Publications

07 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

What Customers Need to Hear from You During the COVID Crisis

media, would need to be rethought. Recognizing that their existing brand creative might strike the wrong tone with people fearful for their own and their community’s health, and anxious about their personal... View Details

Keywords: by Jill Avery and Richard Edelman

February 2025
Case

Managing Complexity at mymuesli

By: Thomas Graeber and Stacy Straaberg

In April 2009, direct-to-consumer e-commerce muesli brand mymuesli faced a flood of customer questions. The breakfast cereal startup enabled users to order personalized muesli on its website by choosing from 75 organic ingredients for a total of 566 quadrillion... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Food; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Customization and Personalization; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Germany

February 1989 (Revised August 1989)
Case

Portman Hotel Co.

A brand new hotel has opened with a new service strategy: import to America Asian-style service using a butler-like employee group called the personal valets. To achieve this high level of service, the hotel has paid great attention to its human resource policies,... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Service Delivery; Employees; Accommodations Industry; Asia; North America

February 2013
Case

18 Months in a Startup: Zaggora.com

By: Tom Nicholas

The founders of Zaggora reflected back on a tumultuous year-and-a-half in which they had generated, from just $40,000 in personal savings, a multi-million dollar sportswear enterprise selling Hotpants to women. These were hotpants not of the 1960s hipster variety, but... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Growth Management; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Finance; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

February 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Shake Shack's Playbook for the Digital Era

By: Christopher Stanton, Allison Ciechanover and George Gonzalez

This case examines Shake Shack’s journey from a single New York City hot dog cart to a global fast-casual restaurant chain renowned for both premium quality and a culture of “enlightened hospitality.” As the company expands worldwide, it pilots digital ordering... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Customer Satisfaction; Technology Adoption; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2022
Supplement

The SAH Group: The Time is Right, Instructor Spreadsheet

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019, it expanded... View Details

Keywords: Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Decisions; Growth Management; Vertical Integration; Distribution; Competition; Strategy; Supply Chain; Presentations; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Consumer Products Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Health Industry; Tunisia

April 2023 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Eike Batista: Making or Breaking Brazil

By: Geoffrey Jones, Pedro Magalhães, Daniel Tong and Marcel Anduiza

This case explores the meteoric rise and fall of Eike Batista, once Brazil’s richest person and the world’s seventh wealthiest in 2012. Batista began his career by investing in gold mining in the Amazon, using the network his father had built after years serving as... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; Brazil

October 2014 (Revised June 2016)
Case

MasterCard: Driving Financial Inclusion

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga was investing significant time and attention to increase financial inclusion among individuals with historically no access to banking or financial services in countries around the world with large underserved populations. The effort included... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Financial Services; Financial And Social Return; Financial Inclusion; Strategic Management; South Africa; Nigeria; Ajay Banga; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; South Africa; Nigeria

October 2022
Supplement

The SAH Group: The Time is Right, Spreadsheet Supplement

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019, it expanded... View Details

Keywords: Growth Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Decisions; Growth Management; Vertical Integration; Distribution; Competition; Strategy; Supply Chain; Presentations; Market Entry and Exit; Product Positioning; Consumer Products Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Health Industry; Tunisia

07 Nov 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Sir Alex Ferguson--Managing Manchester United

Alex, I jumped at the chance. I figured I would undoubtedly learn a great deal about what it takes to lead and manage a sports team, and that indeed proved to be the case. Q: The case reads as if you were able to attend some matches in View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation

December 2014 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Bhutan: Governing for Happiness

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Thomas Humphrey and Benjamin Safran

Unique among the world’s countries, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan had abandoned the traditional policy goal of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in favor of pursuing Gross National Happiness (GNH). Famously, Bhutan ranked highly on lists of the happiest... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Economic Growth; Governance; Cost vs Benefits; Bhutan

January 2011
Case

AIC Netbooks: Optimizing Product Assembly

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Sunru Yong

AIC Systems, located in Taichung, Taiwan, is a manufacturer of printed circuit boards, primarily for motherboards and video cards for personal computers. The firm is considered an original design manufacturer (ODM) and takes an active role in innovating and designing... View Details

Keywords: Performance Management; Quantitative Analysis; Manufacturing; Production Planning; Production Management; Diversification; Production; Performance Efficiency; Product Design; Performance Improvement; Mobile Technology; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; Taiwan

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

of financial assets, that explains the boom in global asset markets as well as the recent upsurge of leveraged buy-out activity. Effect of Personal Taxes on Managers' Decisions to Sell Unrestricted Equity Author:Li Jin Periodical:Journal... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2008
Case

Patel Food and Chemicals Private Limited (A)

By: Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

Alok Patel, the founder and chairman of a Gujarat-based, privately held edible oils processor, must decide whether to hire a CFO candidate. Previously, his company's book-keeping has been done by an uncle, who has mentioned that he may retire soon. Patel could hire his... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Family Business; Managerial Roles; Emerging Markets; Diversity; Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; Gujarat

Find at Harvard

04 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Air War versus The Ground Game: An Analysis of Multi-Channel Marketing in US Presidential Elections

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung & Lingling Zhang

28 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

A Dedication to Creation: India's Ad Man Ranjan Kapur

class grew with large disposable income, and these foreign brands returned, it pushed the local brands to improve their quality and services. Competition rose and consumers benefitted. Q: So at this very... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Advertising

July 2018
Case

Hironobu Tsujiguchi and His Sweet Revolution

By: Boris Groysberg and Naoko Jinjo

Hironobu Tsujiguchi, a Japanese chocolatier, had chosen an unusual path to success as a pastry chef. Instead of spending most of his time in his kitchen and focusing on one or two confectionery categories like most pastry chefs, he chose to work on diverse projects and... View Details

Keywords: Relevance; Entrepreneurship; Diversification; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan