Publications

August 1998
Background Note

Selling Books Online in Mid-1998

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Provides an overview of the trends and predictions for the online book retail industry as of August 1998 and the current status of Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and other main players' online ventures. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Books; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

November 1993
Case

Selling Harvard Business School Cases

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Keywords: Business Education; Ethics

Find at Harvard

04 May 2015
News

Selling Kentucky Bourbon in Japan

01 Nov 2013
News

Selling Crafts with a Story

Jennifer Lee Koss by Maureen Harmon For weeks in 2012, Jennifer Lee Koss (MBA 2008) and Kena Paranjape held early- morning meetings at La Bohème coffee shop in Toronto. The discussion centered on a possible business venture. The meeting spot made sense; it was near... View Details

Keywords: Maureen Harmon; crafts; hobbies; ecommerce; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade; Arts, Entertainment

November 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Selling on Amazon at Tower Paddle Boards

By: Thales S. Teixeira and David Lopez-Lengowski

By June 2012, Stephan Aarstol felt that he had successfully passed the first critical stage of his ecommerce business. As the founder and CEO of a standup paddleboard (SUP) business, he had built a strong relationship with Asian manufacturers, built a small warehouse... View Details

Keywords: Tower Paddle Boards; Amazon; E-commerce; Online Shopping; Distribution; Internet and the Web; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

April 2018
Teaching Note

Formlabs: Selling a New 3D Printer

By: Frank Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-001. Formlabs is a venture that manufactures and sells 3D printers used in a variety of industries and applications. As the young company prepares to ship its latest model, the head of Customer Development is tasked with developing a... View Details

August 2003 (Revised August 2006)
Case

I've Got Rhythm: Selling Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, William Lagor, Christopher Perry and Scott St. Germain

The head of sales and marketing in a large medical devices firm must decide how to assign his sales force. He compares selling in the pharma, specialty pharma, and device industries and analyzes the reasons for the differences. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Marketing Strategy; Industry Structures; Sales; Salesforce Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

24 Dec 2010
News

Selling Candy With a Conscience

02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

Over the past two decades, entire industries have been disrupted by Internet competitors who "unbundled" their content and delivered it to consumers in new ways. Newspapers lost out to Google and Craigslist, record companies to iTunes and Spotify, and travel agencies... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

02 Feb 2015
News

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

November 2003 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Caja España: Managing the Branches to Sell (A)

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and Rosario de Albornoz

Juan Luis Rojas, commercial planning manager of a Caja de Ahorros (savings bank), faces the challenge of motivating the branches to sell more long-term mortgages and ponders whether to use transfer prices to achieve his objective. View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Banks and Banking; Resource Allocation; Organizational Design; Performance Improvement; Sales; Motivation and Incentives; Banking Industry

October 2000
Case

Francisco de Narvaez at Tia: Selling the Family Business

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

In January 1999, Francisco de Narvaez sold Tia, his family's retail business in Argentina. De Narvaez reflects on the decision to sell and the selling process. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Business Exit or Shutdown; Decisions; Argentina

18 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

Selling Luxury to Everyone

Mercedes-Benz launched the super-premium auto brand after opting out of the bidding for Rolls Royce and Bentley in the 1990s. The company estimated there are 200,000 individuals in the United States with a net worth of $10 million or above—and Mercedes believed it... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Consumer Products

20 Mar 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Sell Side School Ties

Keywords: by Lauren H. Cohen, Andrea Frazzini & Christopher J. Malloy; Financial Services

April 2008 (Revised January 2012)
Teaching Note

Norway Sells Wal-Mart (TN)

By: Robert C. Pozen

Teaching Note for [308019]. View Details

Keywords: Retail Industry; Norway

May 2025
Teaching Note

BlackRock (A): Selling the Systems?

By: Jan Rivkin

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 717-484 and 717-404. View Details

November 2006 (Revised December 2006)
Module Note

Personal Selling and Sales Management

Develop a better understanding of what salespeople do, what motivates them to succeed, and how to effectively manage their efforts. View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management