Publications

April 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Soren Chemical: Why Is the New Swimming Pool Product Sinking?

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sunru Yong

Topics include distribution channels, pricing, and new product marketing. Jen Moritz, the marketing manager for Soren Chemical Co. is struggling with the poor sales performance of Coracle, a new clarifier for residential swimming pools. The performance is puzzling... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Mix; New Product Marketing; Pricing; Branding; Price; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Communication Strategy; Chemical Industry

19 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 19

September 2017 Management Science Channel Integration, Sales Dispersion, and Inventory Management By: Gallino, Santiago, Antonio Moreno, and Ioannis Stamatopoulos Abstract—We study the effects of the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January – February 2011
Article

'Bricks and Clicks': The Impact of Product Returns on the Strategies of Multichannel Retailers

By: Elie Ofek, Zsolt Katona and Miklos Sarvary

The Internet has increased the flexibility of retailers, allowing them to operate an online arm in addition to their physical stores. The online channel offers potential benefits in selling to customer segments that value the convenience of online shopping, but it also... View Details

Keywords: Price; Profit; Marketing Channels; Consumer Behavior; Online Technology; Retail Industry

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May 2013
Case

Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong

Altius Golf is the clear leader in the golf ball market despite a long-term decline in the number of golfers and a drop in sales following the financial crisis. The firm has maintained its position by introducing generations of advanced, super-premium golf balls that... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Distribution Channels; Sports; Financial Crisis; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Research Summary

Managing the Manufacturer-Retailer Interface

By: Janice H. Hammond

Janice H. Hammond is studying the impact of coordination on the performance of manufacturing and retail channels. The focus of her research is on the supply "channel", the set of firms that undertakes the chain of activities that begins with acquisition of raw... View Details

November 2023
Case

Swanson Health: Becoming a Super Seller

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and Paige Boehmcke

Founded in 1969, Swanson Health sold vitamins, supplements, natural health products, and organic foods. Over the years, the company had successfully navigated multiple industry transitions as it expanded from a print catalog to sell products on its own... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Transition; Growth Management; Distribution Channels; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

28 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

B2B Branding: Does it Work?

Interbrand's 10 most valuable global brands, we find Microsoft, Intel, IBM, and GE. All generate far more B2B revenues than sales to end consumers. An HBS research team recently conducted a study of top B2B global brands. These brands... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Consumer Products

26 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way to Go to Market

supplier thinks about ways to get the product/service out to the customer. If the company achieves its sales goals, it lulls the company into the assumption that the channels must be right. For all you know... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2018
Working Paper

Trade Creditors' Information Advantage

By: Victoria Ivashina and Benjamin Iverson

Using information on the sales of debt claims for 132 U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, we show that large trade creditors’ decisions to sell receivables of a distressed company in bankruptcy are predictive of lower recovery rates, and that in such cases these... View Details

Keywords: Trade Credit; Distress; Bankruptcy; Credit; Information; Insolvency and Bankruptcy

2019
Book

Operations in an Omnichannel World

By: Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno

The world of retailing has changed dramatically in the past decade. Sales originating at online channels have been steadily increasing, and even for sales transacted at brick-and-mortar channels, a much larger fraction of sales is affected by online channels in... View Details

Keywords: Omnichannel; Omnichannel Retail; Retail; Operations; Management; Supply Chain Management; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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September 2014
Case

FormPrint Ortho500

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Alisa Zalosh

The Senior Vice President of FormPrint's Medical Products business unit is considering issues raised by the upcoming introduction of a new 3D printing system, the Ortho500, which could print custom exoskeletal orthopedic splints, braces, and casts that conformed to a... View Details

Keywords: B2B Marketing; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Product Development; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

21 May 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Incentives versus Reciprocity: Insights from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung & Das Narayandas

September 2018
Case

Hunley, Inc.: Casting for Growth

By: John A. Quelch and James T. Kindley

Hunley, Inc. manufactures rods for the niche sport of fly fishing. It specializes in freshwater rods that are perceived as "middle-market" products, targeted at "avid" fly fishers. In the face of declining revenue and a decreasing price per unit sold, the company's... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Sports; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels

November 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Precision Agriculture at AGCO

By: Rajiv Lal, Alicia Dadlani and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

In 2024, AGCO, a leading agricultural equipment manufacturer, sought to improve its customers net farm income by 20% over five years by becoming a comprehensive one-stop precision agriculture solutions provider and strengthening its dual channel sales approach –... View Details

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

November 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Almarai Company: Milk and Modernization in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

By: Kristin Fabbe, Safwan Al-Amin, Esel Cekin and Natalie Kindred

With SAR 14 billion ($3.7 billion) in 2017 revenues, Almarai was Saudi Arabia’s largest dairy producer, distributor, and marketer, with a large portfolio of branded dairy products, juices, bakery goods, and infant formula and a sales presence across the Gulf region,... View Details

December 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

21Seeds: Taking Shots at Breakout Growth

By: Elie Ofek, Julian De Freitas, Michael Moynihan and Nicole Tempest Keller

21Seeds, a female-founded flavor-infused tequila startup launched in 2019, had made inroads into the alcoholic beverage industry by focusing on an underserved consumer segment in spirits—women, primarily in their 30s and 40s, many of whom were moms—and by following a... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution Channels; Sales; Food and Beverage Industry

13 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 13

whether, when, and for which type of customer the introduction of a new channel helps and hurts sales in existing channels. Our framework separates short- and long-run effects by analyzing underlying View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2017 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Armarium: Luxury Fashion Brands for Rent

By: Jill Avery, David Fubini, Natasha Dossa and Devon Stewart

Armarium, a two-sided online platform that offered consumers the opportunity to rent the most coveted, current season high fashion clothing and accessories from the top global luxury brands, had emerged from its first sales season with two distinct customer segments:... View Details