Publications

Video

HBS FIELD 2 Montage

October 2013 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Chobani: Growing a Live and Active Culture (Abridged)

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Matthew Preble

Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of the Greek yogurt company Chobani, Inc., was reflecting on what explained his young company's meteoric rise. The company held over half of the U.S. Greek yogurt market and nearly 20% of the total yogurt market. The company's innovative approach to... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Culture; Growth Strategy; Growth Management; Yogurt; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Agribusiness; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; Australia

August 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Gome Electronics: Evolving the Business Model

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Gao Wang, Fei Li, Tracy Manty and Waishun Lo

After 20 years of expansion, Gome Electronics has become China's largest consumer electronics retailer. It has opened stores in almost every province in China, acquired some of its competitors, and went public in Hong Kong. However, it has begun to experience a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Distribution Channels; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology; Industry Growth; Marketing Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Product; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry; China

Iavor Bojinov is an Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is the co-PI of the AI and Data Science Operations Lab and a faculty affiliate in the Department of Statistics at Harvard University and the Harvard Data Science... View Details

Christina M. Wallace

A self-described “human Venn diagram” Christina Wallace has crafted a career at the intersection of business, technology, and the arts. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business... View Details

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

21 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

When a Competitor Abandons the Market, Should You Advance or Retreat?

opportunity to redouble their efforts and grab more market share, or take it as a warning that it might be time to get out while the getting was good? A new research study suggests that more companies than expected see a half-empty glass... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Pharmaceutical; Health

September 2021 (Revised December 2023)
Case

On the Bubble: Startup Bootstrapping

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Tom Quinn and Annelena Lobb

Bubble was a software company in the low-code/no-code market, making tools that allowed users without traditional programming backgrounds or technical skills to build software. The case covers cofounder Joshua Haas’s engineering background, as he experienced a high... View Details

March 2010 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Toby Johnson (A): Leading After School

By: Boris Groysberg, Leslie Danford, Amy Lodge and Tereh Sayles

After completing her MBA in 2007, Toby Johnson, a former army pilot with the 18th Airborne Corps Rapid Deployment Force, joined PepsiCo's Leadership Development Program (LDP). For her first assignment with PepsiCo, Johnson accepted a position as a manufacturing-manager... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Compensation and Benefits; Business or Company Management

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 2003 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Richmond Events

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Kristin Lieb

The managers of British business forum planner, Richmond Events, are struggling to expand their conference offerings into new territories. At the same time, they are trying to decide how product managers, who are critical to event success, should be hired, trained,... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Innovation and Management; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Conflict Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Marketing; Service Industry; United Kingdom; Asia

June 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Netonomy

A new software product enables wireless telcos to offer a self-service customer service solution, lowering costs and improving service levels. Discusses the definition of good self-service. Examines how the company should prioritize its growth opportunities and what... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Applications and Software; Globalization; Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

13 Sep 2017
News

The Coming of Apple’s iPhone X

19 Nov 2018
News

Architectural Innovation in the Software Industry

August 2020 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Nubank: Democratizing Financial Services

By: Michael Chu, Carla Larangeira and Pedro Levindo

Nubank, a wholly-digital solution created to disrupt Brazilian banking, with 6 million clients and a $4 billion valuation after five years, must decide whether to expand to Mexico. The company was founded in São Paulo in 2013 by Colombian-born David Vélez to seize what... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Financial Inclusion; Digital Banking; Credit Cards; Banks and Banking; Disruption; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; South America; Brazil; North America; Mexico

June 2024
Article

Information Spillovers in Experience Goods Competition

By: Zhuoqiong Charlie Chen, Christopher Stanton and Catherine Thomas

When experience goods compete, consuming one product can be informative about value for similar untried products. We study a two-period model of duopoly competition in markets that have this feature and where firms can price discriminate between consumers based on... View Details

Keywords: Experience Goods; Competition; Information; Demand and Consumers; Profit; Price

January 2021 (Revised October 2021)
Case

iOpenEye: Theater and #MeToo in Nigeria

By: Caroline Elkins, Tarun Khanna and Joyce J. Kim

In 2014, Ifeoma Fafunwa, an award-winning playwright and director, founded iOpenEye, a commercial production company dedicated to driving social change through performance art. iOpenEye’s flagship theatrical production was called “Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True,”... View Details

Keywords: Theatre; Social Change; Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Arts; Entertainment; Social Issues; Health Pandemics; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Model; Nigeria

March 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Massive Incorporated (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Clark Gilbert and Victoria Winston

How do you go to market with a brand new product in a new industry? How does a business develop an opportunity and then adapt its strategy to ensure success? Who are the early adopters and how does a business work with them? Katherine Hays, chief operating office at... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Product Launch; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Advertising Industry