Publications

Oct 03 2016
Interview

Clayton Christensen: The Theory of Jobs To Be Done

July 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Icebreaker: The US Entry Decision

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Dan Heath

Jeremy Moon, CEO of Icebreaker, merino wool, outdoor apparel manufacturer, believed the company could be a big hit in the United States, despite the presence of entrenched rivals. But Icebreaker clearly needed a new distribution approach. One option was to position... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; New Zealand; United States

October 2013
Case

Pearle Vision: Clearly Different?

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

Ohio-based optical retailer Pearle Vision, part of the vertically integrated Italian eyewear group Luxottica, sold glasses and offered in-store eye exams. Once the largest U.S. optical retailer, Pearle Vision, with 266 corporate stores and 356 franchised stores in... View Details

Keywords: Eye Care; Competitive Advantage; Market Participation; Retail Industry; Health Industry; United States

March 2017 (Revised March 2017)
Case

OpenNotes

By: Jeffrey Rayport and Annelena Lobb

In 2017, executives at OpenNotes, a national movement to improve the relationship between doctors and patients by sharing doctors’ visit notes about patients with patients, were considering options in efforts to achieve scale. The movement hoped to reach 50 million... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Technology Adoption; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; Health Industry; United States

Research Summary

Overview

By: Hise O. Gibson

Professor Gibson's primary research interests encompass inclusive leadership, operational effectiveness, human capital development, leadership, leader development, leading change, and risk management especially during crisis. As part of his broader work to... View Details

14 Aug 2016
News

Limit the chances of being lied to in negotiations

January 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

HourlyNerd

By: Jill Avery and Joseph Fuller

HourlyNerd, a two-sided marketplace platform for matching freelance consultants with small companies looking for help, struggles to define a growth plan for the future. The company, started as a class project in HBS' FIELD 3 course, is assessing three growth paths:... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Lean Startup; Two Sided Markets; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Consulting Industry; United States

16 Nov 2014
News

GOP leaders set sights on tax reform but fret over newly combative Obama

July 1985 (Revised January 1988)
Case

American Hospital Supply Corp.: The ASAP System (A)

American Hospital Supply, the largest firm in the U.S. hospital supply industry, has achieved success in part through the use of information systems. Changes in the hospital marketplace suggest a shift in strategy would be appropriate. What role should information... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Industry; Health Industry; United States

11 Jan 2022
News

Sales Management That Works with Frank Cespedes

March 2016
Case

IC Group A/S

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

IC Group owned several of Scandinavia's leading premium fashion brands. How should it respond to the decline of its primary wholesale distribution channels (independent fashion boutiques and department stores)? Should it open more physical stores or focus on... View Details

October 2011
Supplement

Ganesh Natarajan, CEO of Zensar: In-Class Comments, 4/7/11

By: David A. Garvin

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Management; Service Operations; Family and Family Relationships; Behavior; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry; India

January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Rumo: Infrastructure for a Healthier Economy

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Mariana Cal, Ruth Costas and Natalie Kindred

Brazilian logistics company Rumo operated 13,500 km in railway networks, port terminals, and inland transshipment terminals, connecting major Brazilian ports to the agriculture hubs of Mato Grosso and São Paulo state. Controlled by Cosan, Brazil's leading sugar and... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Customer Relationship Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Rail Transportation; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Brazil

August 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Shindigz

By: Frank Cespedes

Shindigz provides party and celebratory items for various occasions and events through its branded online channel, through third-party retail and wholesale channels, and external online marketplaces. The case focuses on pricing challenges facing a venture with an... View Details

Keywords: Ecommerce; Pricing; Price; Strategy; Decision Making; Brands and Branding; Distribution Channels; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry

Research Summary

Overview

For the past 30 years, VG has been researching and writing about strategy and innovation. His publications have been cited more than 9,000 times—placing him among the top researchers in the field of strategic management. He is a rare academic who has published more... View Details

May 1992
Case

Sunday River Ski Resort

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Martha Epstein

Sunday River is a ski area in Bethel, ME which has been run by entrepreneur Les Otten since 1980. The year before Otten purchased the area, it posted a loss of $235,000 on revenues of $541,000. Under Otten's leadership, however, Sunday River posted year after year of... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Competitive Advantage; Entrepreneurship; Success; Transformation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Maine

Find at Harvard

05 May 2014
Research & Ideas

Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance

Many of us are familiar with the gentle punishment known as "time-out," in which misbehaving children must sit quietly for a few minutes, calm down, and reflect on their actions. New research suggests that grown-ups ought to take routine... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

1 Nov 2010
Other Presentation

Value-Based Health Care Delivery

By: Michael E. Porter

This presentation draws on Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results (with Elizabeth O. Teisberg), Harvard Business School Press, May 2006; "A Strategy for Health Care Reform—Toward a Value-Based System," New England Journal of... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Iceland