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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(4,064)
- People (5)
- News (810)
- Research (2,690)
- Events (20)
- Multimedia (48)
- Faculty Publications (1,849)
- February 2008 (Revised August 2011)
- Case
Olympia Machine Company, Inc.
By: Frank V. Cespedes and Benson P. Shapiro
The management team of an industrial equipment supplier is debating the company's method of compensating salespeople. Different executives have offered different alternatives to the current method of straight salary plus expenses. Each option has different implications... View Details
Keywords: Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Mission and Purpose; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Industrial Products Industry
Cespedes, Frank V., and Benson P. Shapiro. "Olympia Machine Company, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 708-490, February 2008. (Revised August 2011.)
- November 1993 (Revised September 1998)
- Supplement
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation (C): Conclusion
By: Lynn S. Paine
Describes the results of the charges related to the sale of the apple juice products. View Details
Paine, Lynn S. "Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation (C): Conclusion." Harvard Business School Supplement 394-104, November 1993. (Revised September 1998.)
- 15 Feb 2012
- News
Manufacturing leads the way
- October 2015
- Case
Bigbelly
By: Mitch Weiss and Christine Snively
To accelerate Bigbelly's sales growth and its "smart cities" positioning, its CEO planned to shift his company from equipment sales to a subscription service. Jack Kutner hoped to re-position Bigbelly's solar-powered trash compacting stations beyond trash and recycling... View Details
Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Smart Cities; Government Innovation; Internet Of Things; IoT; Anything As A Service; Platform As A Service; Infrastructure As A Service; PaaS; Xaas; Bigbelly; Jack Kutner; B2G; Civic Innovation; City Innovation; Government Technology; Govtech; Civic Technology; Entrepreneurship; Sales; Innovation and Invention; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry; Public Administration Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Web Services Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Massachusetts; United States; Boston; Chicago; Philadelphia; New York (city, NY)
Weiss, Mitch, and Christine Snively. "Bigbelly." Harvard Business School Case 816-005, October 2015.
- July 2012 (Revised June 2018)
- Case
MC Tool
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Two partners acquired MC Tool in October 2007 for $5 million. The company was a machine shop that manufactured parts for a wide variety of applications in the energy, automotive, and industrial equipment industries. In their first year of ownership, the partners... View Details
Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Problems and Challenges; Transformation; Production; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; United States
Ruback, Richard S., and Royce Yudkoff. "MC Tool." Harvard Business School Case 213-013, July 2012. (Revised June 2018.)
- March 2008 (Revised March 2009)
- Case
Purolator Courier Ltd.
By: Rajiv Lal and Catherine Ross
On a fall day in September 2003, Robert Swanborough made his way down a thickly carpeted hallway in Purolator's headquarters in Toronto, Canada, toward a meeting with his two deputies. Several months earlier, Swanborough, then vice-president of Marketing, had been... View Details
Keywords: Conferences; Customer Focus and Relationships; Leading Change; Marketing Strategy; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Research; Segmentation; Canada
Lal, Rajiv, and Catherine Ross. "Purolator Courier Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 508-054, March 2008. (Revised March 2009.)
- April 2000 (Revised July 2000)
- Case
Ameritrade Holding Corporation
By: Lisa K. Meulbroek
Some of the senior managers at Ameritrade, an Internet brokerage firm, are selling their holdings in the firm. Why are the managers selling, how will it affect shareholders, and what should the CEO do about it? The CEO is concerned that the market will interpret... View Details
Keywords: Valuation; Internet and the Web; Stock Options; Risk Management; Financial Services Industry
Meulbroek, Lisa K. "Ameritrade Holding Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 200-057, April 2000. (Revised July 2000.)
- September 2019 (Revised July 2021)
- Case
Gap, Inc., 2019
By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock
In 2000, The Gap, Inc. (Gap) was the world’s largest player in specialty fashion retailing, and companies such as Inditex of Spain, H&M of Sweden, and Fast Retailing of Japan were less than a quarter of Gap’s size. But after two decades of growth, Gap’s progress... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Change; Fashion; Multinational; Brands; Fast Fashion; Competition; Multinational Firms and Management; Performance Improvement; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Change Management; Strategy; Retail Industry; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sweden; Spain; United States
Wells, John R., and Benjamin Weinstock. "Gap, Inc., 2019." Harvard Business School Case 720-377, September 2019. (Revised July 2021.)
- December 2022
- Article
Conflicting Interests and the Effect of Fiduciary Duty: Evidence from Variable Annuities
By: Mark Egan, Shan Ge and Johnny Tang
We examine the variable annuity market to study conflicts of interest and the effect of fiduciary duty in brokerage markets. Insurers typically pay brokers higher commissions for selling more expensive annuities. Our results indicate that sales are four times as... View Details
Keywords: Variable Annuity; Brokers; Fiduciary Duty; Finance; Investment; Insurance; Conflict of Interests; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; United States
Egan, Mark, Shan Ge, and Johnny Tang. "Conflicting Interests and the Effect of Fiduciary Duty: Evidence from Variable Annuities." Review of Financial Studies 35, no. 12 (December 2022): 5334–5386.
