Publications

June 2011
Article

Watch What I Do, Not What I Say: The Unintended Consequences of the Homeland Investment Act

By: Dhammika Dharmapala, C. Fritz Foley and Kristin J. Forbes

This paper analyzes the impact of the Homeland Investment Act of 2004, which provided a one-time tax holiday for the repatriation of foreign earnings and thereby reduced the cost to U.S. multinationals of accessing a source of internal capital. Lawmakers and lobbyists... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Performance Effectiveness; Code Law; Taxation; Cost; Capital; Financial Strategy; Research and Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

January 2017 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Fitbit

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Christine Snively and Sarah Mehta

In 2019, Fitbit lost its leadership in the wearable sensor market to Apple and to cheaper alternatives.
Why did it lose its market position?
How will the proposed acquisition affect it and Google? View Details

Keywords: Wearable Sensors; Smart Watches In Health Care; Google Acquisition; Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology; Acquisition

January 2017
Case

Expanding Ecommerce at Technos

By: Thales Teixeira, Rohit Deshpandé, Ruth Costas and Priscilla Zogbi

Technos was the market leader in the Brazilian watch market. Its CEO had made a firm commitment to evolve the company’s marketing and commercial practices by focusing less on pushing product to retail clients and more on branding to end consumers to pull watches from... View Details

February 2016 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Chilli Beans: Peace, Love, and Sunglasses

By: José B. Alvarez, Robert Mackalski and Andrew Otazo

This case illustrates how Chilli Beans became the most popular sunglasses retailer in Brazil and the issues it faced when expanding into the United States. View Details

June 2004 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Birth of the Swatch, The

By: Youngme E. Moon

In 1993, the Swatch is the best-selling watch in history. Traces the history of the watch industry up to the early 1980s, when the Swatch was introduced. Describes the various elements that made the Swatch different from any watch the industry had ever seen. Also... View Details

Keywords: History; Management; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Business Startups; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry

January 2012 (Revised August 2020)
Case

The Swatch Group

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Karol Misztal and Daniela Beyersdorfer

In March 2011, Nicolas Hayek, the CEO of the leading Swiss watch manufacturer Swatch Group, reflected on the positioning of Omega, its revived flagship brand. Which marketing strategy would best allow it to confront its main competitor Rolex? And how would potential... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Product Positioning; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

06 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Technology Re-Emergence: Creating New Value for Old Innovations

introduced low cost production methods to manufacture highly accurate quartz watches. Swiss business historians refer to this as the "Quartz Crisis." Companies like Seiko and Casio seized the quartz market. By 1983, two-thirds of the View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Apparel & Accessories; Technology; Consumer Products

16 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Has Apple Reinvented the Watch?

Watch out. Apple hopes to claim a new frontier on your wrist. The company announced its new Apple Watch on Tuesday, sending journalists and a bevy of other observers, online and off, into a flurry of... View Details

Keywords: Re: Ryan L. Raffaelli; Electronics; Retail; Health

29 Aug 2023
Cold Call Podcast

As Social Networks Get More Competitive, Which Ones Will Survive?

Keywords: Re: Felix Oberholzer-Gee; Entertainment & Recreation

July–August 2016
Article

The Decoupling Effect of Digital Disruptors

By: Thales S. Teixeira and Peter Jamieson

A new wave of Internet startups is disrupting established businesses by the process of “decoupling.” In this article, the authors discuss how these new digital disruptors allow consumers to benefit from one activity (e.g., watching shows) without incurring the cost of... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Product Marketing; Customization and Personalization

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19 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

Here Comes Internet2—Time to Shed Dot Vertigo

The dot-com implosion has left many managers wary of the promised wonders of information technology, but those who ignore the next phase of the Internet—dubbed Internet2—do so at their peril, says HBS professor Richard Nolan. "The idea that information technology... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 1995
Supplement

Orientation for Viewing the Cranfield-Kearney Performance Appraisal Interview

By: John J. Gabarro and Linda A. Hill

Presents the background information to watching the video reenactment of the Cranfield-Kearney Performance Appraisal Interview. View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Compensation and Benefits; Performance; Motivation and Incentives

April 2020
Case

Apple Inc. in 2020

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

After a decade as CEO, Tim Cook is facing one of his biggest strategic transitions of his tenure. While Apple had performed spectacularly well under Cook, Apple's core business was maturing. Sales of iPhones, iPads, and Macs were flat or down. However, Apple's new... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Market Positioning; Marketing Implementation; Planning; Products; Strategic Positioning; Strategy; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Product Positioning; Communication; Competition; Leadership; Strategic Planning; Computer Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry

December 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Troverie (A)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Olivia Graham

Six months after the August 2018 launch of Troverie, a U.S.-based online retailer of luxury watches, the average cost of acquiring a customer is much higher than originally projected, and the startup is incurring a substantial loss on each sales transaction. Could... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Luxury Goods; Customer Acquisition; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Luxury; Failure; Internet and the Web; Revenue; Fashion Industry; United States

November–December 2022
Article

Number One in Formula One: Leadership Lessons from Toto Wolff and Mercedes, the Team behind One of the Greatest Winning Streaks in All of Sports

By: Anita Elberse

Toto Wolff, the team principal for Mercedes-AMG Petronas—arguably the most impressive team in F1 racing history—has led his organization to unparalleled success. Mercedes earned the Constructors’ Championship (for best overall team performance) every year from 2014... View Details

Keywords: Formula One; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Success

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29 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Super Bowl Ads for Multitaskers

Are you sure you have everything you need to watch the Super Bowl this weekend? Beer? Check. Nachos? Check. Friends? Check. What about your smartphone, tablet, or laptop? When most people sit down to watch... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising; Sports

November 2024
Case

Grand Seiko—The Sleeping Lion

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In 2024, Akio Naito, President of Seiko Watch Corporation, reflected on the global expansion of Grand Seiko, the company’s luxury watch brand. Originally created more than 60 years ago as the luxury model of Seiko watches in Japan, Grand Seiko struggled to... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Luxury; Expansion; Japan; United States

May 2005 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Hans Wilsdorf and Rolex

By: Geoffrey Jones and Alexander Atzberger

Explores the creation of the Rolex watch by Hans Wilsdorf. Provides a case study of how one of the world's leading luxury brands was created and, more generally, provides a vehicle for exploring the competitive advantage of Switzerland in watchmaking (and other... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Geographic Location; Brands and Branding; Luxury; Competitive Advantage; Consumer Products Industry; Switzerland