Publications

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Exercise

E-Commerce Analytics for CPG Firms (C): Free Delivery Terms

By: Ayelet Israeli and Fedor (Ted) Lisitsyn

The E-Commerce Analytics group at the traditional CPG firm was in charge of compiling various online sales reports, as well as making data-driven recommendations for sales and marketing tactics. In a series of exercises, students address different data challenges for... View Details

October 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Background Note

Online Securities Trading in Japan

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Jamie Ladge, Haruki Umezawa and Masako Egawa

Provides an overview of the Japanese securities industry and discusses how the online trading/brokerage industry grew as a result of deregulation of financial markets and penetration of the Internet in Japan. Describes major players in the online industry--Matsui... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Financial Markets; Business Strategy; Financial Instruments; Globalized Markets and Industries; Internet and the Web; Japan

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February 2019 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Christina R. Wing, Emilie Fournier and Anna Resman

This case covers the rise and fall of Theranos, the company founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2004 to revolutionize the blood testing industry by creating a device that could provide from a small finger prick the same results and accuracy as intravenous blood draws. As... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Entrepreneurship; Lawsuits and Litigation

May 1990 (Revised October 1991)
Case

Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (B)

Describes the highly successful recall of the Black & Decker Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker. Objectives include: 1) factors in product recall effectiveness and success, 2) the use of direct marketing in product recall, 3) the role of public relations in product recall,... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry

February 1996 (Revised April 2003)
Case

WPP--Integrating Icons to Leverage Knowledge

By: Joseph L. Bower

Martin Sorrell has used WPP to acquire a large portfolio of marketing service firms including J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather. How did he make this minnow-swallows-many-whales trick work, and can he make the whole into something bigger than the parts? View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Marketing; Networks; Diversification

01 Jan 2008
News

Smith Breeden Prize for Best Paper in The Journal of Finance

21 Jan 2016
Video

2016 Precision Trials Challenge

May–June 2021
Article

Why Start-ups Fail

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

If you’re launching a business, the odds are against you: Two-thirds of start-ups never show a positive return. Unnerved by that statistic, a professor of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School set out to discover why. Based on interviews and surveys with hundreds... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Problems and Challenges; Failure

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October 1994 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Patricia Ostrander

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Donald J. Edwards and Antonio F. Weiss

Analyzes the career of former money manager Patricia Ostrander. Focuses on Ostrander's purchase of stock warrants issued in connection with the 1985 leveraged buyout of Storer Communications and on her later indictment and conviction for accepting unlawful... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Ethics; Capital Markets; Managerial Roles; Outcome or Result; United States

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06 Mar 2018
News

United Airlines is sending employees to compassion training

December 1986 (Revised March 1991)
Supplement

Caterpillar-Komatsu in 1986

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Provides an update to the global competitive interaction between Caterpillar and Komatsu described in companion cases Caterpillar Tractor and Komatsu Ltd. Caterpillar's response to Komatsu's growing market share is outlined, then the impact of rapidly changing... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Currency Exchange Rate; Price; Global Strategy; Policy; Market Participation; Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

January 2025
Case

Olive Young: Formulating Beauty Innovation

By: Rebecca Karp and Shu Lin

Sun-jung Lee, CEO of Olive Young, South Korea's largest beauty and health retailer, saw significant potential in the U.S. market and considered three pathways: replicating Korea's omnichannel model, adopting a digital-native approach with curated products, or relying... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy; Distribution Channels; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; South Korea; East Asia; United States

March 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Chiaphua Group Vietnam

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Michael Shih-ta Chen

As part of its expansion and diversification strategy, the Chiaphua Group explored real estate investments in emerging markets. The Group was one of the largest privately held company groups based in Hong Kong, with international investments in a variety of... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Laws and Statutes; Emerging Markets; Market Entry and Exit; Business and Government Relations; Diversification; Hong Kong

19 Jul 2013
News

Harvard's Shih on Tesla Motors, U.S. Auto Industry

Research Summary

Overview

By: Meg Rithmire

My research and course development focus on questions of how markets and market mechanisms interact with concentrated political power, especially in the context of authoritarian or illiberal regimes. Geographically, my expertise is in the political economy of Asia,... View Details

Program

Finance for Senior Executives

compensation incentives, and play a bigger role in helping your company optimize its financial resources and strengthen its bottom line. Details Apply strategic financial insight Make informed strategic... View Details

26 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food

assigned his patents to La Cellophane Societe Anonyme, a French company formed for the sole purpose of marketing the invention. In 1923, the company licensed to DuPont the exclusive rights to make and sell... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising; Advertising; Advertising

August 2002
Background Note

Customer Benefit Stack

By: Das Narayandas

Describes a process to understand customer benefits created in industrial markets using the metaphor of a customer benefit stack. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Manufacturing Industry

2022
Case

Mandalay Homes: Building Sustainable Innovation in Residential Construction

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Mandalay Homes, a home builder based in northern Arizona, is a market leader in energy efficiency based construction. The company is now at a crossroads for developing a strategy for the future. Internal leadership is in agreement that quality is better than quantity... View Details

Keywords: Green Building; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Construction Industry