- March 27, 2025
- Article
How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base
By: Sunil Gupta and Frank V. Cespedes
The software company SAP successfully leveraged AI tools to begin selling to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) market, which had previously been uneconomical for its in-person sales approach. By mapping the customer journey and deploying over 40 AI tools, SAP... View Details
Gupta, Sunil, and Frank V. Cespedes. "How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base." Harvard Business Review (website) (March 27, 2025).
- June 2009
- Supplement
Mary Kay Inc.: Asian Market Entry (B)
By: John A. Quelch
By 2008, over half of Mary Kay Cosmetics' $2.8 billion sales were from outside the U.S. Sales from China exceeded $500 million in 2008 through over 450,000 beauty consultants. China was Mary Kay Cosmetics' second most important national market with revenues growing at... View Details
Keywords: Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Asia; China
Quelch, John A. "Mary Kay Inc.: Asian Market Entry (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 509-067, June 2009.
- December 2013 (Revised November 2015)
- Case
(Re)Building a Global Team: Tariq Khan at Tek
By: Tsedal Neeley
Tariq Khan arrived home after a nearly 16-hour meeting. He was grappling with whether to take the global sales and marketing team manager position that had been offered to him, and had spent the entire day with the senior leadership of his potential new team. He wanted... View Details
Keywords: Global Teams; Language; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges
Neeley, Tsedal. "(Re)Building a Global Team: Tariq Khan at Tek." Harvard Business School Case 414-059, December 2013. (Revised November 2015.)
- June 2018
- Case
Verona Group
By: Robert L. Simons and Sarah Abbott
Are a salesperson's struggles her own fault or the result of a problematic job design? Anna George works as a salesperson at Verona Group, a company that designs and wholesales high-end women's apparel. She had spent nearly 20 years in sales with another fashion label... View Details
Keywords: Jobs and Positions; Design; Analysis; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Salesforce Management; Organizational Design
Simons, Robert L., and Sarah Abbott. "Verona Group." Harvard Business School Brief Case 918-531, June 2018.
- October 2012 (Revised May 2014)
- Case
J Sainsbury Plc, Road to Recovery
By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin
In 2012, J Sainsbury Plc (Sainsbury's), the number three supermarket chain in the UK with £22.3 billion in sales, appeared to have put the troubles of the past behind it. For over 70 years, Sainsbury's had been the UK's largest grocer, but Tesco had overtaken it in... View Details
Keywords: United Kingdom; Retailing; Food; Tesco; Sainsbury; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Retail Industry; United Kingdom
Wells, John R., and Galen Danskin. "J Sainsbury Plc, Road to Recovery." Harvard Business School Case 713-453, October 2012. (Revised May 2014.)
- January 1983 (Revised June 1985)
- Case
Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.: Marketing Communications
By: John A. Quelch
Marketing executives at the company are considering the merits of a variety of communications programs designed to increase the effectiveness of the company's sales force of beauty consultants. View Details
Keywords: Marketing Communications; Salesforce Management; Decision Making; Performance Effectiveness; Management Teams; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States
Quelch, John A. "Mary Kay Cosmetics, Inc.: Marketing Communications." Harvard Business School Case 583-068, January 1983. (Revised June 1985.)
- October 2010
- Case
The iPhone at IVK
By: Richard L. Nolan and Robert D. Austin
The CIO addresses a decision to replace salesmen netbook PC's with iPhones, including converting the company's sales and customer applications to the iPhone platform View Details
Keywords: Mobile and Wireless Technology; Digital Platforms; Salesforce Management; Transition; Technology Adoption; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Change Management
Nolan, Richard L., and Robert D. Austin. "The iPhone at IVK." Harvard Business School Case 911-413, October 2010.
- May 2014 (Revised March 2017)
- Case
Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan
Unilever's new Global Brand VP must not only revitalize Lifebuoy soap's sagging market performance, but simultaneously impact the health of one billion people worldwide. The latter challenge comes from Unilever's new CEO who has introduced the Unilever Sustainable... View Details
Keywords: Multinational Management; Corporate Social Responsibility; Strategy Implementation; Marketing Strategy; Mission And Purpose; Change Management; International Business; Global; Fast-moving Consumer Goods; Soap; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Care and Treatment; Environmental Sustainability; Global Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Health Industry; India
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan." Harvard Business School Case 914-417, May 2014. (Revised March 2017.)
- January 2014
- Supplement
J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (C): Back to the Future
By: Elie Ofek, Jill Avery and Jose B. Alvarez
Rehired in April 2013, Myron E. "Mike" Ullman III was brought back to stabilize the retailer's business. Under Ron Johnson's "Fair and Square" program, sales had declined rapidly and quarterly losses and expensive capital investments had put severe pressure on cash... View Details
Ofek, Elie, Jill Avery, and Jose B. Alvarez. "J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Strategy (C): Back to the Future." Harvard Business School Supplement 514-073, January 2014.
- February 1992 (Revised December 1992)
- Case
MCI Vision (A)
By: Frank V. Cespedes
This case series focuses on divisional marketing and sales efforts concerning Vision, a new telecommunication product intended for the small business marketplace. Vision represents both a significant opportunity, and different field marketing requirements, for MCI.... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Groups and Teams; Sales; Opportunities; Competitive Strategy
Cespedes, Frank V. "MCI Vision (A)." Harvard Business School Case 592-083, February 1992. (Revised December 1992.)
- 28 Jul 2011
- News