Consumer Goods - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Jun 2020
News

Meal Plan

consumed outside of the home, we felt it was critical to continue to operate—our restaurants serve 4.3 million meals a day on average. With so many of our locations already set up for drive-in, drive-through, and takeout, about 97 percent... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; restaurants; COVID-19; pandemic; recovery; Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

Philip W. Pillsbury

When Pillsbury took over control of his family's flour company in 1940, it had sales of $47 million. Pillsbury, however, greatly expanded the business further, acquiring more flour mills and related facilities, while also entering the View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

Hamish Maxwell

Maxwell presided over the major diversification of Philip Morris through the acquisitions of Kraft and General Foods. In so doing, Maxwell created the largest consumer goods company in the world and... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

01 Jun 2004
News

Luxe Redux

Cashing in on the $60 billion global luxury goods market has never been tougher — or more rewarding. Competition is keen. And consumer preferences are constantly shifting, causing the concept of luxury... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; luxury; Retail Trade

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Rapid Response: Inside the Retailing Revolution

Once upon a time, suppliers held all the cards. Henry Ford's dictum that consumers could have any color car they wanted as long as it was black proved wrong in the extreme, but for years manufacturers in this country kept their hands... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

Summer 2018
Article

Why High-Tech Commoditization Is Accelerating

By: Willy C. Shih

Knowledge embedded within state-of-the-art production and design tools is a powerful force that is leveling the global technology playing field. It democratizes innovation and makes future competition more challenging. This paper describes the knowledge flows through... View Details

Citation

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Under Procter's guidance, P&G grew out of its mid-western roots as a soap producer into a national consumer goods conglomerate. Procter was responsible for the creation of many famous brands, including... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

28 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Eyes Shut: The Consequences of Not Noticing

Editor's note: Behavioral economist Max H. Bazerman decided to pursue the subject of noticing after realizing that he wasn't very good at it himself. "The truth is that I was truly terrible at noticing," says Bazerman, the Jesse... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman; Retail

01 Sep 2012
News

On a Sound Track

business at the intersection of consumer electronics, media, and lifestyle branding. Skullcandy, which Andrus helped build with founder and former CEO Rick Alden, is expecting between $280 and $300 million in revenues this year. The... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; audio accessories; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Retail Trade

01 Jun 2025
News

Barbie: Reviving a Cultural Icon at Mattel

Like countless others in the summer of 2023, HBS professor Elie Ofek went to the theater to see the blockbuster film Barbie and found himself enveloped by the pink-drenched marketing blitz that had all but taken over the world. To Ofek, who teaches in the Marketing... View Details

Keywords: Christine Speer Lejeune; Illustrations by Miguel Porlan; Educational Services

13 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments

replenish all the water it uses in beverage production. "They're minimizing the political and consumer risks they face from people who say, 'You're taking all the water,' or 'You're polluting local water supplies,'" Henderson says.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

01 Sep 2008
News

Negative Ad Power

that is out of bounds in the consumer marketplace. — John A. Quelch is senior associate dean at HBS and a marketing expert. Katherine E. Jocz is an HBS research associate. They are the authors of Greater Good: How View Details

Keywords: John A. Quelch;Katherine E. Jocz; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Fast Answer

Sustainability in CPG and Retail

across the global food system. Read IFC Sustainability news. The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) This global non-profit organization focuses on transforming consumer goods supply chains to deliver more sustainable... View Details

Student-Profile

Ximena Garcia-Rada

which suggested that research would be a good fit for me.” Ximena put her theory to the test by accepting a position as a Research Associate at the Center for Advanced Hindsight at Duke University, working with Professor Dan Ariely on... View Details

12 May 2015
Blog Post

A Summer Internship in General Management

experiences. I was invited to interview during the January interview period and received my offer at the end of the week. What surprised you the most about your internship? I was truly surprised by the nature of the general manager role. At General Mills, and at many... View Details

11 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

E-Commerce Unplugged

behavior. Good examples of such companies are leaders in the consumer packaged-goods industry such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble and Kraft Foods—or retail organizations such as Wal-Mart and... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria & Marty Leestma

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Partnering and the Balanced Scorecard

caregivers—physicians and nurses—on the other.6 Administrators kept emphasizing, "Cut costs, save money." Caregivers replied, "We're not good at cutting costs; we cure children and save lives. That is our mission."... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

26 Jan 2016
News

The First Five Years: Jill Applebaum (MBA 2015)

She shared the same germy fears and so we teamed up to launch Spruce & Co—our consumer goods startup focused on simple products for everyday healthy routines.” What have been some of the most enjoyable and... View Details

08 May 2019
Blog Post

Top-Notch Talent Begets Top-Notch Talent

“At the end of the day, I think we are very good recruiters,” says Cheney. “Most recruiters have never been in a business role. My HBS education allows me to sit with any founder in any industry, from the most complex hedge fund to View Details

30 Sep 2024
News

The Making of a Streaming Sensation

good adaptation? JN: The two things that I found, I wouldn't say they're rules, but the two guiding principles. The first is character. You've got to have a main character or a collection of characters that you think the audience will... View Details

Publications