Fast Moving Consumer Goods - Publications - Faculty & Research

16 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Delivering the Digital Goods: iTunes vs. Peer-to-Peer

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Andres Hervas-Drane: The nature of competition is changing rapidly. Drivers such as globalization, deregulation, and technological change are opening opportunities for the development of new, original business models. Competition is... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Music

October 2023
Case

CornerUp: Digitizing the Corner Store

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Stacy Straaberg and Diego Zainos De La Sota Riva

In July 2023, Jason Diaz, co-founder and CEO of CornerUp, assessed the progress of his business-to-business e-procurement software application (app) startup, founded in January 2022. CornerUp began as a fast-moving consumer packaged goods (FMCG) distributor in New York... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Small Business; Transition; Decisions; Social Entrepreneurship; Geographic Location; Disruptive Innovation; Market Participation; Digital Platforms; Trust; Business Strategy; Expansion; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Value Creation; Technology Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

24 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Reducing Risk with Online Advertising

merchants with these same marketing programs. Q: How should consumers protect themselves from potential fraud? A: It's highly desirable to keep your computer free of the sorts of bad software that I've described. There is a View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Video Game; Web Services

20 Aug 2001
Research & Ideas

Making an Ally of Uncle Sam

moves as they play these games and these moves interact. They also seek to shape the rules in advantageous ways, for example, by undertaking a merger, or entering a new market. 6 2. Value-net games and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins, Mickey Edwards & Usha Thakrar

23 Aug 2006
Op-Ed

The Real Wal-Mart Effect

policies in the United States favor consumers and offer fewer protections to other interests than is par for the course elsewhere. Is such proconsumerism a good thing? The answer, at least in relation to... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Ken A. Mark; Retail

23 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

It’s Back to Business-Basics for Nonprofits

the audience, comparing the recent focus on nonprofit strategy to the rise of interest in for-profit strategy in the 1970s. In Bradach's view, the sector is on the front end of a curve, with nonprofits less afraid to look critically at what they do and how they do it.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

01 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

Are Free Trade and Free Markets Quaint Ideas From the Past?

consumers and workers, and the political realities of modern governments. That appears to be a central message conveyed by responses to this month’s column. Ian Brinkley raised the issue of shifting needs of trading partners as a problem... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

23 Jan 2015
Research & Ideas

Oil Price Fallout: What Happens Next?

The last six years have proved just how fluid the international oil market is. And if recent support of the Keystone Pipeline by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Nebraska Supreme Court (which approved the pipeline's path through that state) are any indication,... View Details

Keywords: Re: Richard H.K. Vietor; Energy; Utilities

06 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Sorting Out the Patent Craze

example, the current battle over the next-generation format for DVD. Will it be Blu-ray (Sony) or HD DVD (Toshiba)? Without an accepted standard in this case, and one does not appear likely, consumers will be forced to buy one format or... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Technology

25 Oct 2010
HBS Case

Tesco’s Stumble into the US Market

operandi has been to joint venture with a local retailer, acquiring good store locations and local management talent in the process. Tesco deserves credit for not taking a "me-too" approach in its US strategy. Tesco entered the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

12 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Power to the People: The Unexpected Influence of Small Coalitions

environmentalists, consumer activists, women's organizations, health-care advocates, and farmers—wield great influence in areas of regulation including trade, product safety, and labor. Read an excerpt from the book. "It's important to... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

07 Aug 2000
Research & Ideas

Rocket Science Retailing

double their profits—especially retailers of products with short life cycles, such as clothing, consumer electronics, books, and music. But despite the potentially high payoff—and a commonly accepted belief among retailers that early... View Details

Keywords: by Marshall L. Fisher, Ananth Raman & Anna Sheen McClelland; Retail

21 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty Debate Financial Reform Legislation

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act slated to be signed this week by U.S. President Barack Obama has been called the most sweeping set of rules for banks and Wall Street since the Great Depression. But what do... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

March 2022
Case

Abu Issa Holding: Navigating the Qatar Blockade

By: Mark Egan and Youssef Abdel Aal

The case follows Ashraf Abu Issa, CEO and chairman of Abu Issa Holding (AIH), as he contemplated the fate of his company’s regional expansion. AIH was a Qatari diversified holding company, whose primary business was luxury retailing and distribution. Abu Issa had set... View Details

Keywords: Luxury Retail; Expansion; Equity; Business Divisions; Growth and Development; Market Entry and Exit; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Consumer Products Industry; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates

Citation

Educators

Purchase

09 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 9, 2010

presents the results of a study that investigated the use of the underdog effect in marketing. The idea of triumphing over disadvantages by impassioned determination is said to be a powerfully positive image, which can lead consumers to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 11

separating activities that people are used to co-consuming-new digital businesses are disrupting retailing, telecom, and other industries. Decoupling allows consumers to benefit from the value created at a lower cost or effort compared to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Will Machine Learning Make You a Better Manager?

think about binge-watching The Good Place. “You look for prior patterns and use them to discover what the future may hold,” says Teodorescu. As algorithms have become increasingly advanced, they may start knowing us better than we know... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information Technology

04 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

Best of HBS Working Knowledge 2009

Your Skills: Managing Teams The ability to lead teams is fast becoming a critical skill for all managers in the 21st century. Here are four HBS Working Knowledge stories from the archives that address everything from how teams learn to... View Details