Publications

June 2014
Case

Going Social: Durex in China

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Aaron Smith

When Reckitt Benckiser (RB), a leading consumer goods company, first entered China, it encountered significant challenges. RB's strategy relied on selling high margin products supported by cost-effective advertising and distribution, but the highly competitive Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Multinational Firms and Management; Internet and the Web; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry; China

October 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Cost of Capital at Ameritrade

By: Mark L. Mitchell and Erik Stafford

Ameritrade Holding Corp. is planning large marketing and technology investments to improve the company's competitive position in deep-discount brokerage by taking advantage of emerging economies of scale. In order to evaluate whether the strategy would generate... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Asset Pricing; Cash Flow; Cost of Capital; Investment; Marketing; Mathematical Methods; Competition; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Financial Services Industry

01 Mar 2004
News

Derek Ferguson

for Daddy’s House and other charities devoted to children’s education.) A broad revenue base is a necessity in a business hammered by illegal Internet downloads. “It’s had a tremendous impact,” Ferguson says, describing the 20 to 30... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries

22 Feb 2024
News

GCC Crossroads Aims for a Bright Future; Seattle Alumni Talk Leadership in Tech; Italy Preps for European Alumni Summit

participants has been overwhelmingly positive, lauding the panel discussions as particularly engaging and insightful. “And the networking opportunities were highly valued, allowing attendees to connect with industry peers, exchange ideas,... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

15 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: January 15

circumscribe citizen-employees, and they engage in production and trade. But individual corporations are no longer adequate to serve as the primary unit of analysis. Over the years, systems of distributed innovation-so-called business ecosystems-have become... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Introducing One-Step Photography - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Competitiveness Recruit Alumni Recruiting MBA Recruiting Recruiting Resources Alumni Bulletin Baker Library | Bloomberg Center Business History Review Harvard Business Publishing Harvard Business Review HBS Working Knowledge Close Harvard... View Details

September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Mrs. Fields Cookies

By: James I. Cash Jr.

Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Information Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Relationship Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Networks; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2023
Case

Mirakl: Growing The Marketplace Economy

By: Antonio Moreno, Santiago Gallino and Emilie Billaud

Mirakl provided the technology and seller network required for companies like Macy's, Best Buy, Walmart, Siemens, or Carrefour to simply design, launch, and administer a marketplace that included products from third-party sellers. What began as a basic business idea in... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Transformation; Technological Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Internet and the Web; Technology Adoption; Sales; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; Europe; France; Paris; United States

March 1998 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Hamptonshire Express

By: V. G. Narayanan and Ananth Raman

Presents a series of problems that face a newspaper publisher, including inventory level, effort level, subsidy for unsold inventory, and commission for sales. Each problem is accompanied by one or more spreadsheets. Students must make various operational decisions. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Channels; Motivation and Incentives; Performance; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Sales; Demand and Consumers; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

04 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 4

Industry By: Baldwin, Carliss Y. Abstract—This paper seeks to explain the technological forces that led to the rise of vertically integrated corporations in the late 19th century and the opposing forces that led to a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Aug 1998
News

High Honors

Business Administration, Emeritus Alumni Achievement Awards Ralph M. Barford (MBA '52) President, Valleydene Corporation Limited Chairman, GSW Inc. Despite occupying diverse industry sectors, several of Canada's best-known blue-chip... View Details

26 Jun 2000
Research & Ideas

Presentation Round-Up

HBS Professor Marco Iansiti and H.T. Kung, William H. Gates Professor of Computer Science at Harvard, solicited views on new directions for the Internet in a panel discussion called "e-Service: The Next e-Wave." The current shift on the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Kenneth Liss; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

12 Nov 2021
News

Alumni Business Leaders on Confronting the Climate Change Challenge

process solutions has become clear. And it is driving new business creation, as well as traditional business adaptation, at far higher than previous rates. With the evolution of our great industrial and financial base, we may at last be... View Details

August 2015
Case

Building an e-Commerce Brand at Wayfair

By: Thales Teixeira and Elizabeth Anne Watkins

Wayfair, Inc. comprised five home goods, furniture, and décor e-commerce brands. Wayfair.com, the main brand, which was responsible for the majority of sales, targeted the mass-middle home-goods market. AllModern, DwellStudio, Joss & Main, and Birch Lane were niche... View Details