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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,427)
- People (4)
- News (416)
- Research (1,771)
- Events (4)
- Multimedia (13)
- Faculty Publications (1,062)
V. Kasturi Rangan
Kash Rangan is the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing at the Harvard Business School. Formerly the chairman of the Marketing Department (1998-2002), he is now the co-chairman of the school's Social Enterprise Initiative. He has taught in a wide variety of MBA... View Details
- April 2010 (Revised November 2011)
- Case
Soren Chemical: Why Is the New Swimming Pool Product Sinking?
By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sunru Yong
Topics include distribution channels, pricing, and new product marketing. Jen Moritz, the marketing manager for Soren Chemical Co. is struggling with the poor sales performance of Coracle, a new clarifier for residential swimming pools. The performance is puzzling... View Details
Keywords: Marketing Mix; New Product Marketing; Pricing; Branding; Price; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Communication Strategy; Chemical Industry
Rangan, V. Kasturi, and Sunru Yong. "Soren Chemical: Why Is the New Swimming Pool Product Sinking?" Harvard Business School Brief Case 104-188, April 2010. (Revised November 2011.)
- May 2019
- Supplement
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (D)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain. The company’s products consisted of home electronics and accessories. The company was noted for its excellent customer service and a fair “one-for-all” HR policy. Historically, the salespeople had been compensated... View Details
Keywords: Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Change Management; Behavior; Electronics Industry; Sweden
Chung, Doug J. "Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (D)." Harvard Business School Supplement 519-096, May 2019.
- December 2009 (Revised January 2024)
- Case
A Letter from Prison
By: Eugene Soltes
Stephen Richards, the former global head of sales at Computer Associates, Inc. (CA), is serving a seven-year prison sentence for financial fraud. In the case, Richards responds to a number of questions about managerial responsibility and the manipulation of financial... View Details
Soltes, Eugene. "A Letter from Prison." Harvard Business School Case 110-045, December 2009. (Revised January 2024.)
- September 1993
- Supplement
Manufacturing at ALZA: The Right Prescription? (C)
ALZA, a drug delivery company, considers marketing its own and other companies' products. The primary issue is whether to build an internal sales force focused on a few niche markets, to finance a sales force through alliances, or to acquire a marketing company. View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Product Marketing; Alliances; Research and Development; Salesforce Management; Business Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry
Leonard, Dorothy A. "Manufacturing at ALZA: The Right Prescription? (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 694-021, September 1993.
- June 2018
- Teaching Note
Meridian Systems (Brief Case)
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Michael J. Roberts
Teaching Note for HBS No. 918-533. The key issues discussed in the Meridian teaching note concern sales force deployment: decisions about how to focus sales efforts with respect to territories, customers, and products. The teaching note explains the strengths and... View Details
- April 1994 (Revised October 2001)
- Case
Mrs. Fields, Inc. (1977 - 1987)
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Keri O. Pearlson
Describes a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage of MIS... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Organizations; Management Systems; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry
Applegate, Lynda M., and Keri O. Pearlson. "Mrs. Fields, Inc. (1977 - 1987)." Harvard Business School Case 194-064, April 1994. (Revised October 2001.)
- March–April 2025
- Article
Getting Value from Digital Technologies
By: Frank Cespedes and Georg Krentzel
Companies need digital technologies in an omni-channel buying world where online and in-person interactions are complements, not either/or substitutes. Multi-channel hybrid sales solutions are required, but what are the key requirements for using the available... View Details
Cespedes, Frank, and Georg Krentzel. "Getting Value from Digital Technologies." European Business Review (March–April 2025): 6–9.
- March 2011
- Case
Globant
By: Mukti Khaire, Gustavo A. Herrero and Cintra Scott
The case deals with an IT company born in Argentina in 2003 to provide software services to established companies in the developed world. After reaching sales of $57 million in 2010, the company ponders its next steps to achieve $500 million in revenues by 2015. View Details
Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Delivery; Software; Information Technology Industry; Argentina
Khaire, Mukti, Gustavo A. Herrero, and Cintra Scott. "Globant." Harvard Business School Case 811-059, March 2011.
