Publications

January 1992 (Revised April 1992)
Teaching Note

Butler Lumber Company TN

By: Thomas R. Piper

Teaching Note for (9-292-013). View Details

Keywords: Forest Products Industry

July 1991 (Revised August 1991)
Case

Philip Morris Companies, Inc. (B)

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

Looks at the company's plans for a new debt offering under the Rule 415 shelf underwriting provision--in this instance from the vantage point of the lead investment banker for the deal. The decision-maker must assess the risks of the issuer, the tone of the market, the... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Stocks; Initial Public Offering; Consumer Products Industry; United States

1989
Book

Going to Market: Case Studies in Industrial Distribution

By: E. Raymond Corey, Frank V. Cespedes and V. K. Rangan

Keywords: Distribution; Industrial Products Industry

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April 2025
Case

Setting a CEO Agenda: Ole Rosgaard at Greif

By: Krishna Palepu and Kerry Herman

Since taking over as CEO of industrial packaging giant Greif, Ole Rosgaard has focused on growing the company and improving the perception of its value by the capital markets. He and his senior leadership team have made inroads to this end, including adjusting the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Valuation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Industrial Products Industry; North America; Europe

2020
Case

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Plastic has become essential to global day-to-day activities, yet it is also causing extreme environmental degradation. Many leaders in the plastics industry are starting to question its sustainability. This case presents insights into the future of the plastic... View Details

Keywords: Plastic Waste; Environmental Sustainability; Cooperation; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry

May 2023
Teaching Note

Away: Scaling a DTC Travel Brand

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 520-051. Away, a direct-to-consumer, digital native e-commerce seller of travel luggage, is debating how to invest its latest round of venture funding. How quickly could and should Away scale and what were the most promising growth... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Segmentation; Venture Capital; Consumer Products Industry

March 2020
Teaching Note

Transforming Hindustan Unilever

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Leading Change; Performance Improvement; Consumer Products Industry; India

January 2018
Teaching Note

C.W. Dixey & Son

By: Anat Keinan and Michael B. Beverland

Teaching Note for HBS No. 517-019. View Details

Keywords: Luxury Branding; Authenticity; Inconspicuous Consumption; Brand Positioning; Brand Revitalization; Eyeyewear; Market Entry and Exit; Luxury; Market Participation; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

May 2016 (Revised November 2018)
Supplement

Moleskine (B)

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Raffaella Sadun and Kathy Qu

This case discusses the decisions and outcomes of CEO Arrigo Berni and founder Maria Sebregondi that the Moleskine (A) case laid out. View Details

Keywords: Creative Industries; Brand Building; Digital Innovation; Digital Services And Strategy; Process Improvement; Organization Change And Adaptation; Culture; Identity Construction; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Creativity; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

January 1996 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Colgate-Palmolive Company: Analyzing an Annual Report

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A directed analysis of the Colgate-Palmolive Co. annual report. Focuses on the basics of reading an annual report including analysis of financial statements, calculation of financial ratios, and study of the layout and message of the report. Industry financial ratios... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Reports; Financial Statements; Consumer Products Industry

January 1994
Case

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (Abridged)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Julie H. Hertenstein

Keywords: Consumer Products Industry

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March 2013 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Unilever's New Recipe for Growth

By: Jordan Siegel, Christopher Poliquin and Barbara Zepp Larson

This case looks at Unilever and its ongoing efforts at regional strategy and organizational change in Europe. View Details

Keywords: Regional Strategy; Aggregation; Organizational Change; Global Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

Summer 2012
Article

Epistemic Contests and the Legitimacy of the World Trade Organization: The Brazil–USA Cotton Dispute and the Incremental Balancing of Interests

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

The World Trade Organization (WTO) features prominently in studies of international institutions, often cast either as a tool of rich-world domination over the poorer South or as a neutral mediator facilitating a tariff-free world of economic prosperity. This article... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Trade; Conflict and Resolution; Consumer Products Industry; Brazil; United States

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May 2010 (Revised April 2012)
Teaching Note

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (TN) (A), (B) and (C)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Natalie Kindred

Teaching Note for 608107. View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Knowledge Management; Geographic Location; Time Management; Consumer Products Industry; France

2009
Case

Blaine Kitchenware, Inc.: Capital Structure (TN): Brief Case.

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Joel L. Heilprin

Keywords: Capital Structure; Financial Strategy; Interest Rates; Taxation; Stocks; Consumer Products Industry

December 2008 (Revised February 2010)
Teaching Note

Amazon.com: The Brink of Bankruptcy (TN)

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Teaching Note for [809014]. View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Consumer Products Industry

September 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Tong Lung Metal Industry Co., Ltd.

By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, Ho Howard Yu and Yu-Shian Chiang

Develop its own branded line, or continue as an original design manufacturer (ODM)? Tung Lung Metal Industries Co. Ltd. is a Taiwanese maker of door lock hardware that is faced with the question of whether to continue to focus on its ODM business or start placing more... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Brands and Branding; Corporate Strategy; Industrial Products Industry; Taiwan