Publications

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rural Taobao: Alibaba's Expansion into Rural E-Commerce

By: Tarun Khanna, Ryan Allen, Adam Frost and Wesley Koo

Alibaba's Rural Taobao initiative had been launched in 2014 as a public service initiative to increase e-commerce adoption in China’s remote rural areas. In the first two iterations of the initiative, dubbed “1.0” and “2.0,” Alibaba had partnered with local businesses... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Growth; Ecommerce; Corporate Social Responsibility; Business And Government; Emerging Market; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Emerging Markets; Rural Scope; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Decision Making; E-commerce; China

February 2007
Case

Update: The Music Industry in 2006

By: John R. Wells and Elizabeth Raabe

The global recorded music industry was undergoing a major transition in 2006. Sales had been declining for a decade, and consumers were buying music in new formats and through different distribution channels. CD sales still accounted for the majority of revenues, but... View Details

Keywords: History; Arts; Music Entertainment; Intellectual Property; Market Timing; Performance Evaluation; Trends; Music Industry

Research Summary

Markets, Information, and Efficiency

Professor Meulbroeks market efficiency research focuses on the closely related questions of whether markets properly reflect information that affects a firm's value, and in turn how stock prices influence managerial behavior. In this area, she studies why some firms... View Details

March 2001 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Venture Capital Vignettes

By: G. Felda Hardymon

Presents three fictionalized but realistic situations in which a venture capitalist may find himself. One situation requires crisis intervention to quell a dispute between a vice president of sales and a CEO; another poses the problem of working out the composition of... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Crisis Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Executive Compensation; Situation or Environment; Employee Relationship Management; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry

January 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Exercise

WineMaster.com (A-1): Confidential Instructions for WineMaster

By: Guhan Subramanian

A two-person negotiation exercise involving the potential sale of a small e-commerce company to a large company. The parties need to negotiate four issues: the number of shares in the deal, the vesting period for the shares, whether the seller will get a seat on the... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Negotiation Process

September 1993 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Loctite Corp.: International Distribution

By: John A. Quelch

Loctite Corp., dissatisfied with the sales growth achieved by its independent distributor in Hong Kong, is considering whether to find a new distributor or acquire a controlling interest in a wholly owned subsidiary covering Hong Kong and possibly other markets.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Globalization; Market Participation; Industrial Products Industry; Hong Kong

18 Mar 2021
News

Analysis: Firms’ Surveillance Use Risks Squashing Positive Compliance Behavior, Culture Change Gains

August 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Cherkizovsky Group, The (A) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

Describes the transformation of a formerly state-owned meat processing plant in Russia into a privately owned and operated food processing conglomerate under Russia's economic reforms of the 1990s. Among the challenges the CEO, Igor Babaev, and his top management team... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Conglomerates; Privatization; Transformation; Management Teams; Sales; Brands and Branding; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Crisis Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

Find at Harvard

06 Nov 2014
News

Why reports of the death of the salesman are greatly exaggerated

18 Jun 2019
News

Where Is Your Company Most Prone to Lapses in Integrity?

May 2013
Case

Launching Krispy Natural: Cracking the Product Management Code

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Heather Beckham

Pemberton Products is a U.S. market leader in the cookie and bakery snacks segment of the sweet snack market. Looking to expand into the salty snack market, the company acquires Krispy Inc., a maker of salty snack crackers located in the southeastern U.S. To compete... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Competition; Organizational Culture; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Acquisition; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio; United States

24 Jun 2019
Blog Post

Chloe Ho, MBA 2019: Data-Driven and In Demand

After graduating at the University of Pennsylvania in 2012, Chloe Ho (MBA 2019) began her post-undergrad career in New York working for Morgan Stanley. While there, she served in a strategy and analytics role, working on projects for View Details

Keywords: Technology

January 2017 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Navistar International: Competing Against PACCAR

By: Benjamin Esty, Eric Van den Steen and Jeffrey Boyar

In 2013, Navistar was in the midst of a deep crisis, having lost a third of its market share over the previous three years. Bill Kozek, the new president of Navistar North America Truck and Sales division needs to develop his division’s strategy as part of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Alignment; Competitive Advantage; Segmentation; Transportation Industry; Motorcycle Industry

August 1994
Case

Kyocera Corporation: The Amoeba Management System

Describes Kyocera's unusual approach to profit centers. The firm's basic units of operation are profit centers called "amoebas," which are sales or manufacturing units with full responsibility for their planning, decision making, and administration. Amoebas are... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Organizational Structure; Profit; Management Systems; Manufacturing Industry

April 2005 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Evergreen Investments: Mobile CRM (A)

Evergreen Investments has had a troubled history with its customer relationship management (CRM) system. Sales agents feel that they derive no value from it and that it is a tax on their jobs. Evergreen is investigating whether it can improve CRM by making its data... View Details

Keywords: Management; Customer Relationship Management; Information Technology; Financial Services Industry

26 Mar 2018
News

She Was Given Three Years To Live. So She Transformed Cancer Research

January 1990 (Revised February 1990)
Case

MSA: The Software Company--Planning the AMAPs Product Line

By: Robert J. Dolan

MSA has commissioned a major market research study to assess demand potential for a computer software system designed for aerospace and defense contractors. Students must evaluate the results of the study (including a conjoint analysis) to assess whether MSA should... View Details

Keywords: Product; Marketing; Mathematical Methods; Software

October 1990
Case

Beauregard Textile Co.

By: Francis Aguilar

The sales manager and controller have to decide on a price for a textile that lost significant market share as a result of a recent price increase. Information on manufacturing costs and on the pricing behavior of Beauregard and its only competitor are available for... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Inflation and Deflation; Consumer Behavior; Apparel and Accessories Industry