Publications

Find at Harvard

January 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial (RJF) currently sells financial services through two channels. It is considering adding a third in the "middle" of the other two. The current strategy has one channel with employees and another with independent contractors. These attract very... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Human Resources; Financial Services Industry; Service Industry

Research Summary

Overview

By: Reshmaan N. Hussam

Engaged with field work in South Asia and East Africa, Professor Hussam places a focus on exploring questions with strong theoretical motivation in the economics literature as well as relevant downstream policy implications. Her research spans four broad interests.... View Details

Web

Impact of the New Medium - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

introduced the Polaroid Land Camera, Model 95, and Land Film, Type 40, to the public. Edwin Land stood at a precipice, wondering whether the significant investment and research in his new product would pay off. Land had wisely kept his... View Details

04 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

How a Juicy Brand Came Back to Life

Rush Limbaugh. Stern was an especially effective spokesperson. He got to know the founders of the business personally and conveyed to his listeners a genuine and infectious regard for the products and the people behind them. The brand's... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Food & Beverage

24 Jun 2008
First Look

First Look: June 24, 2008

Working Papers Firm-Size Distribution and Cross-Country Income Differences Authors: Laura Alfaro, Andrew Charlton, and Fabio Kanczuk Abstract We investigate, using firm-level data for 79 developed and developing countries, whether... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2014 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Quiet Logistics (A)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This two-part case focuses on how to identify and manage strategic uncertainties in an innovative, entrepreneurial start-up company. In the (A) case, students learn about Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment company working with high-end apparel retailers such as... View Details

August 2023
Case

Reimagining Hindustan Unilever (A)

By: Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

In the fall of 2019, the CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm, is wondering what to do about their experiments to digitize distribution. Despite three years of intense efforts, their apps to empower retailers... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Leading Change; Distribution; Decisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Consumer Behavior; E-commerce; Competition; Performance; Business Strategy; Marketing; Transformation; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; India

July 2019 (Revised March 2020)
Case

At-Bay Cyber Insurance

By: Marco Di Maggio and David Lane

At-Bay was a cyber insurance startup that offered companies coverage against a wide array of cyber risks—exposure to which the firm was able to quickly assess and price on the basis of technical expertise that traditional insurance carriers lacked. In mid-2019, At-Bay... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Insurance; Disruptive Innovation; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Distribution Channels; Information Technology; Salesforce Management; Insurance Industry

17 Jun 2011
HBS Case

KFC’s Explosive Growth in China

should develop a national footprint—supported by a company-owned distribution system since third-party suppliers didn't exist—instead of growing in geographic chunks through franchising. Su sourced products... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Food & Beverage

10 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 10

the economy to organize production and innovation. We study individual contestant-level data from 2,796 contestants in 774 software algorithm design contests with random assignment. Precisely conforming to theory predictions, the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Global Opportunity Fellowship GO: AFRICA - Alumni

(login required). Eligibility Eligibility and selection are determined by a Review Committee and awards are distributed on a funds-available basis. You are a graduating MBA student or an MBA alumni who graduated in the last five years. A... View Details

21 May 2024
News

A New Chapter

Joe Wolf (MBA 1999), cofounder and co-CEO of Imagine Worldwide, wants to provide educational opportunity where it is needed most. “In the next 30 years, half of the world’s youth will be sub-Saharan African,” says Wolf. “Right now, the World Bank reports that only one... View Details

Keywords: Catherine O’Neill Grace; photo by Cayce Clifford

January 2015 (Revised March 2017)
Case

New Urban Mechanics

By: Mitchell Weiss

Funding to scale Citizens Connect, Boston's 311 app, is both a blessing and a burden and tests two public entrepreneurs. In 2012, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts provides Boston's Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics with a grant to scale Citizens Connect across the... View Details

30 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 30

underutilized markets, using its global network to quickly move products to market, and reinvesting steadily in its brand. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/311120-PDF-ENG L'Oréal: Global Brand, Local Knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2024 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Polish Agro: Where Do We Grow From Here?

By: Willy C. Shih, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

By July 2024, Polish Agro had grown into one of Poland’s fastest-growing agribusinesses, with €230 million in revenue, 82 employees, and operations across Northern Poland. The company supported farmers with essential agricultural inputs like fertilizers and seeds,... View Details