Publications

August 2014 (Revised September 2016)
Case

ANA (A)

By: Doug J. Chung and Mayuka Yamazaki

All Nippon Airways (ANA) became the largest airline in Japan in 2013. Having been designated as a domestic carrier by the Japanese government till the mid-1980s and Japan being the sixth largest domestic airline market, two-thirds of ANA’s passenger revenue came from... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Analysis; Economics; Price; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Product; Policy; Air Transportation Industry; Japan

October 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Loris

By: Shunyuan Zhang, Das Narayandas, Stacy Straaberg and David Lane

In December 2022, Loris’s executive team considered their go-to-market strategy. Loris was an artificial intelligence (AI) software startup for the customer service industry with two products on the market: 1) Agent Assist which provided customer service agents (CSAs)... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Startups; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Technology Industry; United States

September 2015
Teaching Note

Sustainability at IKEA Group

By: Michael W. Toffel

Can IKEA Group double its global sales within a decade by expending in emerging markets while implementing on its ambitious sustainability strategy that included focusing on raw material sourcing and suppliers’ production processes? The case focuses on IKEA Group’s... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Emerging Markets; Environmental Sustainability; Globalized Markets and Industries; Consumer Products Industry

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

Keywords: Supply Chain; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Brands and Branding; Decision Choices and Conditions; Family Ownership; Nutrition; Product Development; Investment; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy

October 2012
Case

Antoine Leboyer and ABR

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Antoine Leboyer (HBS '92) acquired the Swiss-based software company ABR in February 2008. He managed through the recession of 2008-2009, dealt with a tumultuous separation from the founder/owner, rebuilt the management team, and upgraded the company's software... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Corporate Finance; Acquisitions; Private Equity; Growth Management; France; Switzerland

Find at Harvard

Steve Wheelwright is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at Harvard Business School.

Following his retirement from HBS in 2006, he served with former Dean Kim B. Clark at BYU-Idaho and then from 2007-2015 he served as... View Details

Ryan L. Raffaelli

Ryan Raffaelli is the Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He created and teaches the MBA course "Leadership: Execution and Action Planning" (LEAP) and serves... View Details

Keywords: consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products; consumer products

Article

Competition and Cost Accounting

By: V.G. Narayanan and Michael Smith

The central theme of Competition and Cost Accounting is that strategic considerations may make it desirable for a firm to have divisions and product managers internalize something other than their true costs. In the case of transfer prices, a high transfer price... View Details

Keywords: Cost Allocation; Transfer Pricing; Decentralization; Bertrand And Cournot Competition; Cost Accounting

Find at Harvard

07 Sep 2017
News

Faber-Castell Doubles Down on the Pencil

August 2021 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kenneth P. Pucker and Eren Kuzucu

The Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (A) case introduces Allbirds as a footwear startup not only focused on simple design, comfort, and sustainable natural materials but on decarbonizing the wider fashion industry. Background material highlights the growing... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Climate Impact; Environmental Strategy; Innovation; Product Design; Supply Chain Management; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Product Development; Climate Change; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; United States; California

June 2009 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Evaluating Microsavings Programs: Green Bank of the Philippines (A)

By: Nava Ashraf, Dean Karlan, Wesley Yin and Marc Shotland

Green Bank of the Philippines was known for its product innovation and its ability to bring new products to market. In 2002, Green Bank designed an untested commitment savings product that both gave individuals access to formal savings and helped them commit to... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Innovation and Invention; Measurement and Metrics; Product Design; Success; Performance Evaluation; Banking Industry; Philippines

December 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Supplement

ANA (B)

By: Doug J. Chung and Mayuka Yamazaki

All Nippon Airways (ANA) became the largest airline in Japan in 2013. Having been designated as a domestic carrier by the Japanese government till the mid-1980s and Japan being the sixth largest domestic airline market, two-thirds of ANA’s passenger revenue came from... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Analysis; Economics; Price; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Product; Policy; Air Transportation Industry; Japan

30 Dec 2010
News

2010 Carnegie Mellon-William W. Cooper Doctoral Dissertation Award

September 2018
Case

Hunley, Inc.: Casting for Growth

By: John A. Quelch and James T. Kindley

Hunley, Inc. manufactures rods for the niche sport of fly fishing. It specializes in freshwater rods that are perceived as "middle-market" products, targeted at "avid" fly fishers. In the face of declining revenue and a decreasing price per unit sold, the company's... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Sports; Marketing Channels; Distribution Channels

February 2005 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Phase Zero: Introducing New Services at IDEO (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

Focuses on whether world-renowned product design firm IDEO's new customer service fits with the firm's strategic position and organization capabilities. Over the course of IDEO's 13-year history, an increasing share of revenues are a result of "Phase 0"... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Service Operations; Product Design; Infrastructure; Customer Focus and Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Service Industry; Boston; United States

November 2003
Case

Procter & Gamble 2000 (A): The SpinBrush and Innovation at P&G

By: William A. Sahlman and Ryland Matthew Willis

Describes a set of decisions confronting some managers in the oral care division of Procter & Gamble. They must decide whether to buy a company that has developed an inexpensive, battery-operated toothbrush. The company's product has done well in one market, but... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Innovation and Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Mergers and Acquisitions; Product Launch; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry

06 Feb 2019
News

HBS Professor Emeritus C. Wickham Skinner Dies at 94

Research Summary

Research Questions

By: Anita Elberse

One overarching question drives my research: What are effective marketing strategies for managers in creative industries?

I focus on three sub-questions:

How can managers in creative industries effectively manage products and product... View Details

October 2022 (Revised September 2024)
Case

mPharma: Scaling Access to Affordable Primary Care in Africa

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo

mPharma hopes to scale up to create the largest pan-African healthcare company ever to provide much-needed primary care in retail pharmacies; a reliable, fairly priced supply of drugs; and micro-insurance for drugs. They must prioritize launching a telemedicine... View Details