Publications

November 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

ConAgra Foods: The Next Chapter

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

In 2005, CEO Bruce Rohde has almost completed the integration of ConAgra Foods' collection of 90 independent operating companies into a focused, value-added firm and was beginning to think about his successor. ConAgra had become the second largest food company and No.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Leading Change; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Food; Agribusiness; Product Marketing; Management Teams; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

response organizations to adopt very different leadership strategies if they are effectively to cope with the differential demands of these events. In this paper, we develop further ideas about leadership under crisis conditions,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

Business Speaks English: Why You Need a Language Strategy Now Author:Tsedal Neeley Publication:Harvard Business Review 90, no. 5 (May 2012) Abstract An abstract is unavailable at this time. Book:... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July 2018
Case

LIXIL Group Corporation: Building a New Company in an Old Industry

By: Boris Groysberg and Akiko Kanno

In the spring of 2018, Kinya Seto, president and CEO of LIXIL Group Corporation, a major housing and building products and services company, called a meeting at the company’s head office in central Tokyo to discuss how to implement the new three-year strategic plan.... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Leadership And Change Management; Consolidation; Change Management; Leadership; Global Strategy; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

28 May 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Monopolistic Competition Between Differentiated Products With Demand For More Than One Variety

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu; Video Game; Web Services

26 Jan 2004
Research & Ideas

What Developing-World Companies Teach Us About Innovation

wrinkles—one with vitamin A, another with vitamin C, and another with vitamin D. All sell based on brand recognition. Chronos incorporates the three vitamins into one cream. Why? Because all the vitamins are especially beneficial for... View Details

Keywords: by Donald N. Sull, Alejandro Ruelas-Gossi & Martin Escobari

August 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Zillow Offers: Winning Online Real Estate 2.0

By: Luis Viceira, Marco Di Maggio and Allison Ciechanover

Founded in 2005, Zillow had become the leading online real estate and home-related marketplace. The brand was recognized as a trusted resource for players in the real estate market, providing information and transparency on home prices. Revenue, which was historically... View Details

Keywords: Real Estate; Corporate Culture; Intermediation; Brokerage; Startup; Evaluating Business Investments; Property; Information Technology; Business Model; Expansion; Business Startups; Real Estate Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

June 2016
Case

Duff & Phelps: Scaling an Entrepreneurial Venture (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and David Lane

Having teamed up to launch their own financial services business, Noah Gottdiener and Jacob Silverman soon discover a venerable brand and viable business in an established bank subsidiary. They then work for many months to acquire the business as a platform for... View Details

Keywords: Duff ＆ Phelps; Entrepreneurial Management; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Entrepreneurial Financing; Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry

July 2020
Case

Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics

By: Steven Rogers, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alterrell Mills

The co-founders (Black HBS alumnae) of an e-commerce beauty startup explore the unmet needs within the beauty industry. This case study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities that come from identifying an underserved market, specifically within the Black community... View Details

February 2017 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Kameda Seika: Cracking the U.S. Market

By: Elie Ofek, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In spring 2016, Kameda’s CEO, Michiyasu Tanaka, is facing difficult questions from board members over the lackluster performance of the company’s U.S. subsidiary. Kameda was the leading player in the Japanese rice cracker market and was looking to expand overseas to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Food and Beverage Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; United States

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

re-adjust the balance between break-through innovation (a big change to the brand) and incremental innovation (a small change to existing products). Which strategy should Jim Murphy and his brand management... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group

By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin, John P. McHugh and Yuanzhuo Wang

Taikang Insurance Group was a leading Chinese insurance and financial services institution. It operated in the insurance, asset management, and health and senior care industries. Due to China’s underdeveloped social welfare state, Taikang saw an opportunity for the... View Details

Keywords: Health; Insurance; Strategy; Insurance Industry; China

Web

Placement - Doctoral

Advisors: Michael I. Norton (Chair), Leslie K. John , Ryan W. Buell , Rebecca Ratner , and John T. Gourville 2020 Dafna Goor Marketing, 2020 Placement: London Business School Dissertation: Branding in the New World: How Accessible... View Details

11 Jun 2018
Blog Post

Reimagining Fashion For The Good Of All

Zalando is a fairly unknown brand in the U.S., but the leading online fashion platform in Europe. Growing at a yearly rate of +20%, it was founded 10 years ago and it currently has more than 15,000 employees and is present in 15 different... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

22 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Humans vs. Machines: Untangling the Tasks AI Can (and Can't) Handle

people, deeply in your context,” explains Edward McFowland III, assistant professor at Harvard Business School and one of the study’s authors. "The challenge right now is that this is brand new. Companies cannot simply ignore these tools,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

07 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 7

strategies for launching them for 10 years. In this article he draws on research on dozens of platform sites and products to offer a framework for building a successful platform business. It involves asking five basic questions: (1) Can I... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point

By: Anat Keinan

The case examines an iconic institution's decision on whether or not to undertake a branding initiative. Founded in 1802, West Point has played a key role in America's history. It is one of the nation's oldest institutions of higher learning and is well known for... View Details

Keywords: Surveys; Resource Allocation; Brands and Branding; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Competitive Strategy; Education Industry; United States

13 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

The Subconscious Mind of the Consumer (And How To Reach It)

customers themselves are not aware? Zaltman: There are several helpful approaches. One is to double check stated beliefs with actual behavior. For example, many consumers report handling competing brands and comparing prices at the point... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Mahoney

November 2005
Case

Inventec Corporation

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Ingrid Vargas

Inventec Corp., with $4.5 billion in annual revenues, was one of Taiwan's leading original design manufacturers (ODMs). Inventec designed and manufactured electronic products such as computers, servers, MP3 players, PDAs, and cellular telephones for client companies... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Emerging Markets; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; China; India