Publications

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14 Mar 2023
Blog Post

How I Spent My 2+2 Deferral: Dyllan Muller

In my second year of undergrad at Tulane University, I started thinking about life after graduation. I had always loved the intersection of science and business and was pursuing a dual degree in both View Details

01 Nov 2020
News

The Risks You Can’t Foresee

February 2011
Article

The Underdog Effect: The Marketing of Disadvantage and Determination Through Brand Biography

By: Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan, Jill Avery and Juliet B. Schor

We introduce the concept of an underdog brand biography (UBB) to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author an historical account of their humble origins, lack of resources, and determined struggle against the odds. We identify two essential... View Details

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July 2002
Teaching Note

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in the Twenty-First Century, TN

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching Note for (9-702-442). View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; United States

May 2022
Case

Thinking Outside the Wine Box (A): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign

By: Tomomichi Amano, Elie Ofek, Mengjie Cheng and Amy Klopfenstein

This case provides an overview of “Franz for Life,” an advertising campaign that independent advertising agency Mekanism created and executed to revitalize the brand image of Franzia, a low-cost boxed wine. For several years, Franzia’s popularity declined among... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Social Marketing; Marketing Communications; Product Positioning; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

October 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

The Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester (Abridged)

By: Michael D. Watkins, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

This is a shortened version of "The Coca-Cola Company (A): The Rise and Fall of M. Douglas Ivester," HBS case #9-800-355. It eliminates some background detail and the financial data and exhibits. As with the original case, it chronicles the appointment of Douglas... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Selection and Staffing; Managerial Roles; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2009 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Monsanto: Helping Farmers Feed the World

By: David E. Bell, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mary Shelman

Monsanto has led the effort to bring biotechnology to bear on food production. Through some management missteps and consumer resistance the company had difficulties in its early years. But since Hugh Grant became CEO the picture has brightened with widespread adoption... View Details

Keywords: Food; Global Strategy; Leadership; Production; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

January 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

People Analytics at McKinsey

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Olivia Hull

A private equity–backed fast food chain has hired McKinsey’s new People Analytics group to help it improve performance. As the final client workshop approaches, Associate Partner Alex DiLeonardo ponders the best way to present the team’s findings, especially those that... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Customer Relationship Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Measurement and Metrics; Performance; Performance Capacity; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Consulting Industry; Service Industry

November 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

ConAgra Foods: The Next Chapter

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

In 2005, CEO Bruce Rohde has almost completed the integration of ConAgra Foods' collection of 90 independent operating companies into a focused, value-added firm and was beginning to think about his successor. ConAgra had become the second largest food company and No.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Leading Change; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Food; Agribusiness; Product Marketing; Management Teams; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Rabobank Group: Leadership Role in Global Agribusiness

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

The largest global agribusiness bank has lost its triple A rating and is rethinking its global strategy as the leading global food and agribusiness bank. How does it position itself in the vertical value-added global food system? View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Globalization; Finance; Risk Management; Global Strategy; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

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15 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Find Your Pragmatic Path through Radical Uncertainty

social restrictions and reopen businesses? Other questions depend on the answers to the medical questions. Will government funds for the disadvantaged people and businesses be sustainable? What will happen... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson, Eugene B. Kogan, and Shirley Spence

11 May 2015
Video

HBS Alumni Jared Simon on Feeding the World Sustainably

01 Sep 2018
News

What I Do: Clare Reichenbach (AMP 185, 2013)

Foundation. Operating “at the intersection of pleasure and purpose,” in the words of CEO Clare Reichenbach (AMP 185, 2013), the nonprofit oversees annual industry awards (considered by many to be the Oscars of the View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; illustrations by Peter and Maria Hoey

30 Oct 2019
News

How to Recover Gracefully After Shutting Down Your Startup

June 1995 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Ready-to-Eat Breakfast Cereal Industry in 1994 (A), The

Ready-to-eat breakfast cereal has historically been a stable and highly profitable industry, dominated by the Big Three of Kellogg, General Mills, and Kraft General Foods (Post). In 1994, private label cereals are making significant market share gains, and promotional... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Food; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

August 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Unilever's Butter-Beater: Innovation for Global Diversity

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Jorg Zobel

Unilever, one of the world's largest food product manufacturers, has achieved impressive growth in Europe, primarily by acquiring local food companies. Initially Unilever allowed each acquired company to manage its own product development in a way that was tailored to... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Mergers and Acquisitions; Local Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Innovation and Management; Food; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe

May 1990 (Revised February 1993)
Teaching Note

Distillers Company plc (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E), Teaching Note

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

May 2022
Supplement

Thinking Outside the Wine Box (B): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign

By: Tomomichi Amano, Elie Ofek, Mengjie Cheng and Amy Klopfenstein

This case reveals the events that took place after the conclusion of the case “Thinking Outside the Wine Box (A): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign.” After reviewing Mekanism’s pitches for the Franz for Life 2.0 campaign, TWG executives felt that the proposed... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Social Marketing; Marketing Communications; Product Positioning; Advertising; Communication Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Social Media; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States