Publications

May 1986
Supplement

Gillette Co.: Dry Idea Advertising (B), Video Introduction

Provides an overview of the two-part video: 1) bake-off participant interviews with managers from Gillette and its advertising agency for Dry Idea, and 2) creative presentations by the two bake-off competitors. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Consumer Products Industry

Profile

Bryan Guerra

craved a learning experience that was more immersive and interactive, and I knew that the case method would provide this advantage. Likewise, by throwing myself into this unique setting, I knew I'd be forced... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

February 2023 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Nairobi, Kenya

By: Archie L. Jones, Leonard A. Schlesinger, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Kuria Kamau

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Nairobi, Kenya. It highlights Kenya's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa

09 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 9

under plausible assumptions regarding this altruism and the reaction of consumers to firms that demonstrate insufficient altruism, existing firms (or brands) can face a larger demand for new products than... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Article

Social Recycling Transforms Unwanted Goods into Happiness

By: Grant Edward Donnelly, Cait Lamberton, Rebecca Walker Reczek and Michael I. Norton

Consumers are often surrounded by resources that once offered meaning or happiness but that have lost this subjective value over time—even as they retain their objective utility. We explore the potential for social recycling—disposing of used goods by allowing other... View Details

Keywords: Disposition; Well-being; Prosocial Behavior; Pro-environmental Behavior; Happiness; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Environmental Sustainability

25 Jul 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

The Evolution of Apple

success as it continues to expand its product line into handheld devices like the iPod and, now, the iPhone? The Apple case originally appeared in 1992 and has been rewritten 5 times since. "The company... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer; Technology

December 1994
Case

Intel's Pentium: When the Chips Are Down (A)

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein

Intel, the largest-selling manufacturer of microprocessor computer chips, finds itself in a brand-threatening situation when a flaw is revealed in its top-of-the-line Pentium chip. The story is front-page news for weeks. The company invested tens of millions of dollars... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Engineering; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Production; Failure; Semiconductor Industry

October 1973 (Revised May 1983)
Case

Zenith Radio Corp. (A)

By: Robert H. Hayes

Provides an analysis of capital investment (new plant and equipment), production, and operations management. View Details

Keywords: Management; Capital; Investment; Production; Infrastructure

October 2008 (Revised March 2010)
Case

PlanetTran

By: Lauren H. Cohen and Christopher J. Malloy

PlanetTran is an environmentally-friendly car service that utilizes a fleet of hybrid cars in providing livery service to corporations and individuals. The founder, Seth Riney, is evaluating outside funding options in order to expand the company, and has met several... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Venture Capital; Investment; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Expansion; Value

May 1997 (Revised July 1997)
Case

Vermeer Technologies (D): Making Transitions

By: Ashish Nanda

Microsoft has acquired Vermeer, and Vermeer executives are both excited and concerned as they prepare to move to Redmond. Even though the acquisition has been financially rewarding, the Vermeer engineers worry how well they will adapt to their new home. Meanwhile,... View Details

Keywords: Horizontal Integration; Value Creation; Applications and Software; Acquisition; Product Development; Information Technology Industry

October 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Reactivity: A Case of Re-Invention

By: Myra M. Hart and Sylvia Sensiper

By the time Glenn Osaka joined Reactivity as its new CEO in January 2001, the Internet bubble had burst, the financial markets had turned, and the company's core businesses were drying up. He was not hired to lead a turnaround, but Osaka found that the firm's future... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Venture Capital; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Leadership Style; Product; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

22 Apr 2016
Blog Post

Working With Organizations That Recruit at HBS: An Interview with Mary-Kate Johnson

What is your favorite part about working with employers? I get asked a lot of the same questions throughout the day but what I love most about my job is that, in many cases, the answers will be different. There is not one right answer for every recruiter View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

October 1996 (Revised December 1996)
Case

United Electric Controls

By: H. Kent Bowen, Jody H. Gittell and Sylvie Ryckebusch

United Electric Controls (UE) was a small, traditional family-owned manufacturing company when Dave Reis, the youngest member of the Reis family, took over the business. This case describes Reis's efforts to change UE's traditional work practices in order to make the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Family Business; Production; Business Strategy; Human Resources; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Decisions; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

August 2001 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Helios Health (A)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Alfred Martin

Helios PC system provides personalized drug information to the patients in the doctor's waiting room. It has met with considerable consumer acceptance and a very high return for the drug companies that sponsor it. What price should it charge them for the service? View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Price; Health Care and Treatment; Information Publishing; Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

April 2001 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Verge Software (A)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Elizabeth Kind

Scott Rozic, CEO of start-up Verge Software, has just told his board that he is taking the company in a totally new direction, moving from enterprise knowledge management software to Internet direct marketing. This case covers the start-up of the business, and Rozic's... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Investment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Technological Innovation; Applications and Software; Management Teams; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business Startups; Decision Choices and Conditions; Product Development; Information Technology Industry; United States

September 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Time Life, Inc. (A)

By: David A. Garvin and Jonathan West

Time Life has historically been a continuity book publisher, selling 20-volume book series via direct mail. Now, however, music and video/TV divisions have been added, and the CEO is trying to craft a strategy that will align the divisions so they can produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Business Divisions; Horizontal Integration; Production; Creativity; Alignment; Advertising; Publishing Industry