Publications

May 1986
Supplement

Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video Introduction

Provides an overview of the two-part video: 1) bake-off participant interviews with managers from Gillette and its advertising agency for Dry Idea, and 2) creative presentations by the two bake-off competitors. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Consumer Products Industry

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; Consumer Products Industry

June 1995 (Revised July 2006)
Supplement

Barilla SpA (C)

By: Janice H. Hammond

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Production; Sales; Demand and Consumers; Problems and Challenges; Italy

01 Dec 2014
News

Making Big Data Fashionable

get designs to consumers in as little as four weeks—and at an affordable price. In 2012, Moon—who has a background in fashion design, investment banking, corporate strategy, and social commerce... View Details

Keywords: Christine Lejeune; fashion; Market Research, Photo, Translation, Veterinary and Other Services; Market Research, Photo, Translation, Veterinary and Other Services

17 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Harvard Business School Faculty Comment on Crisis in Japan

times the $132 billion that the 1995 Kobe earthquake did, making it one of the Japan's most costly natural disasters. Transportation disruptions and the closing of many factories throughout Japan will shrink Japanese aggregate View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

23 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

It’s Back to Business-Basics for Nonprofits

Bradach says often end up consuming the most time with new clients. Nonprofits need to think about what they are trying to accomplish, and be able to translate these goals into specific, workable terms.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

February 1986
Supplement

Kedaung Industrial Ltd., Video

By: Louis T. Wells Jr.

Presents an interview with the Indonesian partner of Corning Glass Works' investment in Indonesia. The first part of the interview sets out the original decisions made by the partners. It serves to introduce the partners to the class and to help them decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Decisions; Investment; Consumer Products Industry; Indonesia

Find at Harvard

12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

financial and society demands intensify." Rather than ignoring them or pretending that they do not exist, managers need to directly confront these trade-offs and be clear on... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

29 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: Jan. 29

extension product. The quality and demand for a brand extension can be higher if the brand is perceived as caring only for its most quality-conscious consumers rather than for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Colgate-Palmolive in Mexico (Abridged)

Describes the Mexican subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive as it sets its strategy for coping with hyperinflation and the November 1987 devaluation of the peso. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Financial Crisis; Consumer Products Industry; Mexico

03 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The State of Customer Service Leadership

spread throughout the organization. Aisner: What do you see as the future of the service sector, and how can organizations stay ahead of the curve? Sasser: We admit that we really don’t know what the future holds beyond the current trends... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Retail

June 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Exchange-Traded Funds at Vanguard (A)

By: Robert C. Pozen and Steven Vickers

Vanguard Group management, led by CEO John Brennan, was considering whether to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in early 2000. ETFs, first created in the early 1990s, combined aspects of traditional mutual funds and closed-end funds. The US ETF industry had reached... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Market Entry and Exit; Network Effects; Profit; Business and Shareholder Relations; Product Launch; Asset Management; Distribution Channels; Ownership; Financial Services Industry; United States

27 Apr 2010
First Look

First Look: April 27

managers and recruiters are questioning conventional business education. Their concerns? Among other things, MBA programs aren't giving students the heightened cultural awareness and global perspectives they... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2023
Supplement

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (D)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Scott Mayfield and Philipp Chvanov

Analyzes the company's decision on Project Cowboy following the events described in the C Case View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Growth Management; Demand and Consumers; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Value Creation; Supply and Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; North America

November 2017
Case

iRobot: Moving Beyond the Roomba

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

The makers of the Roomba, a robotic vacuum cleaner, connected the latest version of their product to the Internet. This new feature opened up a wealth of new opportunities and challenges for the company. View Details

Keywords: Irobot; Smart Home; Connected Home; Roomba; Vacuum; Mapping; Internet Of Things; Connected Products; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

13 May 2013
Blog Post

3 Projects, 1 Priceless Picture

next level by providing runners with the resources, training and social support they need to achieve their goals. Our hard work paid off in the best way – I learned how to take deep consumer insights View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

Profile

Bryan Guerra

craved a learning experience that was more immersive and interactive, and I knew that the case method would provide this advantage. Likewise, by throwing myself into this unique setting, I knew I'd be forced... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

January 1996
Case

Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center (Abridged)

Describes a manager's role in developing a staff group responsible for enhancing the efficiency of Xerox's worldwide logistics and inventory management systems. Illustrates a range of management strategies for upward and lateral influence in a complex organizational... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry