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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)
- June 2024 (Revised September 2024)
- Case
Driving Scale with Otto
By: Rebecca Karp, David Allen and Annelena Lobb
This case asks how startup founders make scaling decisions in light of their priorities for their business and for themselves. Otto was a technology company that applied artificial intelligence technology to sales. It deployed natural language processing to find sales... View Details
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Natural Language Processing; B2B; B2B Innovation; Scaling; Scaling Tech Ventures; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Finance; Sales; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology Industry; United States; Cambridge; New York (city, NY); Spain
Karp, Rebecca, David Allen, and Annelena Lobb. "Driving Scale with Otto." Harvard Business School Case 724-407, June 2024. (Revised September 2024.)
- December 2023
- Article
Looking Forward – To Better Strategy-Sales Coordination
Business decisions are about tomorrow, not yesterday. A key to looking forward in most firms is the annual strategy meeting, where linking sales efforts with strategy is vital for implementation and profitable growth. But according to surveys, less than half of... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Looking Forward – To Better Strategy-Sales Coordination." Top Sales Magazine (December 2023), 26–27.
- February 1999 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Cherkizovsky Group (A), The
By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan
Describes the transformation of a formerly state-owned meat processing plant in Russia into a privately-owned and operated food processing conglomerate under Russia's economic reforms of the 1990s. Among the challenges the CEO, Igor Babaev, and his top management team... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Privatization; Transformation; Global Strategy; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia
Paine, Lynn S., and Hal Hogan. "Cherkizovsky Group (A), The." Harvard Business School Case 399-119, February 1999. (Revised October 1999.)
- November 1999 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Granny's Goodies, Inc.
By: Das Narayandas and Katherine B. Korman
The young entrepreneurs of Granny's Goodies, Inc., a corporate gift package specialist, face the challenge of finding ways to create consistent revenue streams and reduce sales costs. Outside of a few long-term contracts, the two founders have had to work very hard for... View Details
Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Cost Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Design; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Segmentation; Service Industry
Narayandas, Das, and Katherine B. Korman. "Granny's Goodies, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 500-049, November 1999. (Revised February 2000.)
- 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.)
- January 2007 (Revised April 2011)
- Case
Farmacias Similares: Private and Public Health Care for the Base of the Pyramid in Mexico
By: Michael Chu and Regina Garcia-Cuellar
Farmacias Similares, serving Mexico's low-income sector, grew to $600 million sales and 3,400 drugstores while deep reforms to help the poor swept the public health system. Adjacent to each store, for $2 per visit, medical clinics provided access to doctors for 2.3... View Details
Keywords: Private Sector; Public Sector; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Poverty; Pharmaceutical Industry; Retail Industry; Mexico
Chu, Michael, and Regina Garcia-Cuellar. "Farmacias Similares: Private and Public Health Care for the Base of the Pyramid in Mexico." Harvard Business School Case 307-092, January 2007. (Revised April 2011.)
- 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.)
- November 2004 (Revised November 2005)
- Case
Musimundo
By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and James Robert Dillon
Mario Quintana, managing partner of Pegasus Capital, was preparing for the upcoming Musimundo board of directors meeting. He was satisfied with the investment decisions of the entertainment retailer, as actual performance surpassed the initial budget. However, given a... View Details
Keywords: Decisions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Partners and Partnerships; Performance Evaluation; Budgets and Budgeting; Retail Industry; Spain
Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis, and James Robert Dillon. "Musimundo." Harvard Business School Case 105-036, November 2004. (Revised November 2005.)
- October 1981 (Revised June 1982)
- Case
Concept Devices, Inc.: International Market Entry
Concept is a highly touted startup venture in distributed data processing computers. The company has only made one sale to date, but has an order backlog for its unique product and expects an almost vertical growth curve. The company has been courted seriously by... View Details
Bonoma, Thomas V. "Concept Devices, Inc.: International Market Entry." Harvard Business School Case 582-052, October 1981. (Revised June 1982.)
- July 2001 (Revised October 2002)
- Case
Centra Software
By: John A. Deighton and Laetitia Pouliquen
Centra is a pioneer in software eLearning. It is debating how to modify its go-to-market strategy, adding telesales to improve sales force productivity. At the same time, its market is evolving, and management thinks it may be about to "cross the chasm" in Geoffrey... View Details
Keywords: Applications and Software; Learning; Emerging Markets; Growth Management; Salesforce Management; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Education Industry
Deighton, John A., and Laetitia Pouliquen. "Centra Software." Harvard Business School Case 502-009, July 2001. (Revised October 2002.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- Article
How to Really Motivate Salespeople
By: Doug J. Chung
Much of what we believe about the best ways to compensate and motivate the sales force is based on theory and lab experiments. But in the past decade, researchers have been moving out of the lab and into the field, analyzing companies' sales and pay data, and... View Details
Keywords: Compensation; Motivating People; Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Sales
Chung, Doug J. "How to Really Motivate Salespeople." Harvard Business Review 93, no. 4 (April 2015): 54–61.
