Publications

15 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

Deconstructing the Price Tag

When a company sets a price for a product, shoppers typically have no idea what it costs to produce that item. But it turns out that consumers reward efforts to lay out these figures—to deconstruct the price tag. In fact, new research... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

October 1981 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Vicks Health Care Division: Project Scorpio (C)

Reveals that the new products executives have decided to recommend national expansion. They have to develop a justification and preliminary marketing plan. Emphasizes consumer and trade promotion options. Students have to complete a five-year projected P&L statement. View Details

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

July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Pricing at Netflix

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and Amy Klopfenstein

Since its launch in 1998 as “the Amazon.com of DVDs,” Netflix had evolved from a DVD rental company to a video streaming platform and producer of original films and television shows. As the company matured, it regularly increased prices and adjusted its product... View Details

February 1985
Case

General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (B)

By: David A. Garvin

Describes what has happened since the introduction of just-in-time production techniques were developed to reduce inventory. Reviews the progress to date in such areas as process rationalization; set-up reduction; quality improvement and leveling the scheduling; and... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Logistics; Production; Business Processes; Technological Innovation; Quality; Performance Improvement; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Manufacturing Industry

September 2008 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Examining the Adoption of Drug-Eluting Stents

By: Elie Ofek

Marketers are often tasked with exploring the factors that impact the long-run adoption of a new product or technology. The new product under consideration here is the drug-eluting stent: a device which props open a clogged artery to the heart and then releases... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Adoption; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

August 2022 (Revised October 2023)
Case

Bajaj Finance: Building an Omnipresent Financial Services Firm

By: Das Narayandas and Rachna Tahilyani

Bajaj Finance, India’s largest consumer finance firm with $20.9 billion of assets across 50.5 million customers, is on a journey to transform itself from a traditional firm that sells loans and other financial products through brick-and-mortar outlets to an omnipresent... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Transformation; Financial Instruments; Customer Satisfaction; Internet and the Web; Customer Focus and Relationships; India

02 Oct 2020
News

Computer Simulations Are Better — and More Affordable — than Ever

January 2018
Case

Under Armour

By: Rory McDonald, Clayton M. Christensen, Daniel West and Jonathan E. Palmer

After 20 years of growth unprecedented in the sports apparel industry, Under Armour finds itself with a new record to beat: making the leap from $5 to $10 billion in sales—a feat only accomplished to date by competitors Nike and Adidas. At the heart of this challenge... View Details

October 2016 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Indigo Agriculture

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and Christine Snively

Indigo Agriculture had successfully developed and launched its first commercial product, microbe-enhanced cotton seeds, on an accelerated product development timeline. In late 2016, as the company was about to launch its second product, winter wheat, the management... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Agribusiness; Science-Based Business; Operations; Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry

11 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

industry lines as companies increasingly bring seemingly unrelated business lines together in unconventional ways. New research by Awada, Harvard Business School Professor Suraj Srinivasan, and doctoral student Paul J. Hamilton harnesses... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

March 2019 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Accion's Fintech Strategy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael Chu and Tricia Gregg

Accion, an NGO, had been a pioneer in microfinance since its entry into that sector in the early 1970s. Its investments in Banco Compartamos paid off, when the microfinance bank went IPO in 2007, leaving an influx of $138 million for Accion. Under a new CEO, Michael... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Impact Investing; Financial Inclusion; Technological Innovation; Strategy; Strategic Planning; Performance Effectiveness; Non-Governmental Organizations; Microfinance; Financial Institutions; Business Growth and Maturation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Industry Growth

February 1992 (Revised January 2002)
Case

BMW: The 7-Series Project (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Explores BMW's decision about how to manufacture prototype vehicles. Historically, BMW's prototypes were handcrafted by highly skilled artisans in the company's shop. A proposal has been made to alter the process so that prototypes are made in a way that can better... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Research and Development; Design; Production; Strategy; Quality; Decision Making; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Germany

November 2020 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Amazon: Cult or Culture?

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Tricia Gregg

Amazon was one of the first entrants in e-commerce. Under the leadership of founder Jeff Bezos, Amazon had expanded beyond books to manufacturing and selling a wide range of products and services globally. Bezos had built a customer-centric culture that permeated all... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Technology Companies; Retail; Human Resource Practices; Growth; Founder; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Growth Management; Information Technology; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management; Retail Industry; Technology Industry

May 2010
Case

Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Benjamin H. Barlow

Clayton Industries, a sixty-year-old U.S.-based firm in the HVAC industry (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), with nearly $1 billion in revenues, has gradually built a presence in a number of countries, including several in Europe. Peter Arnell, previously... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Conflict and Resolution; Sales; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Wisconsin; Italy; United Kingdom

09 Nov 2016
HBS Seminar

Robert A. Miller, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University

May 2023
Article

Self-Preferencing at Amazon: Evidence from Search Rankings

By: Chiara Farronato, Andrey Fradkin and Alexander MacKay

We study whether Amazon engages in self-preferencing on its marketplace by favoring its own brands (e.g., Amazon Basics) in search. To address this question, we collect new micro-level consumer search data using a custom browser extension installed by a panel of study... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; E-commerce; Product Positioning; Brands and Branding

February 2021 (Revised February 2021)
Case

World of Dreams Entertainment Group: Building a Resilient Business

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Sarah Endline and Michael Norris

In 2021, Ron DeShay, former American Idol producer, is launching his new business venture: World of Dreams Entertainment Group. World of Dreams rethought the existing TV production model, giving audiences more power to directly influence the creation of shows through a... View Details

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Media; Social Issues; Sports; Business Ventures; Digital Platforms; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; California; Los Angeles