Publications

March 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Tequila Patrón

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Carlos Castellanos Rodríguez, Silvia Cacho-Elizondo, Samantha Rullán and Fernanda Miguel

Tequila Patrón was one of the most successful tequila marketers in the United States. Patrón needed to grow, and in Mexico, the second largest market for tequila, the brand was perceived as American. What portfolio and branding strategy would best serve Patrón to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Growth and Development Strategy; Mexico

Research Summary

Technological Resources and Corporate Diversification

To what degree do firms' technological resources influence diversification decisions? Silverman is examining how firms enter new markets to exploit existing technological strengths. Recent research includes 1) development of a framework to identify when a firm might... View Details

24 Jul 2010
News

Investing in India and the role of Indian entrepreneurs

October 1991 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Lotus MarketPlace: Households

By: Lynn S. Paine

Managers at Lotus and Equifax must decide what to do about their new jointly developed database and software product Lotus MarketPlace which has been criticized as a threat to individual privacy. The Product, which would allow small businesses to buy targeting mail... View Details

Keywords: Information; Business or Company Management; Rights; Ethics; Marketing Communications; Applications and Software; Product Marketing; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

Willy Shih is the Robert and Jane Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration. He is part of the Technology and Operations Management Unit, and he teaches in the MBA and Executive Education Programs. His expertise is in manufacturing, product... View Details

Keywords: aerospace; automotive; biotechnology; communications; computer; digital imaging; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; high technology; industrial goods; information technology industry; manufacturing; retailing; semiconductor

15 Dec 2017
News

Patient-Powered Precision

February 2002
Case

Fighting AIDS and Pricing Drugs

By: John T. Gourville

In early 2001, makers of AIDS drugs were suing to prevent developing countries from violating their patents. The issue was driven by price. The developing countries could not afford the market price for these drugs. At the same time, the drug companies were reluctant... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Patents; Price; Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Pharmaceutical Industry

September 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Mercury Athletic: Valuing the Opportunity

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and Joel L. Heilprin

In January 2007, West Coast Fashions, Inc., a large designer and marketer of branded apparel, announced a strategic reorganization that would result in the divestiture of their wholly owned footwear subsidiary, Mercury Athletic. John Liedtke, the head of business... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Sensitivity Analysis; Cost of Capital; Restructuring; Valuation; Cash Flow; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Finance; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Career Coach

Christine Van Dae

Christine is the Associate Director, Market Intelligence in the HBS Career & Professional Development (CPD) Office. In her role, Christine oversees the collection and reporting of employment data for... View Details

October 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Haier: Taking a Chinese Company Global

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Tarun Khanna and Ingrid Vargas

In 2005, Haier, China's leading appliance manufacturer, had over $12 billion in worldwide sales and was the third-ranked global appliance brand behind Whirlpool and GE. Describes Haier's rise from a defunct refrigerator factory in China's Qingdao province to an... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; China

October 1981 (Revised June 1985)
Case

Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (B1)

To be handed out during class discussion of the (B) case. Reveals that Vicks developed a second name and advertising positioning. Presents results of copy testing, and further test market results. Students have to choose between the two names and positionings, as well... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Health Care and Treatment; Product Launch; Health Industry

June 2014
Teaching Note

Google Glass

By: Thomas Eisenmann

In early 2014, business development executives at Google were formulating a distribution strategy for Glass, a wearable computer that projected information on a display viewable with an upward glance. Options, which were not mutually exclusive, included 1) continuing... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Distribution Channels; Technology Adoption; Product Marketing; Computer Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

March 2013
Case

Singapore Metals Limited

By: John T. Gourville

Singapore Metals Limited (SML) has declining sales but has developed a new product (curled metal pile driver pads) that, in field tests, delivers customer benefits that are many times SML's manufacturing costs. Jonathan Lee and Alex Tan of SML's Engineered Products... View Details

Keywords: Metals and Minerals; Marketing Strategy; Price; Business Strategy; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Singapore

10 Oct 2018
Video

FIELD Global Immersion Locations Revealed

November 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Houses for Africa

Traces the founding and development of Houses for Africa, a firm established to build low-income housing in Zimbabwe. Explores entrepreneurship in an emerging market, the problems that arise when complementary markets do not function well, and the importance of... View Details

Keywords: Housing; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Zimbabwe

Find at Harvard

July 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Activision: The 'Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer' Project

By: Alan D. MacCormack, Enrico D"Angelo and Kerry Herman

Mike Ward, the producer in charge of developing the Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer game for Activision, must decide whether to launch the game in time for the 2002 Christmas season. Complicating his decision are the lukewarm response from consumers to TV test spots of the... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Product Development; Customer Satisfaction; Projects; Business or Company Management; Product Launch; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Industry Structures; Innovation Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

2021
Working Paper

The Project on Impact Investments' Impact Investment Database

By: M. Diane Burton, Shawn Cole, Abhishek Dev, Christina Jarymowycz, Leslie Jeng, Josh Lerner, Fanele Mashwama, Yue (Cynthia) Xu and T. Robert Zochowski

Impact investing has grown significantly over the past 15 years. From a niche investing segment with only $25 billion AUM in 2013 (WEF 2013), it experienced double-digit growth and developed into a market with an estimated $502 billion AUM (Mudaliapar and Dithrich... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Investment; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis