Publications

January 2016
Teaching Note

Accor: Strengthening the Brand with Digital Marketing

By: Jill Avery, Chekitan S. Dev and Peter O'Connor

Teaching Note for Accor: Strengthening the Brand with Digital Marketing case View Details

Keywords: Digital; Hospitality; Marketing; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Distribution; Travel Industry; France; Europe

06 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

How to Do Away with the Dangers of Outsourcing

The recent collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh was a red alert for every company that has embraced the "virtual organization" model and the outsourcing that goes with it. The lure of the model is obvious. Virtual corporations... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati; Manufacturing; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

21 May 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Incentives versus Reciprocity: Insights from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung & Das Narayandas

21 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Parable of the Bungled Baggage And the Unhappy Customer

Late-arriving luggage proved to be a parable about customer service for Harvard Business School professor W. Earl Sasser. In this excerpted transcript from a new video CD presentation, Sasser discusses how a seemingly harmless budget trim upended an airline's plan to... View Details

Keywords: by W. Earl Sasser

2025
Working Paper

Code-Washing: Evidence from Open-Source Blockchain Startups

By: Ofir Gefen, Daniel Rabetti, Yannan Sun and Che Zhang

This study examines startups' management of source code repositories, distinguishing authentic developers ("code-producers''), from those inflating activity to mislead investors ("code-washers''). Using global blockchain startup and GitHub data, we find that... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Open Source Distribution; Business Startups

SSRN

2015
Working Paper

Markets with Price Coherence

By: Benjamin Edelman and Julian Wright

In markets with price coherence, the purchase of a given good via an intermediary is constrained to occur at the same price as a purchase of that same good directly from the seller (or through another competing intermediary). We examine ten markets with price... View Details

Keywords: Intermediaries; Platforms; Two-Sided Markets; Vertical Restraints; Price; Distribution Channels; Business History; Financial Services Industry; Travel Industry; Insurance Industry; Real Estate Industry; Advertising Industry

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2009
Book

Merchants to Multinationals

By: G. Jones

Merchants to Multinationals examines the evolution of multinational trading companies from the eighteenth century to the present day. During the Industrial Revolution, British merchants established overseas branches which became major trade intermediaries and... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Alliances; Groups and Teams; Distribution Industry; Africa; Asia; Great Britain; Latin America

1986
Chapter

Relationship Management of Distributors: A Proposed Framework

By: V. K. Rangan

Keywords: Distribution; Relationships

December 2019
Case

Walmart Ecommerce (B): Omnichannel Pursuits

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case is an abridged version (part 2 of 2) of "Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?" HBS Case No. 720-370. The (B) case describes Walmart’s omnichannel strategy in 2018 as it battled Amazon for online retail market share. Walmart aimed to... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; Bentonville; Arkansas; United States

September 2008 (Revised February 2009)
Case

BMW's Project Switch (A): Importers vs. National Sales Companies

By: Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

BMW is faced with potential channel conflicts across several EU country markets. The case highlights BMW's approach to redesigning its channel in Greece. The case provides details on both headquarter and country head perspective on BMW's channel strategy. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Conflict and Resolution; Auto Industry; European Union; Greece

2022
White Paper

Census II of Free and Open Source Software - Application Libraries

By: Frank Nagle, James Dana, Jennifer Hoffman, Steven Randazzo and Yanuo Zhou

Produced in partnership with Harvard Laboratory for Innovation Science (LISH) and the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), Census II is the second investigation into the widespread use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). The Census II effort utilizes data... View Details

Keywords: Open Source Software; Applications and Software; Cybersecurity; Open Source Distribution

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May 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Camposol

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

With $289 million in 2015 revenues, Camposol is a Peruvian grower, exporter, and marketer of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the high-growth, high-margin blueberry category. Camposol aspires to become Peru’s first multinational branded produce company. It... View Details

Winter 2013
Article

The New Patent Intermediaries: Platforms, Defensive Aggregators and Super-Aggregators

By: Andrei Hagiu and David B. Yoffie

The patent market consists mainly of privately negotiated, bilateral transactions, either sales or cross-licenses, between large companies. There is no eBay, Amazon, New York Stock Exchange, or Kelley's Blue Book equivalent for patents, and when buyers and sellers do... View Details

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Platforms; Intermediaries; Aggregator; Patents; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Distribution Channels

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Read Now

November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
Case

WESCO Distribution, Inc.

By: Das Narayandas

In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution; Sales; Balance and Stability; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry

13 Nov 2008
Working Paper Summaries

The Effect of Labor on Profitability: The Role of Quality

Keywords: by Zeynep Ton

August 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Shindigz

By: Frank Cespedes

Shindigz provides party and celebratory items for various occasions and events through its branded online channel, through third-party retail and wholesale channels, and external online marketplaces. The case focuses on pricing challenges facing a venture with an... View Details

Keywords: Ecommerce; Pricing; Price; Strategy; Decision Making; Brands and Branding; Distribution Channels; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry

2014
Book

Retail Revolution: Will Your Brick & Mortar Store Survive?

By: Rajiv Lal, Jose B. Alvarez and Dan Greenberg

In Retail Revolution, the authors go beyond the common belief of retail as a monolithic industry and provide a framework that any brick-and-mortar retailer can use to respond to the eCommerce threat. Through six examples, this book demonstrates how this... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Internet and the Web; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Retail Industry

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January 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial (RJF) currently sells financial services through two channels. It is considering adding a third in the "middle" of the other two. The current strategy has one channel with employees and another with independent contractors. These attract very... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Human Resources; Financial Services Industry; Service Industry

January 1995 (Revised July 1996)
Case

Pharmaceutical Industry in the 1990s, The

Describes the pharmaceutical industry in the 1990s, with particular emphasis on the mergers between American manufacturers and prescription-benefits managers (PBMs). PBMs are distributors with unprecedented access to information on patient and physician... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Use and Leverage; Distribution; Mergers and Acquisitions; Knowledge Management; Distribution Industry; Distribution Industry; United States