by Rajiv Lal - Publications - Faculty & Research

July 2017
Teaching Plan

Spectio: A Digital Lighting Company

By: Rajiv Lal and Sarah McAra

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 517-002. View Details

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October 2010
Case

Dubai Duty Free

By: Rajiv Lal and David Kiron

In mid-February 2009, Dubai Duty Free Managing Director Colm McLoughlin received the January sales report. He left the report lying on his desk unopened and went to walk around the shops as he did every morning. When he returned, he sat down at his desk, looked at the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Strategy; Emerging Markets; Value Creation; Retail Industry; Dubai

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September 2000 (Revised September 2005)
Case

New Beetle, The

By: Rajiv Lal and Nilanjana R. Pal

Volkswagen of America introduced the New Beetle at the Detroit auto show in January 1998 to rave reviews from the automobile press and industry gurus. Elisabeth Vanzura, marketing director of Volkswagen American had the challenging task of converting this enthusiasm to... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Leadership; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Sales; Auto Industry; United States

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June 2003
Article

The Impact of Frequent Shopper Programs in Grocery Retailing

By: Rajiv Lal and David E. Bell

Keywords: Sales; Customer Focus and Relationships

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January 2014
Case

Yonghui Superstores

By: Rajiv Lal and Keith Chi-ho Wong

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March 2018
Case

IBM: Watson and the Internet of Things

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

IBM has recently launched a business unit devoted to the Internet of Things. The group's leadership team needs to figure out the best way to quickly scale its business in a fragmented and nascent market. View Details

Keywords: IBM; Internet Of Things; Watson; Artificial Intelligence; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Industry

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February 2018
Case

Amazon, Google, and Apple: Smart Speakers and the Battle for the Connected Home

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

Amazon, Google, and Apple all offer their own smart speaker. The devices represent each firm's entry point into the connected home market. All three companies come into the space with their own strengths and weaknesses. Who will win? View Details

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January 2017 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Philips: The Shift to Value

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

Keywords: Smart Connected Products; Internet Of Things; Healthcare

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March 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Purolator Courier Ltd.

By: Rajiv Lal and Catherine Ross

On a fall day in September 2003, Robert Swanborough made his way down a thickly carpeted hallway in Purolator's headquarters in Toronto, Canada, toward a meeting with his two deputies. Several months earlier, Swanborough, then vice-president of Marketing, had been... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Customer Focus and Relationships; Leading Change; Marketing Strategy; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Research; Segmentation; Canada

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January 2005 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Parisian: productivity and selling cost

By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han

Presents the dilemma facing George Jones with respect to the high selling cost at Parisian Department Stores. The challenges to be considered reflect issues at different levels of the organization, including individual salespeople, the store itself, and the merchandise... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Executive Compensation; Production; Sales; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry

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September 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Documentum, Inc

By: Rajiv Lal and Sean Lanagan

Describes Jeff Miller's attempt to implement Geoffrey Moore's crossing the chasm ideas at enterprise software vendor, Documentum. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Segmentation; Software

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October 2016 (Revised January 2020)
Case

All Traffic Solutions

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott F. Johnson

All Traffic Solutions traditionally sold traffic signs that collected vehicle data to cities. In recent years, the firm connected their signs to the internet and began selling software that enabled cities to operate their signs remotely and collect data in a more... View Details

Keywords: IoT; Internet Of Things; Smart Connected Products; All Traffic Solutions; Traffic; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Digital Platforms; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Transportation; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

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April 2023 (Revised August 2023)
Teaching Note

Adobe's Customer Journey

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Celine Chammas

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 522-033. View Details

Keywords: Customer Journey; Marketing Effectiveness

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19 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 19, 2019

other outputs by autonomous machines. I argue that organizational researchers of creativity and innovation should invest significant energy in studying artificial intelligence and computer-assisted human intelligence, the ways in which... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2021
Supplement

Facelift at Olay (B) Case Supplement

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Ruth Page

Supplement to HBS Case. No. 521-002. View Details

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August 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Supplement

Facelift at Olay (B)

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Olivia Hull

This supplement to Facelift at Olay (A) explains the major steps Procter & Gamble’s skincare brand Olay took to reverse several years of declining sales. View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Demographics; Age; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Digital Marketing; Transformation; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States; Ohio

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March 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Transforming AMFAM

By: Rakesh Khurana, Rajiv Lal and Cathy Ross

On a winter day in December 2007 at the American Family Mutual Insurance Company (AMFAM) headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, Dave Anderson and Jack Salzwedel remained in the conference room after the senior management meeting had concluded. Anderson, CEO of AMFAM since... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Governing and Advisory Boards; Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Insurance Industry; United States

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February 2005
Case

Mahindra & Mahindra: Creating Scorpio

By: Tarun Khanna, Rajiv Lal and Merlina Manocaran

Details the emergence of a private sector automobile manufacturer in India that has created globally competitive and cheap versions of an SUV commonly available worldwide. Asks us to think about the parent corporation's next steps in leveraging this success. In... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Global Range; Multinational Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Commercialization; Expansion; Auto Industry; India

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April 2025 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Adobe: GenAI Opportunity or Threat?

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Allison Ciechanover

In December 2022, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen faced a pivotal strategic decision due to the rapid rise of generative AI image models from OpenAI, Midjourney, and StabilityAI. Adobe, a leader in digital media and marketing software with a 40-year legacy of innovation and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Ethics; AI and Machine Learning; Trust; Business Strategy; Technology Industry; San Jose

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March 2010
Case

Target: Responding to the Recession

By: Ranjay Gulati, Rajiv Lal and Cathy Ross

Within 10 months of Gregg Steinhafel's taking over as CEO at Target, the U.S. was mired in the most significant economic downturn in 50 years. Top competitor Wal-Mart had positioned itself well for the crisis, while Target's same store sales began to slide. While... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Strategy; Operations; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Competition; Retail Industry; United States

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