- May 2017
- Teaching Note
Promontory, Inc. (Brief Case)
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Handlin
Teaching Note for HBS No. 917-535. The Promontory teaching note covers a) how and why buying processes in Promontory’s market generate the array of selling approaches illustrated in the case; b) the impact of incremental sales increases on the firm’s cost structure and... View Details
- Career Coach
Okan Okutgen
Okan (Princeton BSE ‘11, HBS MBA ’15) has years of experience in the tech startup world as a go-to-market leader, general manager and strategic finance leader. He has served as Head of Global Sales... View Details
- May 2019
- Supplement
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (C)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain. The company’s products consisted of home electronics and accessories. The company was noted for its excellent customer service and a fair “one-for-all” HR policy. Historically, the salespeople had been compensated... View Details
Keywords: Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Change Management; Behavior; Electronics Industry; Sweden
Chung, Doug J. "Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 519-095, May 2019.
- January 2017 (Revised May 2019)
- Case
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (A)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain. The company’s products consisted of home electronics and accessories. The company was noted for its excellent customer service and a fair “one-for-all” HR policy. Historically, the salespeople had been compensated... View Details
Keywords: Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Change; Decision Making; Electronics Industry; Sweden
Chung, Doug J. "Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 517-090, January 2017. (Revised May 2019.)
- September 2009 (Revised October 2010)
- Case
Elkay Plumbing Products Division
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The vice president of sales learns that the most profitable 1% of the division's customers generate 100% of profits, and that two of the division's largest customers lose 50% of profits. The division has just finished a project to install a time-driven activity-based... View Details
Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Management Systems; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry
Kaplan, Robert S. "Elkay Plumbing Products Division." Harvard Business School Case 110-007, September 2009. (Revised October 2010.)
- 02 Nov 2010
- First Look
First Look: November 2, 2010
Abstract A perennial question facing managers is how much decision latitude to give their employees at work. The current research investigates how decision latitude affects employees' perceptions of managers' personalities and, in turn,... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- August 2018
- Case
Digital Transformation at Brazilian Retailer Magazine Luiza
By: Thales S. Teixeira, Leandro A. Guissoni and Tania Modesto Veludo-de-Oliveira
By late 2017, Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza's CEO was convinced that the company could significantly grow sales and accomplish its aspirations of digital transformation. What was unclear in his mind was whether he should act as a tech company and grow as fast as... View Details
Keywords: Digital; Ecommerce; Retailing; Brazil; Bricks And Mortar; Pricing; Customer Lifetime Value; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Retail Industry; Brazil
Teixeira, Thales S., Leandro A. Guissoni, and Tania Modesto Veludo-de-Oliveira. "Digital Transformation at Brazilian Retailer Magazine Luiza." Harvard Business School Case 519-009, August 2018.
- 2011
- Working Paper
The Impact of Forward-Looking Metrics on Employee Decision Making
By: Pablo Casas-Arce, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez and V.G. Narayanan
This paper analyzes the effects of providing forward-looking metrics on employee decision making. We use data from a southern European bank that, in April 2002, started providing its branch managers with customer lifetime value (CLV) information about mortgage... View Details
- April 1989 (Revised March 1990)
- Case
Burlington Northern (B)
Describes the experiences of a seasoned Burlington Northern (BN) sales representative after the introduction of ShipSmart, a decision support system developed by the BN to help its employees and customers analyze logistics problems. After a brief description of a... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Expansion; Rail Transportation; Logistics; Distribution Channels; Truck Transportation; Innovation and Invention; Sales; Rail Industry; United States
Hammond, Janice H. "Burlington Northern (B)." Harvard Business School Case 689-083, April 1989. (Revised March 1990.)
- January 2014
- Case
In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma
By: Robert J. Dolan and Heather Beckham
Peak Sealing Technologies (PST), a manufacturer of premium carton sealing tapes, stresses technological innovation as the company's core value. But when a new regional competitor introduces a less expensive and inferior product, PST is faced with a decision that could... View Details
Dolan, Robert J., and Heather Beckham. "In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma." Harvard Business School Brief Case 914-533, January 2014.
- September 2002 (Revised July 2012)
- Case
Athleta
By: William A. Sahlman and Taslim Pirmohamed
The management team at Athleta is attempting to raise equity capital for the company in March 2002. Athleta is a catalog and online retailer of women's athletic clothing. The company has made substantial progress, with anticipated 2002 sales over $20 million, but has... View Details
Keywords: Management Teams; Financing and Loans; Business Model; Business Strategy; Equity; Capital; Retail Industry
Sahlman, William A., and Taslim Pirmohamed. "Athleta." Harvard Business School Case 803-045, September 2002. (Revised July 2012.)