Publications

May 2023
Case

Natural Gas in New England

By: Robin Greenwood, Richard S. Ruback and Gil Highet

Participants in the New England power market are exploring several strategies to meet the region's renewable power goals while also providing its residents with inexpensive and reliable electricity and heating fuel. New England was a first-mover into natural gas power... View Details

Keywords: Natural Gas; Energy; Energy Industry; United States; Massachusetts

December 2014 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Dalian Wanda Group: The AMC Entertainment Acquisition (A)

By: Willy Shih

When Dalian Wanda Group of China announced its plan to acquire the AMC Entertainment theatrical exhibition chain in the United States, many people in the U.S. were mystified. Unlike China where theatrical exhibition was experiencing rapid growth, the U.S. market was... View Details

Keywords: Dalian Wanda Group; AMC Entertainment; Wang Jianlin; Theater Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Foreign Direct Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; China; United States

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (D): The Threat of Direct Digital Distribution

Examines the emergence of technologies for delivering video content to consumer homes via direct digital distribution and investigates the strategic options facing video rental giant Blockbuster Inc. as it tries to respond to the new technological substitutes. Examines... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Service Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

29 Mar 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Do CEO Activists Make a Difference? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Keywords: by Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

11 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Globalizing the Beauty Business Before 1980

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones

16 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 16, 2018

from analytics when they haven’t declared it themselves. If marketers avoid those tactics, use data judiciously, focus on increasing trust and transparency, and offer people control over their personal data, their ads are much more likely... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Jul 2015
First Look

First Look: July 7, 2015

Successful Products for Emerging Markets By: Winter, Amos, and Vijay Govindarajan Abstract—Multinationals are starting to catch on to the logic of reverse innovation, in which products are designed first for View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2007 (Revised July 2011)
Background Note

Retail Shopping in 2007: The Net Versus the Mall

By: Stephen P. Bradley, Nancy Bartlett and James Weber

Provides an overview of the retail sector within the United States as online shopping captures an increased percentage of consumer spending. The role of enabling technologies and applications, including comparison shopping sites and recommendation systems, are covered.... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Marketing Channels; Demand and Consumers; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry; United States

07 Jun 2016
Op-Ed

Can Brand Trump Win a Presidency?

commercial brand become a political brand? Is the commercial Trump brand extendable into the political arena? Commercial marketing and political marketing differ in two fundamental ways. In the world of... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Advertising; Media & Broadcasting

February 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Coca-Cola on Facebook

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

In late 2008, executives at Coca-Cola had to decide what to do with a fan-created page on Facebook that had amassed over one million followers in three months. From a legal point of view the fan-created page was in violation of Facebook's terms of service as a... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Governance Controls; Policy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Social and Collaborative Networks; Food and Beverage Industry

August 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Patagonia

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Hyunjin Kim and Forest L. Reinhardt

Patagonia was deeply committed to the environment. This commitment, at times, conflicted with the company's goal to create the most innovative products in its industry. Patagonia's founder and executives welcomed imitation of both its environmental commitment and its... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Environmental Sustainability; Business Model; Business Strategy; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

reduction from a peak of 9.1 percent in 2022 to 3.1 percent [in early 2024]. This cooling of inflation, while a positive sign, comes amid varied consumer sentiments. While some consumers have expressed... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Consumer Products; Consumer Products

22 Mar 2016
News

When Tim Cook speaks out on social issues, it helps his cause and boosts Apple sales

April 2025
Teaching Note

Tabby: Winning Customers' Digital Wallets

By: Eva Ascarza

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 524-056. Tabby, a Saudi-based fintech founded in 2019, rapidly became one of the MENA region’s first unicorns by offering buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services with a unique twist: instead of charging end consumers, it partnered with... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Business Startups; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates

01 Dec 2014
News

The art of the amateur online review

August 2006
Case

Dreyer's Slow Churned(TM) Ice Cream

By: Noel H. Watson, Steven C. Wheelwright and Brian DeLacey

Examines capacity forecasting and planning in a complex new product introduction scenario. The introduction at Dreyer's, a large dairy snack manufacturer, involves not only a new product but a new manufacturing process and product package, thus implying a significant... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Forecasting and Prediction; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Development; Planning; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

February 2004
Case

Bradman and Tendulkar, LLC

By: Ananth Raman and Vishal Gaur

An investment firm is trying to project inventory turns for Radio Shack, a chain of consumer electronics stores. The investment firm has access to public financial data but not to internal operational metrics. It needs to project inventory turns because inventory... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Cash Flow; Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Mathematical Methods; Valuation

June 2021
Case

uBiome

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Olivia Graham

uBiome provided clinical tests that sequenced the DNA of human microbiome samples, providing data on health conditions directly to consumers or to prescribing physicians. Founded in 2012, the San Francisco-based startup raised $105 million from top-tier venture capital... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Crime and Corruption; Insolvency and Bankruptcy

January 1998 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Funai Consulting Company, Ltd. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Tomoya Nakamura

In the summer of 1997, a consultant at Japan's Funai Consulting Co. Ltd., must decide how to respond to a client's proposal to offer "open pricing" (based on willingness to pay) to customers unable to pay the standard price for the client's product. The client, Akita... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Price; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decisions; Agribusiness; Management Practices and Processes; Business Ventures; Consulting Industry; Japan