Publications
Publications
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(657)
- Faculty Publications (158)
- 2008
- Working Paper
Organizational Design and Control across Multiple Markets: The Case of Franchising in the Convenience Store Industry
By: Dennis Campbell
Many companies operate units which are dispersed across different types of markets, and thus serve significantly diverging customer bases. Such market-type dispersion is likely to compromise the headquarters' ability to control its local managers' behavior and... View Details
- 2008
- Working Paper
Performance and Control across Multiple Markets
By: Tatiana Sandino, Dennis Campbell and Shelby Yu
Chain organizations typically operate units across different types of markets, with significantly diverging customer bases. Such market-type dispersion potentially influences performance through two channels: it makes performance a noisier indicator of store manager... View Details
- November 2007 (Revised April 2008)
- Case
Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar: A Rural Business Initiative
By: David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi, Virginia Fuller and Mary L. Shelman
In rural India, farmers historically had limited access to quality input items for both their fields and homes. Indian conglomerate DSCL has undertaken a Rural Business Initiative to address this issue, establishing a chain of retail outlets throughout rural India... View Details
- July 2007 (Revised March 2008)
- Background Note
Staging Two-Sided Platforms
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Andrei Hagiu
Firms that aspire to develop two-sided platforms face a formidable challenge. Prospective users on each side will not invest in the platform until they are confident there will be enough users on the other side. Traditional strategies for dealing with this... View Details
- May 2007 (Revised November 2019)
- Case
Dollar General (A)
By: Willy Shih, Stephen P. Kaufman and Rebecca McKillican
Dollar General Corporation (DG) operates one of the leading chains of extreme value retailers in the United States. 2006 revenues reached $9.2 billion, making DG the 6th largest mass retailer in the country. With revenues growing at 9% annually over the five-year... View Details
- March 2007
- Supplement
IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge
- 2007
- Working Paper
Retail Market Structure and Dynamics: A Three Country Comparison of Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.
By: Jonathan Haskel, Ron S. Jarmin, Kazuyuki Motohashi and Raffaella Sadun
This paper compares structure and dynamics of the Retail Trade Sectors in Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. This is done using confidential establishment and firm level data for each country. By using micro data we are able to perform much more detailed comparisons than... View Details
- November 2006 (Revised September 2007)
- Case
The Bollingers: Negotiating with Wal-Mart (A)
By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel
Describes the negotiations by Howard and Marilyn Bollinger over supplying a new product line to Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer. The (A) case outlines the Bollingers' development of their product, the Wallpockett, documents their negotiation preparation for... 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
- April 2006
- Case
Big Bazaar
By: Ananth Raman and Laura Winig
Describes a high-growth Indian retailer, Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd., and two of the company's formats--Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar. Challenges students to debate the company's concept, its strategic decision on how quickly it would like to grow, and some key... View Details
- March 2006 (Revised October 2007)
- Case
The Parisian Revival
By: Rajiv Lal and Carin-Isabel Knoop
In mid-2005, George Jones had two jobs: head of Saks Inc.'s 41-store Parisian department store chain as well as president and CEO of the Saks Department Store Group (SDSG), an umbrella for seven chains with a total of 182 stores across the United States. In 2003 Jones... View Details
- December 2005 (Revised February 2006)
- Case
Migros
By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman
In October 2005, Urs Riedener, head of marketing at Swiss retailer Migros, is contemplating the company's competitive position. Primarily a retailer for foods and near-foods products, the cooperative Migros, with close to 600 retail outlets in Switzerland (but only... View Details
- October 2005 (Revised May 2007)
- Case
Friona Industries: Delivering Better Beef
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mary L. Shelman
CEO James Herring of Friona Industries, a leading U.S. cattle feedlot operator, has a history of leadership in the highly fragmented and often contentious U.S. beef industry. Friona has established relationships up and down the beef production chain to provide... View Details
- July 2005 (Revised February 2011)
- Case
Tanpin Kanri: Retail Practice at Seven-Eleven Japan
By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han
Toshifumi Suzuki, chairman and CEO of Seven and I Holding Co., was widely credited as the mastermind behind Seven-Eleven Japan's spectacular rise. Although Seven-Eleven Japan began as a small licensee of U.S. convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Inc. (then Southland... View Details
- April 2005 (Revised May 2005)
- Case
Exel PLC--Supply Chain Management at Haus Mart
By: Zeynep Ton and Steven C. Wheelwright
Exel plc is a global third-party logistics provider, serving clients such as Home Depot, Dell, Unilever, and Marks & Spencer. Describes the range of activities Exel performs for its clients and the capabilities the company has developed. Exel traditionally focused on... View Details
- April 2005 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
David Berman
By: Ananth Raman, Vishal Gaur and Saravanan Kesavan
Examines the decision of a hedge fund manager who is considering investing in a retail stock. The protagonist is concerned about the retailer's inventory level. Explores the relationship between the retailer's inventory and future earnings--and, hence, the relationship... View Details
- December 2004 (Revised December 2005)
- Case
Nectar: Making Loyalty Pay
By: John A. Deighton
Loyalty Management UK (LMUK) manages British supermarket chain Sainsbury's frequent-shopper card program, called Nectar. LMUK uses Sainsbury's sponsorship as the magnet to attract other retailers into a profitable, multisponsor loyalty network. Examines the economics... View Details
- March 2004
- Case
L.L. Bean: A Search for Growth
By: Rajiv Lal, Walter J. Salmon and James Weber
In mid-2003, CEO Chris McCormick felt L.L. Bean was in a good position to begin to grow again. For nearly 90 years, the company sold clothing and gear for outdoor enthusiasts through its catalogs and a single retail store in Freeport, Maine. In the three decades prior... View Details
- July 2003 (Revised December 2003)
- Case
Mitchells/Richards
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim
Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and high-touch customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy know internally as "hugging." The term is... View Details
- May 2003
- Background Note
How to Induce Retailers to Reduce Stockouts?
By: V.G. Narayanan
Describes how the lack of incentive alignment between retailers and their vendors can lead to stockouts. Also describes various means to reduce incentive misalignment and hence stockouts. View Details