Publications

Read Now

August 2022
Case

SuperRare: Turning an NFT Marketplace into a DAO

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Scott Duke Kominers and Amy Klopfenstein

In June 2021, John Crain and Jonathan Perkins, the founders of SuperRare, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), contemplate whether to transform their company into a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Crain and Perkins founded SuperRare in 2018 to... View Details

March 1997
Background Note

Note on Customer Behavior

By: Gerald Zaltman

A review of selected key concepts that are useful for understanding customers. The importance of understanding customers is also discussed, along with a short description of new frontiers in the study of customer behavior. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge; Marketing; Consumer Behavior

27 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Social Network Marketing: What Works?

consumers' behavior. Consider a cosmetic company such as Mary Kay. Its website currently allows consumers to upload their picture and try different cosmetics virtually to see how they may look before making... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising; Publishing; Retail

October 1992
Article

Segmenting Industrial Customers by Buyer Behavior

By: V. K. Rangan, R. T. Moriarty Jr. and G. Swartz

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Customers

March–April 2017
Article

What's the Value of a Like?: Social Media Endorsements Don't Work the Way You Might Think

By: Leslie John, Daniel Mochon, Oliver Emrich and Janet Schwartz

Brands spend billions of dollars a year on lavish efforts to establish and maintain a social media presence. But do those campaigns actually increase revenue? New research provides an answer to this question, which has vexed marketers ever since social media burst upon... View Details

Keywords: Social and Collaborative Networks; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Social Media

Register to Read

August 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Background Note

A Note on Water

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, George Serafeim and Sarah E. Farrell

This note provides background on the complex issues regarding the supply and consumption of water and how this natural resource is at increasing risk, resulting in significant economic, political and environmental issues. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Government and Politics; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability

April 2021
Teaching Note

Social Media War 2021: Snap vs. Facebook vs. TikTok

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

This teaching note provides analysis and a teaching plan for the Social Media War 2021: Snap vs. Facebook vs. TikTok case. View Details

Keywords: Strategy Development; Competitor Analysis; Strategy; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Social Media

24 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Want People to Save More? Send a Text

Dina Pomeranz's interest in helping people build a savings cushion for difficult economic times emerged during a summer internship in Cameroon, where a woman she lived with shared how worried and anxious she was about her financial... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

June 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Major League Baseball: Changing the Rules of America's Pastime

By: Stephen A. Greyser, Mac Levin and Brent Schwarz

This case describes the efforts of Major League Baseball (MLB) to make meaningful changes in the rules affecting the ways the game is played. These changes are intended to speed the pace of the game and make it more appealing to younger fans. The principal changes... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Age; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Demand and Consumers; Sports Industry

August 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Siebel Systems: Anatomy of a Sale, Part 2

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

July 2022
Supplement

General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (B)

By: Debora L. Spar and Alicia Dadlani

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused... View Details

Keywords: Race; Decisions; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Minneapolis; Minnesota; United States

29 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

Building a Powerful Prestige Brand

started their business, their product line enjoyed little consumer awareness outside New York City. But the couple was determined to build a large market for premium cosmetics. One of the earliest and most... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy F. Koehn; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

18 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

Selling Luxury to Everyone

Luxury is the new essential. Consumers know it and retailers are reaping the bounty. At a "Growth Strategies in the Luxury Goods Industry" panel on April 3 at the HBS Retail View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Consumer Products

December 1998 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Mind of the Market: Top Down Cognitive Processes, Primer Six

By: Gerald Zaltman and Kathryn A. Braun

Keywords: Markets; Research; Consumer Behavior

December 1998 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Mind of the Market: Constructive Memory Processes, Primer Nine

By: Gerald Zaltman and Kathryn A. Braun

Keywords: Markets; Research; Consumer Behavior

August 2001 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Consumer-Driven Health Care: Medtronic's Health Insurance Options

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, John Hurwitch and Seth Bokser

Describes the variety of health insurance plans that this medical device company offers, including a high-deductible, consumer-driven health plan with a health reimbursement account that also enables health care providers to quote their own prices. Asks students to... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Decision Choices and Conditions; Compensation and Benefits; Demand and Consumers

21 May 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network?

Keywords: by Raghuram Iyengar, Sangman Han & Sunil Gupta; Technology

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