public health footprint associated with corporate behavior has come under increased scrutiny in the last decade, with an increased expectation that private profit not come at the expense of consumer welfare.
Consumers, Corporations, and Public... View Details
Consumers, Corporations, and Public... View Details
Keywords: Consumer; Corporate Culture; Public Health; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Health; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Supply Chain Management; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Asia; Oceania; North and Central America; Middle East; Latin America; Europe
- 2019
- Working Paper
Who Should Select New Employees, Headquarters or the Unit Manager? Consequences of Centralizing Hiring at a Retail Chain
By: Carolyn Deller and Tatiana Sandino
We examine how changing the allocation of hiring decision rights in a multiunit organization affects employee-firm match quality, contingent on a unit’s circumstances. Our research site, a US retail chain, switched from a decentralized hiring model (hiring by business... View Details
- December 2015
- Case
The Hain Celestial Group
By: David E. Bell, José B. Alvarez, James Weber and Mary Shelman
Hain Celestial manufactured natural and organic food and personal care products to be sold to retailers of these products. The company had grown successfully and profitably through acquisitions and organically for two decades. In late 2015, Hain faced challenges on... View Details
- December 2015 (Revised February 2016)
- Case
Ocado
By: José Alvarez, David E. Bell and Damien McLoughlin
In 2015, U.K.-based Ocado was the world's largest pure player in the online home-delivery grocery business and was gaining a growing share of the highly competitive U.K. grocery market. Ocado had made heavy investments in technology, including a highly automated... View Details
Keywords: Ocado; Grocery; Retail; Online Grocery; Supermarket; Delivery Models; Service Models; United Kingdom; Technology; Operations Management; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Marketing; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom
- December 2015
- Article
Does Planning Regulation Protect Independent Retailers?
By: Raffaella Sadun
Regulations aimed at curbing the entry of large retail stores have been introduced in many countries to protect independent retailers. Analyzing a planning reform launched in the United Kingdom in the 1990s, I show that independent retailers were actually harmed by the... View Details
- November 2015
- Case
Katherine Schuler at Boxes & Bins, Inc.
By: Linda A. Hill and James Kindley
This case is about Katherine Schuler, soon to become senior vice president of marketing at a fast-growing retail organization, Boxes & Bins (B&B). Part of Schuler's success has been due to her "fit" into a company with clear values and principles. In particular, B&B... View Details
- November 2015 (Revised October 2017)
- Case
Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar
By: Jonas Heese, Paula A. Price, Suraj Srinivasan and David Lane
In spring 2015, Dollar General's CEO Rick Dreiling was looking ahead to retiring at year's end but worried about ensuring continued growth for the company he had built since 2008 into a market leader in the U.S. discount retail world. Dollar General operated over... View Details
- November 2015 (Revised April 2018)
- Case
Flipkart (A): Transitioning to a Marketplace Model
By: Das Narayandas, Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani
In 2015, Sachin and Binny Bansal, co-founders of India’s largest e-commerce company, are wondering if it is time to move from a hybrid model to a full marketplace. While Amazon runs a hybrid model, Alibaba operates a marketplace. In addition, Flipkart has been losing... View Details
- October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
- Case
The Transformation of Mudo
By: Anthony J. Mayo, Esel Çekin and Çiğdem Çelik
After 16 years in management consulting, Barış Karakullukçu left to become the CEO of Mudo in 2012, one of the best-known names in Turkey's retail industry. She was tasked with leading Mudo's transition from a family business to a more institutionalized, corporate... View Details
Keywords: Leadership; Management Challenges; Emerging Market; Retail; Second-generation; Operational Efficiency; Performance Management; Corporate Culture; Growth; Leading Change; Family Business; Organizational Culture; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Transformation; Performance Improvement; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Turkey
- October 2015 (Revised October 2016)
- Case
Paez
By: Jill Avery, Maria Fernanda Miguel and Laura Urdapilleta
Paez, an Argentine start-up fashion brand, sold traditional alpargatas, a sleepy shoe category that suddenly woke up when U.S. company TOMS borrowed the traditional alpargata design, covered it with fashionable colors and prints, and tied it to a social cause. Paez's... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
The Wisdom of Crowds in Operations: Forecasting Using Prediction Markets
By: Achal Bassamboo, Ruomeng Cui and Antonio Moreno
Prediction is an important activity in various business processes, but it becomes difficult when historical information is not available, such as forecasting demand of a new product. One approach that can be applied in such situations is to crowdsource opinions from... View Details
- September 2015 (Revised June 2018)
- Case
Macy's: Evolution in the Sunshine State
In 2009, Lee O'Rourke was promoted to district vice president in charge of Macy's newly created North Florida district. This district consisted of 11 stores located in the greater Orlando area and in the east coast towns of Daytona, Melbourne, Merritt Island, and Vero... View Details
- September 2015 (Revised September 2020)
- Case
Gap Inc.: Refashioning Performance Management
By: Joshua Margolis, Paul McKinnon and Michael Norris
In 2014, clothing retailer Gap Inc. rolled out a new performance management process for headquarters staff that did away with a traditional rating and ranking system. The new process involved informal monthly meetings between managers and their reports, and it more... View Details
- September 2015 (Revised March 2017)
- Case
Château Margaux (Abridged)
By: Elie Ofek, Eric E. Vogt and Robert J. Dolan
Château Margaux, one of only five prestigious estates in the Bordeaux Medoc wine region to have been classified as a "first-growth", is facing a host of strategic decisions in early 2013. Up until this point the estate had been selling two red wines, a first wine whose... View Details
- September 2015
- Teaching Note
J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (Abridged), (B), and (C)
By: Elie Ofek, Jose B. Alvarez and Michael Norris
This teaching note is for "J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (Abridged), (B), and (C)," which tells the story of Ron Johnson's tenure as CEO of the U.S. department store J.C. Penney, his 2013 firing, and the rehiring of former CEO Myron E. "Mike" Ullman to try... View Details
- Article
Case Study: Can Retailers Win Back Shoppers Who Browse then Buy Online?
By: Thales S. Teixeira and Sunil Gupta
This case study discusses the options that brick-and-mortar retailers can use to combat the negative consequences of 'showrooming.' View Details
- August 2015 (Revised December 2016)
- Case
Apple Pay
By: Sunil Gupta, Shelle Santana and Margaret L. Rodriguez
On September 9, 2014, in front of a packed audience in Cupertino, CA, Tim Cook, the chief executive officer of Apple, announced the much anticipated launch of Apple Pay. "Our vision is to replace this [wallet] and we are going to start with payments." Cook then invited... View Details
Keywords: Technology; Digital Services And Strategy; Launch; Mobile; Mobile Payments; Apple; Payments; Smartphone; Apple Pay; Eddy Cue; Jennifer Bailey; iOS; Iphone; Marketing; Product; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Product Launch; Finance; Credit Cards; Technology Industry; Banking Industry; United States; United Kingdom
- August 2015
- Supplement
Sustainability at IKEA Group: Video Supplement
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Michael W. Toffel
This video contains Q&A with IKEA Group's Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Howard and IKEA Group's Industrial Strategy Manager Per Berggren, the two primary case protagonists. They respond to student questions after the case was taught at an executive education class... View Details
- August 2015
- Case
Kjell & Company: Electronics Accessories Retail in the Nordics
By: Krishna Palepu, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman
Swedish electronics accessories retailer Kjell is considering several issues as it plots its next stage of growth. How should it balance opportunities to expand retail stores into a new market (Oslo, Norway) with additional growth in its home market—Sweden—with... View Details