Publications

November 1994 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Dennis Hightower: Walt Disney's Transnational Manager

By: Ashish Nanda

Describes the actions taken by Dennis Hightower as president of Disney Consumer Products in Europe and the Middle East from 1988 to 1994. Focuses on how he has established a regional office and knit local operations closer together, the benefits that the process has... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

18 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

Selling Luxury to Everyone

Luxury is the new essential. Consumers know it and retailers are reaping the bounty. At a "Growth Strategies in the Luxury Goods Industry" panel on April 3 at the HBS Retail View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette; Consumer Products

18 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 18

Sustainability needed to develop positions on several issues. Tactically, he needed to recommend whether the company should purchase carbon offsets to help meet its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets, View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Technical Note

Flight: Now without Humans Aboard

By: Mitchell Weiss, Karim Lakhani, HT Kung and Kerry Herman

This note provides an overview of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) industry in September 2015. UAVs offered many potential applications in industries as diverse as aerial imaging and photography, agriculture, construction, infrastructure inspection and... View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Drones; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Product Design; Research and Development; Technological Innovation; Rights; Ethics; Strategy; Transportation Networks; Market Entry and Exit; Innovation and Management; European Union; Asia; United States

08 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 8

to compete. Strategists have developed some well-known rules for navigating business environments with network effects. "Move first" is one, and "get big fast" is another. In a study of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

La Nueva Ruta: alianzas sociales estrategicas (The New Path: Strategic Social Alliances)

By: James E. Austin, Gustavo Herrero and Ezequiel Reficco

Keywords: Strategy; Society; Alliances; Growth and Development Strategy

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23 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 23, 2008

Chinese joint ventures annually, Hong Kong China Gas executives began extracting cross-border negotiating lessons from their 80 existing Chinese JVs. Chairman Alfred Chan and CEO Peter Wong knew that HKGC's View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

October 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Bright Dairy & Food Co., Ltd

By: David E. Bell and Hal Hogan

Bright Dairy has been growing rapidly since becoming a public company. The Chinese market for milk products is still wide open. What should it be doing to make sure it captures a significant share of the potential market? View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development; Public Ownership; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; China

January 2003 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Office Depot, Inc.: Business Transformation (A)

By: James L. Heskett, Dan Maher, Daniel F. OBrien, Thomas Watson and Jeffrey F. Rayport

The company's management is considering the possibility of launching a rebranding campaign around the promises "What you need. What you need to know." The questions are whether and when to launch the campaign in view of the large number of training efforts and... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Business Strategy; Technology Adoption; Transformation; Market Timing; Growth and Development; Training; Retail Industry

February 1997 (Revised May 1997)
Background Note

Modern India

By: Tarun Khanna and Danielle J. Melito

Describes India's move from a controlled economy toward a more market-oriented one, commencing in 1991. Highlights the extent of changes in the product, capital, and labor markets, and the political situation at the central government, as these stood in 1995. View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Systems; Economy; Macroeconomics; Government and Politics; Strategy; Financial Services Industry; India

13 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

The Dark Side of Trust

financial success of companies. In fact, I am teaching a second-year elective, titled Strategies Beyond the Market, in which we investigate these linkages. Trust is obviously an important example for a factor beyond the market. Many... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Service

01 Jul 2021
Office Hours

Readers Ask: Which Companies Are Transforming Work?

affected by COVID positively—namely, Walmart and Amazon. "I know those are not always companies that people view favorably in terms of work, but in the last 10 years, Walmart has been an amazing innovator in the space in terms of skills... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail; Manufacturing

06 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Cheers to the American Consumer

therefore money available, with easy credit historically fueling the fire, to risk on new things and new experiences. And the secondary market, from the flea auction to eBay, is well View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

January – February 2008
Article

The Dangers of Wishful Thinking

By: Richard S. Tedlow and David Ruben

Too many U.S. businesses (including tires, super-markets, and information technology) have been infected with the disease of denial. The answer? In Lincoln's words, “We must disenthrall ourselves.” View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Success; Behavior; Cognition and Thinking

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21 May 2019
Cold Call Podcast

If the Key to Business Success Is Focus, Why Does Amazon Work?

Keywords: Re: Sunil Gupta; Retail

February 2023 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in New Delhi, India

By: Vikram S Gandhi and Radhika Kak

The case uses the example of Tata Motors to discuss the opportunities and challenges of doing business in India. View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Development Economics; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Economic Sectors; Economy; Macroeconomics; Business History; India