Publications

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Water Utilities Industry

By: George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the water utilities industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates of water... View Details

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January 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Product Proliferation and Preemption

Examines whether product proliferation can be used as a preemptive device--as alleged in the FTC's 1982 complaint against four manufacturers of ready-to-eat cereals. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Supply and Industry; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry

Teaching Interest

Leading Product Innovation

By: Stefan H. Thomke

For several years, Apple has ranked as the most innovative business in the world. How does this winning company continue to achieve success in its quest to develop—in the words of Steve Jobs—insanely great products? This program takes a deep dive into the latest... View Details

July 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Millipore New Product Commercialization: A Tale of Two New Products

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Kevin Bartus

Millipore, the worldwide leader in separations technology, was in the process of launching two key new products: one a liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer and the other a virus separation membrane. The case documents the product development and commercialization... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Product Launch; Product Development; Commercialization

23 Jul 2021
Blog Post

Trends in Consumer Products

A job search in Consumer Products requires thorough research to understand how Covid has affected a company’s business. Most consumer products companies had very uneven business results—some brands saw... View Details

September 1990 (Revised March 1991)
Case

Mod IV Product Development Team

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

Focuses sharply on a crossfunctional product development team at Honeywell's Building Controls Division. Traces the history of teams at the division, which introduced them as a response to intensifying competition and the need for faster development. Reveals the... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Management Teams; Product Development; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Competitive Strategy

May 1995
Background Note

Note on Product Liability

By: Willis M. Emmons III, Monica Brand and Greg Keller

This note provides an overview to the evolution and current state of product liability law in the United States. View Details

Keywords: Goods and Commodities; Legal Liability; Safety; Product Marketing; Business Strategy; Policy; Government and Politics; United States

Find at Harvard

Web

Strategy - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

unique value and drive continuous improvement in any organization. Creating a successful strategy Strategy and Smart, Connected Products Three waves of IT-driven competition... View Details

February 1983 (Revised May 1984)
Case

Managing Product Safety: The Ford Pinto

Presents an accounting of Ford Motor Company's handling of a product safety controversy (1970-77) surrounding its Pinto subcompact car. May be used as part of a series, Managing Product Safety, that provides an opportunity to compare and contrast the social response... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Crisis Management; Product; Auto Industry; United States

2023
Book

Research Handbook on Digital Strategy

By: Carmelo Cennamo, Giovanni Battista Dagnino and Feng Zhu

This state-of-the-art Research Handbook presents a comprehensive overview of the key strategic challenges that firms face when dealing with digital markets, platforms, and products and services, from old strategy questions in need of different solutions to entirely... View Details

Keywords: Digital Strategy

Research Summary

Resource Relatedness and the Location Strategy of the Multi-Business Firm

We provide new insights into firm location decisions by disentangling and comparing location strategies of multibusiness firms and standalone firms in the same industries. We find that units of multibusiness firms exhibit internal agglomeration, which is stronger than... View Details

Keywords: Multibusiness Firm; Agglomeration; Resource Redeployment; Corporate Strategy

Teaching Interest

Digital Marketing Strategy

By: John A. Deighton

When the tools of marketing change, strategies change too. The focus of this course is on firms trying to navigate the transition from offline to online market-making and strategy development. Our concern is primarily with corporations that have products and... View Details

1989
Chapter

Collaborative Product Development and the Market for Know-How: Strategies and Structures in the Biotechnology Industry

By: Gary P. Pisano and Paul Mang

Keywords: Product Development; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Management; Industry Structures; Biotechnology Industry

February 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Product Development at OPOWER

By: Thomas Eisenmann and Rob Go

OPOWER, a software startup that helps utilities engage their customers in ways that reduce energy consumption, is scaling rapidly. The company's new head of product management has designed a system to address a point of constant tension: whether to build custom... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Product Development; Sales; Customization and Personalization; Energy Conservation; Environmental Sustainability; Information Technology Industry; Utilities Industry

30 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Do Mergers Hurt Product Quality?

according to a recent study by Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Albert W. Sheen. In The Real Product Impact of Mergers, Sheen finds that mergers generally have little effect on product quality... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

2016
Working Paper

Workplace Design: The Good, the Bad, and the Productive

By: Michael Housman and Dylan Minor

We study the effects of performance spillover in the workplace-both positive and negative-on several dimensions, and find that it is pervasive and decreasing in the physical distance between workers. We also find that workers have different strengths, and that while... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Human Resource Management; Peer Effects; Productivity; Spillovers; Toxic Worker; Strategy; Working Conditions; Performance Productivity; Human Resources

SSRN

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November 1997 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Corn Products International, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

A firm that started in corn processing and moved up the value-added food chain decides to spin-off the original commodity part of the business. How does the new spin-off survive and how does it develop a strategy? Firms in the food system are separating out their... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Development; Service Delivery; Vertical Integration; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2011
Case

Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

After three years of development, Paramount Health and Beauty Company is preparing to launch a new technologically advanced vibrating razor called Clean Edge. The innovative new design of Clean Edge provides superior performance by stimulating the hair follicles to... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Conflict Management; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Relationships; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry