Publications

January 2007 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Tom Muccio: Negotiating the P&G Relationship with Wal-Mart (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

Describes the retailer-supplier negotiations of Tom Muccio, one of the earlier Proctor & Gamble (P&G) employees to be based in Bentonville, Arkansas, in negotiating the early operational components of the supplier-retailer partnership between P&G and Wal-Mart in the... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Supply Chain Management; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict and Resolution; Bentonville

Research Summary

Risk Management as a Function of Government

By: David A. Moss

Professor Moss's academic work in this area explores how and why governments manage private-sector risks. Based on historical and institutional research, he argues that risk management constitutes a critical function of government with far-reaching implications. ... View Details

Fall 2011
Article

A Brief Postwar History of U.S. Consumer Finance

By: Gunnar Trumbull and Peter Tufano

In this brief history of U.S. consumer finance since World War II, the sector is defined based on the functions delivered by firms in the form of payments, savings and investing, borrowing, managing risk, and providing advice. Evidence of major trends in consumption,... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Finance; Consumer Credit; U.s. History; Consumer Behavior; Personal Finance; Credit; Trends; History; United States

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July 2023
Article

Design and Analysis of Switchback Experiments

By: Iavor I Bojinov, David Simchi-Levi and Jinglong Zhao

In switchback experiments, a firm sequentially exposes an experimental unit to a random treatment, measures its response, and repeats the procedure for several periods to determine which treatment leads to the best outcome. Although practitioners have widely adopted... View Details

Keywords: Switchback Experiments; Design; Analysis; Mathematical Methods

21 Mar 2019
HBS Case

The Ferrari Way

drive anymore, if it doesn’t look great, or if it doesn’t give you great performance,” Thomke says. “If the emotional experience goes away, none of those other things matter.” [About View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

February 1993 (Revised November 1998)
Case

Statements of Cash Flows: Three Examples

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

This case introduces the statement of cash flow through three examples of multi-year statements of cash flows from three unidentified companies. View Details

Keywords: History; Venture Capital; Financial Management; Activity Based Costing and Management; Investment; Financial Statements; Cash Flow; Financing and Loans; Accounting Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

June 2008
Case

Starbucks Coffee Company in the 21st Century

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Marya Lisl Hill-Popper Besharov and Katherine Miller

The case explores the opportunities and challenges confronting Starbucks in the early 21st century. For more than 15 years, Starbucks has grown swiftly and successfully, helping create a large, dynamic market for specialty coffee, building one of the world's most... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Economy; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competition

April 2019
Case

Afterpay U.S.: The Omnichannel Dilemma

By: Antonio Moreno, Donald Ngwe and George Gonzalez

In 2018, Nick Molnar, the founder of the Australia-based online payment service Afterpay began its expansion to the U.S. market. The service had gained a loyal following in Australia by enabling customers to pay for online purchases through four interest-free... View Details

December 2022 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Iberdrola: Leading the Energy Revolution

By: Juan Alcácer and Emer Moloney

At the end of 2019, Ignacio Galán, the Chairman and CEO of the world's third largest utility, Iberdrola, reflected on his almost 20 years at the company. He managed a portfolio of three very different businesses, each with their own specific opportunities and... View Details

July 2013 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Experience! The Finger Lakes: The Groupon Partnership Decision

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Chekitan S. Dev, Gabriele Piccoli and Arnold B. Peinado

In 2010, Experience! The Finger Lakes (ExperienceFLX), a tour operator offering guided tours and concierge services in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, was at a crossroads. The business was poised for growth, and its owners, Laura and Alan Falk, were... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; United States

25 Feb 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Fear of Rejection? Tiered Certification and Transparency

Keywords: by Emmanuel Farhi, Josh Lerner & Jean Tirole

Forthcoming
Article

Imagining the Future: Memory, Simulation and Beliefs

By: Pedro Bordalo, Giovanni Burro, Katherine B. Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer

How do people form beliefs about novel risks, with which they have little or no experience? Motivated by survey data on beliefs about Covid we collected in 2020, we build a model based on the psychology of selective memory. When a person thinks about an event,... View Details

Keywords: Expectations; Memory; COVID-19 Pandemic; Risk and Uncertainty; Cognition and Thinking

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2021
Working Paper

Does Who Helps You Impact Your Behavior? Examining the Effects of Social Interactions on Knowledge Sharing in Online Communities

By: Eunkwang Seo, Frank Nagle and Sonali K. Shah

Online communities provide vibrant forums for knowledge sharing and are increasingly being used by individual users and firms to source knowledge and create and capture value. Yet, there is much to learn about how the actions of community members affect other members,... View Details

Keywords: Online Communities; Knowledge Development; Innovation; Reciprocity; Knowledge Sharing; Networks; Innovation and Invention; Interpersonal Communication

SSRN

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October 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Cottle-Taylor: Expanding the Oral Care Group in India

By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh

Brinda Patel, director of oral care products for the India division of a consumer home-care product company, develops a data-driven marketing plan for toothbrushes. She believes her plan can support a 20% increase in unit sales based on rising demand for modern... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting; Budgeting; International Marketing; Product Planning ＆ Policy; Sales Promotions; Marketing Plans; Products; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Emerging Markets; Forecasting and Prediction; Advertising; Product Launch; Budgets and Budgeting; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry; India

05 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

In Praise of Marketing

the United States. The latest Interbrand listing of the most valuable global brands reveals seven American brands in View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Advertising

June 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Nissan's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

By: Ananth Raman, William Schmidt and Ann Winslow

In January 2020, Ashwani Gupta took over as COO at Nissan Motor Corporation, and several weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic began. Nissan’s Business Continuity Plan (BCP) had been key to the resilience of Nissan’s supply chain. It had enabled Nissan to recover from... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain Management; Health Pandemics; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; India

October 2008
Case

TripIt: The Traveler's Agent

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Gabriele Piccoli and Kathryn Brohman

In July 2008, the co-founders of TripIt, a free online travel organizer that aggregated travelers' bookings from many top travel websites, had recently secured $5.1 million in new financing. While the co-founders believed that their company offered travelers a unique... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investment; Profit; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Competition; Internet; Travel Industry