Publications

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January 2019
Case

Understanding the Brand Equity of Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Market Research Case

By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman

In early 2018, Nestlé announced the sale of its U.S. candy-making division and a select collection of 20 of its confectionery brands, including the Nestlé Crunch Bar, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion. Under the terms of the Nestlé acquisition, each of the purchased... View Details

Keywords: Brand Equity; Marketing; Market Research; Qualitative Research; Marketing Communication; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; North America; Italy

07 Nov 2007
Op-Ed

How Marketing Hype Hurt Boeing and Apple

Editor's Note: Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge. Last month,... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Aerospace; Consumer Products

November 2014 (Revised February 2016)
Case

DoubleDutch

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Matthew G. Preble

Lawrence Coburn and Pankaj Prasad, co-founders of the event solution startup DoubleDutch, have to make a significant decision about their young company's sales function. DoubleDutch's key product was a mobile application (app) and event management platform that... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Marketing Management; Strategy Implementation; Business Marketing; Sales Force Management; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Technology Industry; United States; Europe; Asia

October 2004
Article

FDI and Economic Growth: The Role of Local Financial Markets

By: Laura Alfaro, Areendam Chanda, Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan and Selin Sayek

The purpose of this paper is to examine the various links among foreign direct investment, financial markets and growth. We model an economy with a continuum of agents indexed by their level of ability. Agents have two choices: they can work for the foreign company in... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Financial Markets; Economic Growth; Cost; Wealth; Investment Return; Knowledge

April 2011
Supplement

Designs by Kate: The Power of Direct Sales, Faculty Spreadsheet (Brief Case)

By: John A. Deighton and Sarah Abbott

Keywords: Direct Sales; Consumer Marketing; Marketing Management; Personal Selling; Sales Compensation; Sales Organization; Marketing Strategy; Sales

April 2017
Teaching Note

DoubleDutch

By: Frank Cespedes

This Teaching Note accompanies HBS No. 815-044 “DoubleDutch” in which the co-founders of the event management start-up, DoubleDutch, have to make a significant decision about their young company's sales function. The teaching note covers: Opportunity analysis,... View Details

Keywords: Sales Management; Selling; Marketing Management; Strategy Implementation; Business Marketing; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Technology Industry; United States; Europe; Asia

September 2002
Case

Align Technology, Inc.: Matching Manufacturing Capacity to Sales Demand

By: H. Kent Bowen and Jonathan P Groberg

Align Technology is a four-year-old medical products company that has invented a new product requiring new manufacturing processes. Demand for the new product has grown more slowly than initial forecasts predicted, and the cost structure is preventing the company from... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Problems and Challenges; Product; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Demand and Consumers; Production; Health Industry

December 2012 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Plastiq

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Gaurav Jain, Liroy Haddad, Luke Langford and Matt Noble

The young CEO of a venture-backed startup needs to figure out his go to market strategy and the right profile for his first key sales hires. Should he develop partnerships with channels that would provide leverage or build out a direct sales force? And should the sales... View Details

Keywords: Payments; Sales; Channels; Credit Cards; Digital Platforms; Selection and Staffing; Cost vs Benefits; Salesforce Management; Marketing Channels; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Management Systems

19 Nov 2014
HBS Case

Marketing Marijuana

advertising of marijuana, retail storefronts in Denver, Vail, and other ski towns have become the marketing battleground—featuring attractive sales staff in quality retail... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

12 Mar 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Allocating Marketing Resources

Keywords: by Sunil Gupta & Thomas J. Steenburgh

April 2006
Case

Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness

Nutricia's Middle East and African region is transitioning from a trading to a customer focus. CEO Ernest Vandenbussche must decide how to market infant milk formula most effectively in a region where the information environment is much less rich than in other... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Salesforce Management; Customer Relationship Management; Emerging Markets; Nutrition; Performance Effectiveness; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Health Industry; Middle East; Africa

21 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

It Matters That Your CEO Doesn't Know Much About Sales

reality, Cespedes says that sales is one of the most contextually determined areas in business, varying dramatically across markets and industries View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Marketing Reading: Customer Management

By: Sunil Gupta

This Reading on customer management sheds light on how companies should evaluate and manage their customers in order to grow profitably. Customer management allows marketing managers to inform investment decisions by drilling down into each customer's profitability or... View Details

Keywords: Customer Acquisition; Customer Churn; Customer Profitability Analysis; Customer Retention; Firm Value; Organizational Structure

Research Summary

Corporate Debt, Firm Size and Financial Fragility in Emerging Markets

By: Laura Alfaro

The post-Global Financial Crisis period shows a surge in corporate leverage in emerging markets and a number of countries with deteriorated corporate financial fragility indicators (Altman’s Z-score). Firm size plays a critical role in the relationship between... View Details

August 2013
Teaching Note

Nutricia Middle East: Measuring Sales Force Effectiveness

By: F. Asis Martinez-Jerez

Nutricia's Middle East and African region is transitioning from a trading to a customer focus. CEO Ernest Vandenbussche must decide how to market infant milk formula most effectively in a region where the information environment is much less rich than in other... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Customer Relationship Management; Commercialization; Management Practices and Processes; Salesforce Management; Nutrition; Performance Evaluation; Information Management; Health Industry; Africa; Middle East

Research Summary

Overview

Dr. Burch’s research focuses on capitalism, work, and gender in the twentieth-century United States. Her work reinterprets the history of direct selling by placing it at the center, rather than on the margins, of narratives about advanced capitalism. Examining the... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Political Economy; Labor History; Gender; Marketing; Sales Force Management; Direct Sales; United States

August 2018
Teaching Note

IguanaFix

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Thomas Eisenmann

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-056. IguanaFix, based in Argentina, is a platform business that connects consumers with home improvement contractors. The founders are evaluating growth options and an investment offer. The case focuses on scaling issues for a venture... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Home Improvement Services; Marketing Management; Scaling; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Sales; Digital Platforms; Growth and Development Strategy