Publications

01 Apr 1997
News

Facing the Music

switch to CD format, sales picked up considerably as customers rushed out to replace their vinyl record collections with the same music reissued on the new technology. Now, explains Zelnick, the CD boom has played itself out. "The CD View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

Web

Launching Tech Ventures - Course Catalog

Intelligence (AI) throughout the cases and coursework. Educational Objectives The course takes the perspective of founders struggling to achieve product market fit in their early-stage startups. Our cases focus on founder decisions during... View Details

01 Dec 2013
News

Faculty Q&A: Playing the Hits

is one of the key reasons why I wrote my book. Back in 2006, Chris Anderson [author of the The Long Tail] got people thinking that new technology would change what consumers would be choosing and, therefore, what content producers should be making. His theory was that... View Details

Keywords: Patrick Kirchner; Arts, Entertainment; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

February 2004
Case

Bradman and Tendulkar, LLC

By: Ananth Raman and Vishal Gaur

An investment firm is trying to project inventory turns for Radio Shack, a chain of consumer electronics stores. The investment firm has access to public financial data but not to internal operational metrics. It needs to project inventory turns because inventory... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

scholars, and others. Purchase this case: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=308092 Clear Channel 2006 Harvard Business School Case 208-083 The Board of Directors of Clear View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Mar 2004
News

Toy Story

one was surprised. On the retail side, the large discount chains — WalMart and Target in particular — had steadily taken market share from specialty toy stores, in some cases using toys as a loss leader to pull in traffic. The ripple... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; toys; Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries; Arts, Entertainment

August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Gome Electronics: Evolving the Business Model

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Gao Wang, Fei Li, Tracy Manty and Waishun Lo

After 20 years of expansion, Gome Electronics has become China's largest consumer electronics retailer. It has opened stores in almost every province in China, acquired some of its competitors, and went public in Hong Kong. However, it has begun to experience a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Industry Growth; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Product; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry; China

November 2009
Case

METRO Cash & Carry in China, 2008

By: Tarun Khanna

In April 2008, the country head for METRO AG's Cash & Carry wholesaling operations is considering the most appropriate model for expansion in China, where METRO has operated stores for small business professionals for eight years. In addition, METRO is actively... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Emerging Markets; Distribution Channels; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Retail Industry; China

March 2016 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (A) and (B)

By: John Beshears

The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. The case associated with this teaching note follows Bob Nease, chief scientist at Express Scripts, as he... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Health Care and Treatment; Service Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

28 Feb 2005
Research & Ideas

Amazon, eBay and the Bidding Wars

of its business that is hardly an auction market at all, as retail sellers use it as simply another channel to move goods that are in abundant supply. Sniping won't play a role in that part of the business,... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Web Services; Technology

24 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Want People to Save More? Send a Text

safety net for emergencies, but also would reduce financial stress and improve their quality of life. "In the private sector, a lot of startups fail, and the market provides a signal about whether the product is viable," says... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

01 Oct 2000
News

Laura Scher of Working Assets

into a much-needed windfall for a host of cash-strapped nonprofits. Since cofounding Working Assets in 1985, Laura Scher has helped the company channel nearly $20 million to organizations such as Greenpeace, Oxfam America, Amnesty... View Details

Keywords: Marguerite Rigoglioso

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Turning High Potential into Real Reward

Professor Joseph B. Lassiter III's research explores entrepreneurial marketing in high-potential ventures. He describes entrepreneurial marketing as a mindset and a process, one that involves gathering... View Details

Keywords: Re: Joseph B. Lassiter; Consumer Products

01 Jun 2005
News

Profiles from the Class of 2005

switch. So I applied to business school.” At HBS, Williams pursued marketing while channeling his restless energy into election as HBS Student Association copresident and regular workouts at Shad Hall. It... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Julia Hanna; James E. Aisner; Graduate profiles; Government; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; Manufacturing

March 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Dell Online

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Dell started online commerce for its PCs in 1996, and by 1997 had achieved a sales rate of $3 million a day. The case describes the internal process that led to these dramatic results and poses the question of how the firm should leverage this activity to meet Michael... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Market Transactions; Goals and Objectives; Business Processes; Distribution Channels; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Competitive Advantage; Computer Industry; Retail Industry