Publications

September 22, 2023
Article

How Software Companies Can Avoid the Trap of Product-Led Growth

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Oliver Jay

Companies like Slack and Dropbox have pioneered the use of Product-Led Growth (PLG). They start by building a product that’s indispensable for small teams, then count on low friction and customer advocates to expand throughout the organization. PLG works, at least at... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Product; Network Effects; Business Strategy

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November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Purple Innovation, Inc.: The Online to Offline Marketing Challenge

By: Elie Ofek and Nakisha Williams

This case focuses on Purple Innovation Inc. (Purple), a company that started out in the Direct to Consumer (DTC) mattress space. In late 2018, after a successful launch and IPO with sales predominantly originating from its website, Purple was looking to sustain its... View Details

Keywords: Offline Sales; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

July 2011 (Revised April 2012)
Case

The Clorox Company: Leveraging Green for Growth

By: Elie Ofek and Lauren Barley

The Clorox Company needs to decide on the marketing strategy going forward for its three sustainable brands, Brita, Burt's Bees and Green Works. These brands had fared differently over the past 3 years and each presents multiple courses of action heading into 2011.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Sales; Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

24 Jan 2022
News

How B2B Businesses Can Get Omnichannel Sales Right

December 2022
Article

The Contribution of Price Growth to Pharmaceutical Revenue Growth in the United States: Evidence from Medicines Sold in Retail Pharmacies

By: Pragya Kakani, Michael Chernew and Amitabh Chandra

Context: To what extent does pharmaceutical revenue growth depend on new medicines versus increasing prices for existing medicines? Moreover, does using list prices, as is commonly done, instead of prices net of confidential rebates offered by manufacturers, which are... View Details

Keywords: Revenue; Price; Policy; Business Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry

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August 2022 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Wasabi Technologies (A)

By: N. Louis Shipley and Mel Martin

After launching a successful hot cloud storage company, Founder and CEO David Friend is ready to scale the venture rapidly. Wasabi Technologies had focused primarily on direct sales, but an opportunity to pivot to channel sales was on the horizon. The company’s major... View Details

Keywords: Direct Sales; Channel Sales; Information Management; Sales; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Divisions; Information Technology Industry; United States

21 Dec 2018
News

Indie bookstores sales increase by 5% in 2018

February 2018
Case

Qualtrics (A)

By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin

Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model—sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients. The low-cost inside sales model, along with an emphasis on a strong sales... View Details

Keywords: Sales Strategy; Inside Sales Model; Sales; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Feb 06 2019
Short Film

Achieving Personal and Professional Growth

Web

B2B Sales and Distribution - Course Catalog

hire and manage first line sales managers, define a sales culture and create scalable compensation systems. The go-to-market design module will address how to choose an appropriate View Details

September 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Accelerating with Caution: Forecasting and Managing birddogs' Growth

By: Mark Egan

As 2017 was drawing to a close, birddogs’ founder and CEO, Peter Baldwin, was working with his CFO Jack Sullivan to prepare for 2018. Their task at hand? To predict the demand for their product in the coming season, determine the appropriate investments in working... View Details

Keywords: Inventory; Working Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financing and Loans; Apparel and Accessories Industry

10 Nov 2010
News

Harvard Business School Introduces Program To Help Leaders Drive More Profitable Growth

01 Feb 2013
News

Growth Strategy Has Double Bottom Line

playbook, but it has cultivated an additional source of revenue: the sale of conservation easements. Lyme Timber buys pieces of land targeted by conservation groups such as the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, which pay... View Details

Keywords: Louisa Rigali; Forestry and Logging; Agriculture; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

September 2023
Supplement

Accelerating with Caution: Forecasting and Managing birddogs’ Growth (B)

By: Mark Egan

As 2017 was drawing to a close, birddogs’ founder and CEO, Peter Baldwin, was working with his CFO Jack Sullivan to prepare for 2018. Their task at hand? To predict the demand for their product in the coming season, determine the appropriate investments in working... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Expansion; Production; Apparel and Accessories Industry

January 2018
Supplement

Peak Games: Hiring Priorities in Times of Rapid Growth (B)

By: William R. Kerr and Gamze Yucaoglu

On November 7, 2017, Sidar Şahin, founder and CEO of Peak Games, a Turkey-based global mobile gaming company, had just closed the sale of Peak Games’ card games studio. This sale included three of the company’s top grossing games and half of its team. Sahin was happy... View Details

21 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Are Crummy Products Your Next Growth Opportunity?

from above. As transistor radios evolved into the Walkman, parents bought them, too. Some other examples of crummy products finding a market with non-consumers: The first digital cameras were expensive and competed against existing high-quality cameras. View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

February 2018
Supplement

Qualtrics (C)

By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin

Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model—sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients. The low-cost inside sales model, along with an emphasis on a strong sales... View Details

Keywords: Inside Sales Model; Sales; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation

November 2022
Case

The Battle Among Channels for Marketing Pharmaceuticals: UpScript, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, and Direct-to-Consumer Sales

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Tiffany Farrell

Can an online, direct-to-consumer pharmacy both improve the quality and speed of care for patients who need branded drugs and stabilize profits for pharmaceutical manufacturers? UpScript, after years spent achieving legal and regulatory compliance and simultaneous... View Details

Keywords: DTC; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Customer Value and Value Chain; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Strategy; Service Delivery; Growth and Development Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; Retail Industry

February 2018
Supplement

Qualtrics (B)

By: Doug J. Chung and James M. Lattin

Qualtrics was an online survey research platform and since the beginning, the company had relied entirely on an inside sales model—sales done remotely without face-to-face contact with clients. The low-cost inside sales model, along with an emphasis on a strong sales... View Details

Keywords: Inside Sales Model; Sales; Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation