Publications

October 1981 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B)

Reveals that Vicks chose a multi-condition positioning for the product. Describes testing of name and concept, and extensively reports on a four-city test market. Students are expected to evaluate both the design and results of the test, and face options ranging from... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Health Industry

January 2000
Case

Talbots - A Classic

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

This case traces why the $1 billion women's clothing retailer decided to attract younger customers, what went wrong, and the actions taken to recover. By the end of 1999, the company has reestablished itself and faces several growth opportunities and must decide on the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Crisis Management; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Segmentation; Fashion Industry

January 1996
Case

Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center (Abridged)

Describes a manager's role in developing a staff group responsible for enhancing the efficiency of Xerox's worldwide logistics and inventory management systems. Illustrates a range of management strategies for upward and lateral influence in a complex organizational... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

February 2004 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Pratt & Whitney: Engineering Standard Work

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

As the engineering of state-of-the-art jet engines becomes more and more complex, Pratt & Whitney leaders face major competitive problems. Product development projects are not meeting the cost, quality, and lead-time targets. The leadership develops a design,... View Details

Keywords: Design; Engineering; Cost; Knowledge Management; Time Management; Product Launch; Standards; Product Development; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Creativity; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

01 Mar 2009
News

Health Care a Top Priority at HBS

that focus on health care and health-care delivery. Simply put, we want to improve the performance of global health care and make an impact on the View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

November 2005 (Revised October 2012)
Case

The MCI Takeover Battle: Verizon versus Qwest

By: Malcolm P. Baker and James Quinn

MCI's board of directors is considering competing bids from Verizon and Qwest. Qwest, a smaller company with a weaker balance sheet, is offering almost a billion dollars more. But Verizon, one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world, has a history of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Valuation; Telecommunications Industry; United States

September 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Yum! Brands, Inc: A Corporate Do-Over

By: Frances X. Frei, Amy C. Edmondson, James Weber and Eliot Sherman

Describes the successful turnaround of the restaurant company Yum! Brands after its spin off from PepsiCo and covers how the company's leadership planned and executed on virtually every dimension of the employee experience. The main dilemma centers on what the company... View Details

Keywords: Product; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Expansion; Trade; Leadership Development; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November 1994 (Revised August 1997)
Case

TV Guide (A)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

TV Guide is the largest magazine in the United States and is attaining record profitability. This case details the economics of TV Guide's success by studying its advertiser and reader relationships. Presents a detailed look at how a large magazine manages all aspects... View Details

Keywords: Journals and Magazines; Customers; Marketing Strategy; Advertising; Publishing Industry; United States

August 2010 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Highland Capital Partners: Investing in Cleantech

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron

One day during the summer of 2008, Paul Maeder, co-founder and general partner of Highland Capital Partners (HCP), was walking with his wife around Reykjavik, Iceland, marveling at how clean the city felt and at the widespread use of naturally occurring geothermal... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Global Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

05 Dec 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Walmart Defying Economic Gravity?

Summing Up When Does Friction Trump Scale in the Corporate Life Cycle? This month's column raised the issue of size limits on an organization's ability to compete In today's global economy. The specific case in point was Walmart View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

November 2002 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Calvin Klein, Inc. v. Warnaco Group, Inc.

On May 30, 2000, Calvin Klein, Inc. (CKI) filed suit against Warnaco Group, Inc. and Linda Wachner, its CEO, for breaching its jeanswear licensing and distribution contract and, in so doing, diluting the equity of its brand. On June 26, 2000, Warnaco countered with its... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Distribution Channels; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

08 Jan 2007
What Do You Think?

Neuro Economics: Science or Science Fiction?

assess the impact of this work. Dick Meza said that "it will have to run the gauntlet of peer reviews and further research ." Lorenzo Ferlazzo observed that "the current lack of standardized insights into behavioral stimuli... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

February 2024
Case

SundaySky: Changing Customer Experiences through Personalized Video

By: David C. Edelman and James Barnett

In June 2023, SundaySky CEO Jim Dicso considers growth strategies. The software-as-a-service company provided software to create advertising videos, customer service videos, and other videos, like employee training modules, and had begun to pilot a new generative... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Strategy; Technology Adoption; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Advertising Industry; Advertising Industry; United States

15 Jun 2020
News

Science, Business & Vaccine Development to Combat the Pandemic

January 2022
Supplement

Kornit Digital: The Amazon Warrants (C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, E. Scott Mayfield and Daniel Fisher

As of 12/31/21, Amazon held $22 billion of equity and warrants in related companies. In fact, it often requests a free grant of warrants when it enters into a new commercial agreement with a supplier. Over the past 20 years, Amazon has gotten warrants almost 20... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Value Creation; Consumer Behavior; Negotiation; Distribution; Ownership; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Equity; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry; United States

15 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 15

of India's Public R&D Laboratories By: Khanna, Tarun, and Prithwiraj Choudhury Abstract—In this paper, we build on the standard resource dependence theory and its departure suggested by Vernon to offer a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2023
Supplement

Halftime for Heidelberg

By: Debora L. Spar

The case follows President Rob Huntington as he seeks to find a viable way forward for Heidelberg University.
Located in Tiffin, Ohio, Heidelberg is a small, private, four-year university. As with many similar institutions of higher education, it currently faces... View Details

Keywords: University; University Administration; University Endowment; Endowments; Brand Management; Higher Education; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Education Industry; Ohio; United States