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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(7,994)
- People (22)
- News (1,452)
- Research (5,464)
- Events (34)
- Multimedia (33)
- Faculty Publications (3,640)
- 01 Dec 2022
- News
Built to Last
development and company values, like doing the right thing, attention to detail, and continuous improvement. “We’re building an organization to last for the long-term, and doing it in a way that allows workers to manage their lives with... View Details
- March 2018 (Revised July 2020)
- Case
Nectar (A)
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Thomas O. Jones
In late 2017, Nectar was a rapidly emerging player in the “bed-in-a-box” online market for direct-to-consumer foam memory mattresses. Barely a year old, it had achieved a revenue run rate of $85M and looked ahead to another year of blistering growth. The founding team... View Details
Keywords: Direct-to-consumer; Growth and Development Strategy; Product; Diversification; Decision Making; Growth Management; Entrepreneurship
Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Thomas O. Jones. "Nectar (A)." Harvard Business School Case 818-112, March 2018. (Revised July 2020.)
- August 2000 (Revised August 2018)
- Case
The Atchison Corporation (A)
By: Joseph L. Bower
A new general manager uses a profit-center-based system to shake up an old line company. He then faces the task of placating a board member upset by the human consequences. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details
Keywords: Transformation; Profit; Human Resources; Change Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Design
Bower, Joseph L. "The Atchison Corporation (A)." Harvard Business School Case 301-020, August 2000. (Revised August 2018.)
- 2010
- Article
The Strategic Use of Brand Biographies
By: Jill Avery, Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan and Juliet Schor
We introduce the concept of a brand biography to describe an emerging trend in branding in which firms author a dynamic, historical account of the events that have shaped the brand over time. Using a particular type of brand biography, "the underdog," we empirically... View Details
Keywords: Marketing; Brands; Brand Management; Brand Building; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Managerial Roles; Strategy; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Biography; Success; Perception; Markets; Power and Influence; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry
Avery, Jill, Neeru Paharia, Anat Keinan, and Juliet Schor. "The Strategic Use of Brand Biographies." Research in Consumer Behavior 12 (2010): 213–230.
- January 2015
- Case
The Blonde Salad
By: Anat Keinan, Kristina Maslauskaite, Sandrine Crener and Vincent Dessain
In 2014, Chiara Ferragni, a globe-trotting founder of the world's most popular fashion blog The Blonde Salad, and Riccardo Pozzoli, her co-founder and business partner, had to decide how to best monetize her blog as well as her shoe line called the "Chiara Ferragni... View Details
Keywords: Social Media; Digital Influencers; Fashion Blogger; Brand Authenticity; Digital Marketing; Brands; Start-up; Fashion; Shoe; Chiara Ferragni; Celebrity Endorsement; Celebrity Management; Lifestyle Brand; Digital Brand; New Brand Development; Branding; Instagram; Online Followers; Fashion Blog; Marketing Partnerships; Brand Portfolio; Luxury Brand; Louis Vuitton; Dior; Designer Brands; Authenticity; Luxury; Blogs; Product Positioning; Commercialization; Consolidation; Brands and Branding; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Publishing Industry
Keinan, Anat, Kristina Maslauskaite, Sandrine Crener, and Vincent Dessain. "The Blonde Salad." Harvard Business School Case 515-074, January 2015.
- June 2024 (Revised June 2025)
- Case
Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light
By: Jill Avery and Celine Chammas
On April 1, 2023, social media content creator and influencer Dylan Mulvaney recorded a promotional post. It featured a video of herself drinking from a can of Bud Light beer, offering a virtual toast to her followers. Alongside the video, she posted a photograph of a... View Details
Keywords: Brand Crises; Brand Management; Influencer Marketing; Boycott; Marketing Strategy; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Social Media; Advertising; Social Issues; Public Opinion; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States
Avery, Jill, and Celine Chammas. "Dylan Mulvaney and Bud Light." Harvard Business School Case 524-089, June 2024. (Revised June 2025.)
- April 1998
- Case
Compaq, 1998
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden
In 1997, Compaq Computer Corp. had become a $25 billion powerhouse. It had accomplished its revenue growth projections, successfully made a number of strategic acquisitions, and increased its gross margins, principally by moving up market into servers, workstations,... View Details
- March 2014
- Module Note
Implementing Environmentally Sustainable Operations
Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainable Supply Chains; Sustainable Operations; Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Environmental Management; Environmental Operations; Environmental Performance; Environmental Policy; Environmental Protection; Environmental Strategy; Environmental Regulation; Operations Management; Operations Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Operations; Supply Chain; Business Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Safety; Social Enterprise; Quality; Production; Working Conditions; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Buildings and Facilities; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry
Toffel, Michael W. "Implementing Environmentally Sustainable Operations." Harvard Business School Module Note 613-090, March 2014.
- September 2005 (Revised April 2010)
- Case
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker (A)
By: Daniel C. Snow, Steven C. Wheelwright and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
Scharffen Berger, a premium brand chocolate, is growing rapidly and must decide where and when to add capacity in the production line and with what technology. The company must consider the demands of marketing, the impact on quality and reputation, and the economics... View Details
Keywords: Production; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Capacity; Quality; Expansion
Snow, Daniel C., Steven C. Wheelwright, and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld. "Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker (A)." Harvard Business School Case 606-043, September 2005. (Revised April 2010.)
