Publications

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April 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr, Emilie Billaud and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

In February 2020, Nick Dalton, executive vice president HR business transformation at Unilever, reflected on the changing nature of work marked by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation. Launched in 2016, Unilever’s Future of Work... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Human Capital; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Human Resources; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

Research Summary

New Technologies and the Future of Food and Nutrition

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Ray A. Goldberg has been investigating the impact of new technologies on, and the functioning of, the global agribusiness system in the twenty-first century. He is currently developing a seminar to bring scientists, business leaders, academics, and consumer... View Details

March 1997
Background Note

Asymmetric Information: Market Failures, Market Distortions, and Market Solutions

Presents a conceptual framework for thinking about markets characterized by asymmetric information. Presents the standard economic analysis of "the lemons problem," and demonstrates how asymmetric information may lead to market inefficiencies and alter the distribution... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy

29 Jun 2021
News

Procter & Gamble’s Lean Innovation Transformation

08 Aug 2014
News

Seeing what leaders miss

05 Oct 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Online Network Revenue Management Using Thompson Sampling

Keywords: by Kris Johnson Ferreira, David Simchi-Levi & He Wang; Retail

April 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Soren Chemical: Why Is the New Swimming Pool Product Sinking?

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sunru Yong

Topics include distribution channels, pricing, and new product marketing. Jen Moritz, the marketing manager for Soren Chemical Co. is struggling with the poor sales performance of Coracle, a new clarifier for residential swimming pools. The performance is puzzling... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Mix; New Product Marketing; Pricing; Branding; Price; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Launch; Brands and Branding; Communication Strategy; Chemical Industry

22 May 2020
News

In the Lockdown Economy, Old Measures of Inflation Get It Wrong

December 2013 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Managing Online Reviews on TripAdvisor

By: Thales Teixeira and Leora Kornfeld

In 2013, TripAdvisor was the most visited online travel site in the world. It hosted a massive repository of information on hotels and travel services, and provided millions of reviews written by consumers. Consumers were becoming increasingly motivated to read and... View Details

Keywords: Online Word-of-mouth; Online Reviews; Hotels; Internet and the Web; Marketing Communications; Marketing Reference Programs; Digital Marketing; Customer Satisfaction; Accommodations Industry; Travel Industry

19 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Relative Performance Transparency: Effects on Sustainable Choices

Keywords: by Ryan W. Buell, Shwetha Mariadassou, and Yanchong Zheng

Michael T. Moynihan

Michael Moynihan is a Lecturer of Business Administration in the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School. Mike is currently teaching Creating Brand Value, an MBA elective course on brand strategy. He has also served as an Executive Fellow at Harvard Business... View Details

December 2023
Article

What Can Stockouts Tell Us About Inflation? Evidence from Online Micro Data

By: Alberto Cavallo and Oleksiy Kryvtsov

We use a detailed micro dataset on product availability and stockouts to construct a direct high-frequency measure of consumer product shortages during the 2020-2022 pandemic. We document a widespread multi-fold rise in stockouts in nearly all sectors early in the... View Details

Keywords: Prices; Stockouts; Inventories; Supply Disruptions; COVID-19 Pandemic; Supply Chain; Product; Demand and Consumers

Read Now

August 2004 (Revised July 2006)
Case

PROPECIA TM: Helping Make Hair Loss History

By: Marta Wosinska and Youngme E. Moon

In late 1997, Tom Casola, brand manager for Propecia, debates the best approach to market this breakthrough one-a-day pill for hair loss. This launch would be atypical for a prescription drug because of the key position of the consumer. As a result, the team's... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Communication Strategy; Customers; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product; Performance Effectiveness; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Pharmaceutical Industry

Career Coach

Ildi Nielsen

and consumer products companies. Ildi also spent 12 years as an Executive Search Consultant in New York and Chicago for financial services firms. She worked with senior executives to build their teams and with a multitude of... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance; Consumer Finance

June 2015 (Revised April 2018)
Case

WeChat: A Global Platform?

By: Willy Shih, Howard Yu and Feng Liu

WeChat was developed by Tencent Holdings as a lightweight messaging platform. As it grew quickly to become the most popular messaging app in China, it added a range of products and services that sat on top that were designed to appeal to a broad range of consumers and... View Details

Keywords: Online Platforms; China; WeChat; Tencent Holdings; Globalization; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Telecommunications Industry; Information Industry; China

Fall 2012
Article

Marketing and Public Policy: Transformative Research in Developing Markets

By: C. Shultz, Rohit Deshpandé, Bettina Cornwell, A. Ekici, P. Kothandaraman, M. Peterson, S. Shapiro, D. Talukdar and A. Veeck

Developing markets are a challenge for researchers who study them and for governments, business leaders, and citizens who strive to improve the quality of life in them. The limitations of the dominant development paradigm coupled with the need to focus on consumers... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Development Economics; Marketing Strategy; Emerging Markets