Publications

27 Mar 2015
News

Small Company Aims to Provide Primary Care for the Masses

23 Mar 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Cost-cutting Leads to Turbulence in the Airline Industry

Keywords: Re: Susanna Gallani; Air Transportation; Travel

May 2003
Case

Liz Claiborne, Inc.

By: Rajiv Lal, Walter J. Salmon and Edie Prescott

Discusses the business portfolio emphasis of a large multibrand manufacturer and the future of department stores as well as how relationships between manufacturers and key customers can be improved. View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Investment Portfolio; Brands and Branding; Production; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Das Narayandas is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Technology degree in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB), a Post-Graduate... View Details

Keywords: advertising; beauty products; biotechnology; computer; electrical equipment; electronics; entertainment; federal government; high technology; industrial goods; information technology industry; internet; management consulting; manufacturing; marketing industry; professional services; retailing; telecommunications; transportation

Janice H. Hammond

Janice H. Hammond is the Jesse Philips Professor of Manufacturing. She currently serves as coursehead for the new MBA required course, Data Science for Managers. She serves as program chair for the HBS Executive Education International Women’s Foundation and Women’s... View Details

Keywords: apparel; distribution; e-commerce industry; manufacturing; retailing; textiles; transportation

22 Aug 2008
News

New Book Examines How to Execute Strategy

October 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Thermo Fisher Scientific: Foray into Contract Research

By: Satish Tadikonda, William Marks and Kevin Emancipator

After publicly declaring that they would not enter the contract research organization (CRO) business in 2017, Thermo Fisher purchased Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), one of the biggest players in the CRO space, in 2021. Much had changed in the intervening... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Biotechnology Industry

October 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Magazine Luiza: Building a Retail Model of "Courting the Poor"

By: Frances X. Frei and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Describes the innovative retail model of the Brazilian firm Magazine Luiza. Magazine Luiza enables low-income consumer credit by applying a flexible and nuanced evaluation system. Additionally, its dedication to customer service, employee motivation, and progressive... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Information Technology; Income; Innovation and Management; Success; Customer Focus and Relationships; Credit; Retail Industry; Brazil

May 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Creating Meaning for the Customer: The Case of GMACI

Excellence in exploiting customer information and leveraging its affiliation to the GM group are among the strategic options that GMAC Insurance CEO Gary Kusumi is considering. GMAC Insurance, the wholly-owned auto insurance subsidiary of General Motors, formed through... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Strategy; Auto Industry; Insurance Industry

29 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

Building a Powerful Prestige Brand

drew large crowds of shoppers who came to see the entrepreneur, have a makeover, and sample her products. She had learned early on that touching her customers was a very effective way of establishing a connection with them. Photograph... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy F. Koehn; Beauty & Cosmetics; Consumer Products; Retail

23 Nov 2015
HBS Seminar

Gad Allon, Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

December 2018
Case

Choosy

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2017, Choosy is a data-driven fashion startup that uses algorithms to identify styles trending on social media. After manufacturing similar items using a China-based supply chain, Choosy sells them to consumers through its website and social media pages.... View Details

March 2011 (Revised June 2011)
Case

QuikTrip

QuikTrip, a large convenience store chain with over 500 stores, was known for its outstanding labor practices and fast, reliable, and friendly customer service. In November 2010, the CEO Chet Cadieux, had to decide how many new locations to open when QuikTrip entered a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Service Delivery; Performance Effectiveness; Expansion; Retail Industry; United States

2012
Book

Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies face. I show that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Learning; Values and Beliefs; Innovation and Invention; Management; Performance Improvement; Groups and Teams; Research; Strategy; Complexity; Value

Find at Harvard

May 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Hilti Fleet Management (A): Turning a Successful Business Model on Its Head

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Oliver Gassmann and Roman Sauer

This case explores the introduction of fleet management in the construction industry by the premium power tools manufacturer Hilti in 2000. Following its customers’ needs, Hilti moved from selling power tools to leasing them as a service. The introduction of the new... View Details

November 2017
Teaching Note

Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

CEO Art Peck was eliminating his creative directors for The Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic brands and promoting a collective creative ecosystem fueled by the input of big data. Rather than relying on artistic vision, Peck wanted the company to use the mining of big... View Details

May 2021 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

THE YES: Reimagining the Future of E-Commerce with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

THE YES, a multi-brand shopping app launched in May 2020 offered a new type of buying experience for women’s fashion, driven by a sophisticated algorithm that used data science and machine learning to create and deliver a personalized store for every shopper, based on... View Details

Keywords: Data; Data Analytics; Artificial Intelligence; AI; AI Algorithms; AI Creativity; Fashion; Retail; Retail Analytics; E-Commerce Strategy; Platform; Platforms; Big Data; Preference Elicitation; Predictive Analytics; App Development; ＂Marketing Analytics＂; Advertising; Mobile App; Mobile Marketing; Apparel; Online Advertising; Referral Rewards; Referrals; Female Ceo; Female Entrepreneur; Female Protagonist; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Creativity; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Channels; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; AI and Machine Learning; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States