- January 2002 (Revised September 2022)
- Case
Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower
By: Youngme E. Moon and Kerry Herman
Harry Rawlinson is managing director of Aqualisa, a major U.K. manufacturer of showers. He has just launched the most significant shower innovation in recent history: the Quartz shower. The shower provides significant improvements in terms of quality, cost, and ease of... View Details
Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Product Launch; Consumer Behavior; Product Positioning; Technological Innovation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Sales; Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United Kingdom
Moon, Youngme E., and Kerry Herman. "Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower." Harvard Business School Case 502-030, January 2002. (Revised September 2022.)
- January 2017 (Revised April 2018)
- Background Note
Introduction to Incentive-based Sales Compensation Systems
By: Willy Shih
This background note explains the structure of incentive-based sales compensation systems. View Details
Keywords: Sales Compensation; Sales Force Compensation; Sales Force Management; Sales; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; United States
Shih, Willy. "Introduction to Incentive-based Sales Compensation Systems." Harvard Business School Background Note 617-037, January 2017. (Revised April 2018.)
- September 1983 (Revised October 1984)
- Case
Syntex Laboratories (A)
A consulting project involving a mathematical model of the sales force indicates that Syntex Labs should nearly double the size of their sales force and drastically alter their allocation of sales effort to the product line and physician specialties. The questions are... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Salesforce Management; Pharmaceutical Industry
Clarke, Darral G. "Syntex Laboratories (A)." Harvard Business School Case 584-033, September 1983. (Revised October 1984.)
- November 2020 (Revised March 2021)
- Case
Sercomm: Operating in China Amid COVID-19 and Beyond
By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Gary P. Pisano and Bonnie Yining Cao
The COVID-19 pandemic had forced a production cut in the factory of Sercomm, one of the world’s major telecom equipment producers, in China. The case explores and highlights the challenges that Chief Executive Officer James Wang faced: How could Sercomm recover and... View Details
Keywords: Emerging Markets; Information Technology; Operations; Management; Health Pandemics; Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China
Choudhury, Prithwiraj, Gary P. Pisano, and Bonnie Yining Cao. "Sercomm: Operating in China Amid COVID-19 and Beyond." Harvard Business School Case 621-005, November 2020. (Revised March 2021.)
- October 1999 (Revised February 2000)
- Case
Steinway & Sons: Buying a Legend (A)
It is 1995 and Steinway & Sons has just been purchased by two young entrepreneurs. For 140 years, Steinway has held the reputation for making the finest quality grand pianos in the world. The past 25 years have proven to be a challenge, however. First, the company has... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Crisis Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Quality; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; New York (state, US)
Gourville, John T., and Joseph B. Lassiter III. "Steinway & Sons: Buying a Legend (A)." Harvard Business School Case 500-028, October 1999. (Revised February 2000.)
- December 1961 (Revised January 1994)
- Case
Plowman Poultry Farm
A poultry farmer wanted to expand production greatly and sought a large extension of his line of credit from his bank in addition to his existing loan on which he had not made payment. The Board of Directors must review a detailed account of events leading to this... View Details
Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Commercial Banking; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry
Hayes, Samuel L., III. "Plowman Poultry Farm." Harvard Business School Case 262-003, December 1961. (Revised January 1994.)
- November 1993
- Case
Mercedes-Benz
After many years as a German luxury car producer, Mercedes-Benz announced two major strategy shifts in 1992, toward a full line of automotive products and toward a globally diverse set of plans and activities. As part of this shift, Mercedes planned to build a major... View Details
Keywords: Business or Company Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Germany; Alabama
Rosenzweig, Philip M. "Mercedes-Benz." Harvard Business School Case 394-084, November 1993.
- December 1985 (Revised July 1993)
- Case
Scovill, Inc.: NuTone Housing Group
Describes a conflict between the corporate controller and a division president about labor standards, which the division purposefully overstates to protect its margins. Illustrates the multiple roles of standards, and the roles of controllers and line management in... View Details
Merchant, Kenneth A. "Scovill, Inc.: NuTone Housing Group." Harvard Business School Case 186-136, December 1985. (Revised July 1993.)
The Transparency Paradox
2013 Winner of Academy of Management Awards for Outstanding Publication in Organizational Behavior and Best Published Paper in Organization and Management Theory
Using data from embedded participant-observers and a field experiment at the second... View Details
- 2023
- Working Paper
Global Supply Chains: The Looming 'Great Reallocation'
By: Laura Alfaro and Davin Chor
Global supply chains have come under unprecedented stress as a result of U.S.-China trade tensions, the COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical shocks. We document shifts in the pattern of U.S. participation in global value chains over the last four decades, in terms of... View Details
Alfaro, Laura, and Davin Chor. "Global Supply Chains: The Looming 'Great Reallocation'." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-012, August 2023. (in proceedings Jackson Hole Symposium, 2023 (also NBER WP 31661). See feature in NBER Digest, Nov (2023): Economics, Politics, and the Evolution of Global Supply Chains.)