Publications

June 2011
Case

Reed Supermarkets: A New Wave of Competitors

By: John A. Quelch and Carole Carlson

Reed Supermarkets is a high-end supermarket chain with operations in several Midwestern states. Meredith Collins, vice president of marketing, visits stores located in Columbus, Ohio, an important region with the largest market and the greatest impact on revenue... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Brands and Branding; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio

March 1994 (Revised December 2014)
Case

Humana, Inc.: Managing in a Changing Industry

By: Stuart Gilson

Intensifying competition and change in the U.S. health care industry force a large integrated health-care provider to reassess its strategy of operating both hospitals and health insurance plans (HMOs). In an attempt to increase its stock price and operating... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Restructuring; Change Management; Financial Management; Health Industry

18 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

It’s Not Nagging: Why Persistent, Redundant Communication Works

Research showed that asking employees to do something multiple times, whether in person or via technology, is especially common for managers who are under intense pressure to finish particular projects. Considering how busy most managers... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

06 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Cheese Moving: Effecting Change Rather Than Accepting It

With more than 23 million copies in print, Spencer Johnson's allegorical tale Who Moved My Cheese? is one of the best-selling business books of all time. Even 13 years after its initial publication, the book, whose characters include mice... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

15 Jul 2021
News

Hubert Joly Turned Around Best Buy. Now He’s Trying to Fix Capitalism.

September 1985 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Health; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Business and Government Relations; Nonprofit Organizations; Bangladesh

Program

Senior Executive Leadership Program—India

Summary India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. To seize opportunities and sustain success under shifting global business conditions, companies need executives who are exceptional leaders—confident... View Details

15 Feb 2017
News

You Should Consider Buying a Small Business. But When?

May 2001 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Submarino.com (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Meredith Collura and Luiz Felipe Monteiro

Enables a thorough analysis of Submarino.com, a B2C e-commerce company with a presence in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Spain, and Portugal. Examines the company's global operations as well as its organizational design and operating and management capabilities. Considers... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Globalized Firms and Management; Operations; Organizational Design; Strategy; Internet; Retail Industry; Portugal; Spain; Mexico; Argentina; Brazil

February 1974 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Bougainville Copper Ltd. (B)

Provides details of the mining agreement between Bougainville Copper and the government of Papua New Guinea; some historical, cultural, social, political, and economic information on Papua New Guinea; and historical and financial information on Bougainville Copper.... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Agreements and Arrangements; Mining; Business and Government Relations; Mining Industry; Oceania

2011
Case

Wrapitup

By: W. Earl Sasser

A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Governance Controls; Revenue; Employee Relationship Management; Planning; Customer Satisfaction; Problems and Challenges; Profit; Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Leadership Style; Service Industry; California

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

14 Oct 2021
In Practice

Reunited and It Feels (Not) So Good: Tips for Managing a Rocky Return

masks. We recently asked Harvard Business School professors whose research and expertise traverse topics related to remote work what advice they would offer managers and executives actively seeking to navigate these points of friction.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

August 2022
Case

One Tiger Per Mountain: The He Family Office

By: Lauren Cohen, Fei Wu and Grace Headinger

Roy He, founder and majority shareholder of his family construction material production company, was preparing to pass down the family business through its first generational handover to his children. His decision would establish his familial legacy and set a precedent... View Details

Keywords: Governance Structure; Family Business; Family Ownership; Strategic Planning; Family and Family Relationships; Leadership; Construction Industry; Canton (city, China); Canton (province, China); China

18 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

Marketing After the Recession

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge.... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail

Program

Rising Generation in the Family Enterprise

critical decisions. Learning alongside a select group of generational peers, you will crystallize priorities and develop a plan of action to guide the next phase of your life and career—and the next phase of the business. Details Address... View Details

March 2025
Supplement

Intuition Robotics: An AI Companion for Older Adults (B)

By: Amit Goldenberg, Elie Ofek and Orna Dan

Two years after Intuition Robotics opted to pursue a business-to-government contract with the New York State Office of the Aging, and put direct-to-consumer efforts on the back burner, it was at a crossroads. The partnership had been successful, and the company had... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; AI and Machine Learning; Resource Allocation; Business and Government Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry; New York (state, US); United States

30 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Future of IT Consulting

The explosion of "computer-to-computer" communication in the twenty-first century is triggering a growth phase for IT consultants. Harvard Business School professor Richard Nolan and HBS Interactive Senior Vice President Larry... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Consulting

January 2009
Case

Wolf Elmore Brewer, Inc.

By: John A. Davis

This case describes how Alex Wolf, the founder of a small architecture and urban planning firm based in Portland, Oregon, decides to offer partnership to two trusted colleagues, and then how strains develop in their relationship. It asks what can be done to improve... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Interpersonal Communication; Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict Management