- April 2018
- Teaching Note
InsideSales.com (A) and (B)
By: Frank Cespedes
Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 817-018 and 817-042. InsideSales.com (ISC) has been successful selling its software to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB). But for various reasons, the founders see “the next stage of growth” as building a scalable sales and service... View Details
- April 1989 (Revised October 2005)
- Case
James Burke: A Career in American Business (A)
By: Richard S. Tedlow and Wendy Smith
Presents an historical overview of the professional career of James E. Burke, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. Examines the corporation's handling of three major occurrences--the Tylenol poisonings in 1982 and 1986 and the acquisition and subsequent sale of... View Details
Keywords: Business History; Marketing Strategy; Ethics; Personal Development and Career; Crisis Management; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry; United States
Tedlow, Richard S., and Wendy Smith. "James Burke: A Career in American Business (A)." Harvard Business School Case 389-177, April 1989. (Revised October 2005.)
- April 1988 (Revised September 1992)
- Case
Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Backhaul Decision
Prior to the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, companies with private trucking fleets were generally prohibited from selling transportation services to other companies. The deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980 allowed private carriers to offer for-hire transportation... View Details
Keywords: Cost Management; Revenue; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Marketing Strategy; Distribution; Service Operations; Sales; Salesforce Management; Transportation; Food and Beverage Industry
Hammond, Janice H. "Frito-Lay, Inc.: The Backhaul Decision." Harvard Business School Case 688-104, April 1988. (Revised September 1992.)
- 2004
- Book
Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America
This book chronicles the remarkable metamorphosis of the American salesman from itinerant amateur to trained expert. From the mid-nineteenth century to the eve of World War II, the development of sales management transformed an economy populated by peddlers and... View Details
Friedman, Walter A. Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.
- April 1993 (Revised July 1994)
- Case
MathSoft, Inc. (A)
MathSoft's VP of sales has doubled the size of the company's direct field sales force to support the launch of a new, high-end workstation software product priced at almost $9,000. However, sales of the new product are far below plan. At the same time, the VP of... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Communication Strategy; Salesforce Management; Marketing Channels; Advertising; Product Launch; Information Technology Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States
Rangan, V. Kasturi. "MathSoft, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 593-094, April 1993. (Revised July 1994.)
- October 1990
- Case
Beauregard Textile Co.
By: Francis Aguilar
The sales manager and controller have to decide on a price for a textile that lost significant market share as a result of a recent price increase. Information on manufacturing costs and on the pricing behavior of Beauregard and its only competitor are available for... View Details
Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Inflation and Deflation; Consumer Behavior; Apparel and Accessories Industry
Aguilar, Francis. "Beauregard Textile Co." Harvard Business School Case 191-058, October 1990.
- June 2017 (Revised May 2019)
- Supplement
Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (B)
By: Doug J. Chung
Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain founded in 1988 by brothers Marcus, Mikael and Fredrik Dahnelius. The company operated 84 stores, all company-owned, located mainly in the metropolitan areas of Sweden’s most popular cities: Stockholm, Gothemburg... 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 (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 517-133, June 2017. (Revised May 2019.)
- September 1993 (Revised June 2009)
- Case
Mary Kay Cosmetics: Asian Market Entry (A)
By: John A. Quelch
In February 1993, Curran Dandurand, senior vice president of Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc.'s global marketing group, was reflecting on the company's international operations. Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc. products had been sold outside the United States for over 15 years, but by... View Details
Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Sales; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Asia
Quelch, John A. "Mary Kay Cosmetics: Asian Market Entry (A)." Harvard Business School Case 594-023, September 1993. (Revised June 2009.)
- December 2007 (Revised April 2008)
- Exercise
The Elcer Products Transaction: Confidential Information for Elcer Products Division President
By: James K. Sebenius and Guhan Subramanian
In a six-party negotiation exercise, the TNDA Corp. plans to sell Elcer Products Division to one of four potential buyers (industrial, financial, U.S., German). This case contains confidential information for the Elcer Divisional management role. Challenges include how... View Details
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics
Sebenius, James K., and Guhan Subramanian. "The Elcer Products Transaction: Confidential Information for Elcer Products Division President." Harvard Business School Exercise 908-036, December 2007. (Revised April 2008.)