Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(5,169)
- Faculty Publications (1,388)
- 2007
- Working Paper
A Taste For Obscurity: An Individual-Level Examination of 'Long Tail' Consumption
By: Anita Elberse
Because online retailers are often able to provide products in a more cost-efficient manner than bricks-and-mortar stores, online channels are characterized by a vast assortment of products. Proponents of the "long tail" principle recently argued that the demand for... View Details
- July 2007 (Revised July 2008)
- Case
The Beijing Dream
By: Arthur I Segel, Voon Siang Lee, Jialei Tian and Ying Laura Wang
The purchase of a single-family home is generally the major investment for most young couples in China. Shows in detail the process that a young couple goes through in late April 2007 to find, finance, and close on an apartment in Beijing within what they believe to be... View Details
- June 2007 (Revised April 2010)
- Case
Comcast Corporation
By: Anita Elberse and Jason Schreiber
In October 2006, Comcast executives had entered negotiations with broadcast networks to broaden the selection of free network content distributed via its video-on-demand (VOD) service. The major broadcast networks, however, were unsure of the effect it would have on... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Platform Envelopment
By: Thomas Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker and Marshall Van Alstyne
Due to network effects and switching costs in platform markets, entrants generally must offer revolutionary functionality. We explore a second entry path that does not rely upon Schumpeterian innovation: platform envelopment. Through envelopment, a provider in one... View Details
- March 2007 (Revised August 2009)
- Case
Aurolab: Bringing First-World Technology to the Third-World Blind
Aurolab is the in-house producer of IOLs (required in cataract surgery) for the Aravind Eye Care System, a group of charity hospitals with the largest volume of eye surgery in the world. Aurolab's manufacturing capability and capacity had long exceeded the requirements... View Details
- 2007
- Working Paper
Global Competitors as Next-Door Neighbors: Competition and Geographic Concentration in the Semiconductor Industry
By: Minyuan Zhao and Juan Alcacer
Despite the many advantages offered by technology clusters, firms located in them face the risk of losing valuable knowledge to nearby competitors. In this study, we argue that multi-location firms strategically organize their R&D activities to appropriate the value of... View Details
- December 2006 (Revised August 2009)
- Case
Disney Consumer Products: Marketing Nutrition to Children
By: David E. Bell and Laura Winig
In an effort to capture market share in the children's foods category, Disney Consumer Products (DCP) debuted a broad line of "better for you" foods, ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to frozen meals, through a partnership with Kroger supermarkets. In answer to... View Details
- 2006
- Working Paper
The Value of a 'Free' Customer
By: Sunil Gupta, Carl F. Mela and Jose M. Vidal-Sanz
Central to a firm's growth and marketing policy is the revenus and profit potential of its customer assets. As a result, there has been a recent proliferation of work regarding customer lifetime value. However, extant research in this area is silent regarding how to... View Details
- November 2006
- Case
Competitive Headaches (A): The Analgesic Wars
By: Dennis A. Yao
Addresses the problem of competing with a me-too consumer product. Focuses on Bristol-Meyers' 1975 strategy for introducing a competitor to Tylenol in the analgesic market. View Details
- November 2006 (Revised March 2007)
- Case
Lifan Group - Automobile Production in China
By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Tarun Khanna and Elizabeth Raabe
Lifan Group, one of China's premier motorcycle companies, considers entering automobile production. The company plans to assemble a midsize sedan, hoping it will be able to sell this car to affluent families in China and to export it. Domestic demand for cars is... View Details
- November 2006 (Revised August 2007)
- Case
Chongqing Tiandi
By: Arthur I Segel, Nicolas P. Retsinas, Joshua A. Katzin, Nadeem Meghji and Cindy Yan
In late 2000, Vincent Lo, a prominent Hong Kong developer was invited by the Deputy Mayor of Chongqing, China to undertake a major redevelopment of the urban core. Lo had previously successfully developed the landmark Xintiandi retail and entertainment district in... View Details
- November 2006 (Revised March 2012)
- Case
Clocky: The Runaway Alarm Clock
By: Elie Ofek and Eliot Sherman
Gauri Nanda is the creator of an innovative new product: an alarm clock named Clocky that, in addition to ringing, rolls around the room in order to force its owner to get out of bed. Beset by media attention and consumer interest but still at least a year away from... View Details
- November 2006
- Case
Organics: Coming Center Stage?
By: James E. Austin and Reed Martin
The organics movement has certainly come a long way. From hippie farming communes and a scattering of natural food stores in the 1960s, organics outgrew its origins as a counterculture curiosity of the 1970s to become the fastest growing segment of the food industry in... View Details
- October 2006 (Revised May 2007)
- Case
Academia Barilla
By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman
Barilla, the world's largest pasta company, has introduced a new high-quality, high-priced product line that features a range of authentic Italian food products sourced from artisan producers. Management believes the line will appeal to consumers seeking healthier... View Details
- October 2006 (Revised August 2007)
- Case
RKS Guitars
By: Elie Ofek, Thomas J. Steenburgh, Michael I. Norton and Kerry Herman
RKS has designed a revolutionary electric guitar and needs to decide how to best market their innovation. The iconic status of existing electric guitars, and the lack of any recent radical innovations in the category, pose challenges in securing consumer adoption. If... View Details
- September 2006 (Revised August 2007)
- Background Note
The History of Credit Agencies in the United States
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Manty
Provides a brief background on the history of credit agencies in the United States. Focuses on the mature process of data collection on an American consumer and how credit agencies share the information to determine proper credit risk and worthiness of a consumer. The... View Details
- September 2006 (Revised June 2007)
- Teaching Note
Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever's Project Shakti--Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer (TN)
- September 2006 (Revised October 2007)
- Module Note
Platform-Mediated Networks: Definitions and Core Concepts
Defines platform-mediated networks and introduces concepts central to their study. First, it defines networks and network effects; explains how network effects influence users' willingness-to-pay for network access; describes factors that determine the strength of... View Details
- August 2006
- Case
Dreyer's Slow Churned(TM) Ice Cream
By: Noel H. Watson, Steven C. Wheelwright and Brian DeLacey
Examines capacity forecasting and planning in a complex new product introduction scenario. The introduction at Dreyer's, a large dairy snack manufacturer, involves not only a new product but a new manufacturing process and product package, thus implying a significant... View Details
- August 2006 (Revised October 2012)
- Case
Natura: Global Beauty Made in Brazil
By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho
Explores the globalization strategies of Natura, Brazil's largest cosmetics company. Founded in 1969, Natura grew using a direct selling model. Led by its three founders, the firm made distinctive use of Brazil's diversity and became characterized by high ethical and... View Details