Publications

23 Mar 2022
News

Online Brands Try a Traditional Marketing Strategy: Physical Stores

February 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

What's the Deal with LivingSocial?

By: Michael I. Norton, Luc Wathieu, Betsy Page Sigman and Marco Bertini

Tim O'Shaughnessy, the 29-year-old CEO of LivingSocial, is growing a revolutionary worldwide business of "daily deals"—in which retailers offer a heavily-discounted product or service available for purchase for brief (often 24-hour) windows. The case explores the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Innovation and Invention; Advertising; Brands and Branding; Management; Web Services Industry

06 Sep 2018
News

Why U.S. Grocery Chains Need More (and Better) Store-Brand Products

February 2019 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Christina R. Wing, Emilie Fournier and Anna Resman

This case covers the rise and fall of Theranos, the company founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2004 to revolutionize the blood testing industry by creating a device that could provide from a small finger prick the same results and accuracy as intravenous blood draws. As... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Entrepreneurship; Lawsuits and Litigation

April 2013
Case

Managing with Analytics at Procter & Gamble

By: Thomas H. Davenport, Marco Iansiti and Alain Serels

Senior management at P&G has put a strong emphasis on using data to make "better, smarter, real-time business decisions." The Global Business Services (GBS) organization has developed tools, systems and processes to provide managers throughout P&G with direct access to... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Data Management; Forecasting; Shared Services; Procter ＆ Gamble; Laundry Detergent; Information Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Information Technology; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Products Industry; North America

31 Mar 2020
News

Reinventing the Direct-to-Consumer Business Model

01 Nov 2019
Video

Patrick Chalhoub

Patrick Chalhoub, CEO of Dubai-based luxury retailer Chalhoub, discusses the changing gender balance of customers from the male, head-of-household, dominated 1960s, to the 2010s when women are more likely the... View Details

October 2011
Case

Raleigh & Rosse: Measures to Motivate Exceptional Service

By: Robert Simons and Michael Mahoney

In January 2010, U.S. luxury goods retailer Raleigh & Rosse is being sued by its employees for encouraging "off the clock" hours. At the center of the class action lawsuit is the famous Raleigh & Rosse performance measurement system previously thought to be the core of... View Details

Keywords: Control Systems; Performance Measurement; Goal Setting; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Sales Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Growth Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Retail Industry; United States

22 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Name Your Price. Really.

of experiments—including a field experiment where she posed with students as snack bar employees—Santana found that by subtly manipulating the environment, sellers can dramatically change what some buyers are willing to pay. Retailers are... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

07 Mar 2017
News

Survey: Career-Management Programs Lacking

February 2015 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Delhaize Group: Developing Leaders

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Delhaize Group, the Belgian-based global food retailer, was focused on competing in the food retailing industry by developing leading positions in key markets via localized retailing strategies. Delhaize was committed to offering its customers superior value while... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Organizational Alignment; Talent Management; Leadership Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Belgium

26 Jul 2017
Blog Post

“Uncertainty Makes It More Interesting.”

Born in Monterey, Felipe Delgado (MBA 2018), knows Mexico well. With three years of pre-MBA banking experience, and a stint with a renewable energy startup, Felipe has a firm grip on the “corporate side” as well. But retail products? And... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

27 Sep 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Large-Scale Demand Estimation with Search Data

Keywords: by Tomomichi Amano, Andrew Rhodes, and Stephan Seiler; Retail

September 2008 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Hearts On Fire - Brand Development Manager

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Benson P. Shapiro

Hearts On Fire, a successful branded diamond producer, established the position of Brand Development Manager (BDM) to build the company's presence, sales, and relationships with its retail customers. After one year, the CEO, CFO and President must evaluate the impact... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Investment Return; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Business Processes; Salesforce Management; Business Strategy

February 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

ICICI (A)

By: Bharat N. Anand, Nitin Nohria and John Pegg

ICICI was the first Indian company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. This case is set in 1998, when the company had to decide whether to enter the retail credit segment of the Indian financial market. Although the retail credit sector presents attractive... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Strategic Planning; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Growth Management; Markets; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; India

27 Jun 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Effect of Payment Choices on Online Retail: Evidence from the 2016 Indian Demonetization

Keywords: by Chaithanya Bandi, Toni Moreno, Donald Ngwe, and Zhiji Xu; Retail

February 2010
Case

Go Mobile: The Phirbol Franchise

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

To grow Phirbol, a telecom retail franchise chain in Delhi, India's underdeveloped markets, its founders were exploring ways to offer more value to the franchisees. In mid-2009, the Phirbol franchise was comprised of some 150 franchisees that had converted their small... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Management; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Value Creation; Telecommunications Industry; Delhi

December 2009
Case

Hungerit

By: David E. Bell, Sarah Morton and Mary Louise Shelman

Hungary's top producer of poultry products is deciding the company's future strategy in the face of new opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe, a changing retail market in Hungary, and the possibility of increased global competition. View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Hungary