Publications

June 2012
Article

Pricing to Create Shared Value

By: Marco Bertini and John T. Gourville

Many companies are in competition with their customers to extract as much value as possible from every transaction. Pricing is their weapon of choice, and consumers fight back by rooting out and disseminating pricing policies that seem unfair. The problem is that... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Marketing Strategy; Price; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Relationship Management; Value Creation; Fairness

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April 2008 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Ti-Tech (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro, John T. Gourville and Craig E. Cline

This case concerns the selection and scheduling of orders by a small industrial titanium fabricator that recently has been plagued by poor deliveries and a lack of capacity. At the time of the case, Ti-Tech must decide which of four orders to accept, with capacity... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Metals and Minerals; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Supply Chain Management; Performance Capacity; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry

October 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Calgene, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and John T. Gourville

In 1993, Calgene is on the verge of introducing the world's first genetically engineered plant product--a tomato will taste better and stay fresh longer. At the same time, it is using biotechnology to produce improved plant products for the cottonseed and the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product Launch; Innovation Strategy; Social Issues; Production; Problems and Challenges; Biotechnology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

11 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 11

by US Airways. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/417054-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 317-088 T. Rowe Price and the Dell Inc. MBO (A) T. Rowe... View Details

May 1999
Background Note

Note on Behavioral Pricing

By: John T. Gourville

The note introduces the behavioral or psychological aspects of consumer price acceptance. Begins by reviewing the traditional economic approach to product pricing and consumer price acceptance--namely, that consumers should be willing to purchase anytime a product's... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Fairness; Price; Marketing Strategy; Behavior; Perspective; Public Opinion

2011
Article

The Consumer Psychology of Mail-in Rebates

By: John T. Gourville and Dilip Soman

Consumers who buy a product intending to use an accompanying mail-in rebate often do not redeem the rebate. To explain this behavior, we argue that consumers use an anchoring and adjustment approach to predicting the likelihood of redeeming a rebate. In keeping with... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Sales; Motivation and Incentives

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August 2019
Case

Apex Ski Boots

By: Kate Barasz and John T. Gourville

Apex Ski Boots has introduced a new ski boot that, due to its radical design, is meeting resistance in the marketplace from many retailers, ski experts, and consumers. The company must decide how best to drive sales in the face of this resistance. View Details

Keywords: Go-to-market Strategy; Strategic Change; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Sales; Change Management; Sports Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Web

Faculty & Researchers - Managing the Future of Work

de Chalendar. Managing Talent Pipelines in the Future of Work , Harvard Business School case, 2019. With William R. Kerr, Manjari Raman and Carl Kreitzberg. The Caring Company: How Employers Can Cut Costs And Boost Productivity By Helping... View Details

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Historical Data & Sources - Business History

Notes: Literacy rates are based on population surveys which were not conducted on a regular basis and did not cover many developing countries. Download Data Set in Excel Apollo Hospitals Apollo Hospitals Map created by View Details

May 2015
Case

Pricing in a Digital World (2015)

By: John Gourville

Dynamic pricing, especially as practiced by Uber and Lift, seems to be all the rage. In this case, we look at five interesting applications of dynamic price and price customization, each made possible by advances in digital technology. These range from the online... View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Marketing; Dynamic Pricing; Price Customization; Information Technology; Price; Entrepreneurship; Customization and Personalization; Product Marketing

Web

Bibliography | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Remembered by His Descendants. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2007. Loeb, John L., and Frances L. Loeb. All in a Lifetime: A Personal Memoir . 1st ed. New York: J. L. Loeb, 1996. Loeb Jr., View Details

September 2005 (Revised April 2009)
Background Note

Principles of Pricing

By: Robert J. Dolan and John T. Gourville

Presents the basic principles of pricing, including value pricing, price sensitivity, and price customization/discrimination. A rewritten version of an earlier note. View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Strategy; Value

Web

Student Research - Doctoral

Nancy D. Beaulieu, Jason D. Buxbaum, David Cutler, JoAnna K. Leyenaar, Sarah C. McBride, Olivia Zhao and Alyna T. Chien OBJECTIVES: This paper provides an examination of: (1) the frequency and net rates of change for general pediatric... View Details

October 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Microsoft: Launching the Smart Watch

By: John T. Gourville and Christina L. Darwall

Microsoft is on the verge of launching its Smart Watch technology, which will allow specially designed watches to receive up-to-date information on sports, business, traffic, news, etc. After several years of effort and millions of dollars spent, the questions now... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Information Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Performance Effectiveness; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology Industry

Web

Entrepreneurs | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

Howard E. Cox Greylock Michael Danzi US Labs William Donaldson Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Timothy C. Draper Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) William H. Draper, III Draper Richards, L.P. T. J. Dermot Dunphy Sealed Air Charles Ellis... View Details

February 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Bringing Digital to Wimbledon

By: John T. Gourville and David Arnold

It was mid-December 2016 as Alexandra (Alex) Willis read with satisfaction that The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) had won yet another award for its use of social media to reach its fan base. As the organizer and host of “The Championships, Wimbledon,”... View Details

Keywords: Wimbledon; London; Digital; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Online Technology

Web

Advisory Board - Entrepreneurship

Carnegie Mellon University and the Distinguished Teaching Award at Stanford University. He is a co-author (with Professors Charles T. Horngren and George Foster) of the leading cost accounting textbook,Cost Accounting: A Managerial... View Details

Web

Winners & Runners-Up | New Venture Competition

bridges in the United States at risk. Quickstor Rebecca Greene Todd Rudnianyn Business Track Runner-Up This new venture has developed a mobile app to facilitate the process of finding self-storage facilities, now used by half of all U.S.... View Details

March 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Background Note

Seeing What's on Red Auerbach's Mind

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and John T. Gourville

Analysis of an interview with Red Auerbach, HBR No. 87201. Alan M. Webber, who conducted the interview, probed for the lessons that Auerbach has learned from a long and productive career coaching and managing the Boston Celtics, a professional basketball team in the... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Research; Sports; Product Development; Communication Intention and Meaning; Sports Industry