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October 2016 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Essent: From a State-Owned Utility to a Commercial Company

By: Ananth Raman and Elena Corsi

Patrick Lammers, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) for the Dutch energy company Essent NV, once a state-owned company, was pleased with the progress Essent’s consumer (“B2C”) business had made: Earnings Before Income Tax (EBIT) for B2C had gone from a loss of €18 million... View Details

Keywords: Lean Management; Operation Management; Service Management; Commercialization; Operations; Management; Energy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Performance; Energy Industry; Europe

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2012, Hennes & Maurtiz (H&M) was the second-largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. Sales for fiscal 2012 were $18.1 billion and operating profits were $3.3 billion. H&M operated 2,776 stores, 93% of them outside its home base of Sweden. Over the past... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Decision Making; Strategy; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Fashion Industry; Europe; Sweden

April 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

The Dannon Company: Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility (A)

By: Christopher Marquis, Pooja Mehta Shah, Amanda Elizabeth Tolleson and Bobbi Thomason

At the end of 2009, The Dannon Company was considering pro actively communicating its CSR efforts to consumers. With the strong connection between Dannon's production of health foods and its commitment to health and nutrition-based CSR activities, communicating these... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Nutrition; Marketing Communications; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Food and Beverage Industry

November 2005 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Beijing Hualian

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

China's fifth largest domestic retailer faced intensifying competition from Wal-Mart and Carrefour with the opening of China's fast-growing retail market in January 2005. In response, Beijing Hualian developed a new "Family Store" format targeted at the nation's... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; China

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Organizational Behavior - Faculty & Research

Note: This case can be taught by itself, or it can be used as a follow-up to “Moleskine (A)” HBS No. 716-407 and “Moleskine (B)” HBS No. 716-4064. Keywords: Brands and Branding ; Organizational Change and... View Details

29 Nov 2010
HBS Case

United Breaks Guitars

in class is whether social media are better at destroying value than creating it. In social media an entity's size and brand recognition make it more vulnerable to parody and attack, not safer. As we accumulate experience with these... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

September 2023
Article

Customer Churn and Intangible Capital

By: Scott R. Baker, Brian Baugh and Marco Sammon

Intangible capital is a crucial and growing piece of firms’ capital structure, but many of its distinct components are difficult to measure. We develop and make available several new firm-level metrics regarding a key component of intangible capital – firms’ customer... View Details

Keywords: Customer Base; Transaction Data; Customer Churn; Intangible Capital; Capital Structure; Measurement and Metrics; Customers

SSRN

June 2023
Teaching Note

From Cradle to Heaven: Taikang Insurance Group

By: William C. Kirby and Noah B. Truwit

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 320-088. The case explores the rise of Taikang Insurance Group and its quest to be a leader of one of China's fastest-growing industries. Due to China's underdeveloped social welfare state, Taikang saw an opportunity for the private... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Government and Politics; Health Industry; China

26 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Want to Leave a Lasting Impression on Customers? Don't Forget the (Proverbial) Fireworks

always remember their last interaction with a brand when deciding whether to reengage—so a strong finish is worth the investment. That doesn’t have to mean fireworks, however. A furniture company may invest in a reputable delivery company... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Unilever—A Case Study

Langnese; and Sunlicht. The name "Unilever" was not used in operating companies or in brand names. Lever Brothers and T. J. Lipton were the two postwar U.S. affiliates. These national operating companies were allocated to either... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage; Manufacturing; Retail

12 Mar 2024
HBS Case

How Used Products Can Unlock New Markets: Lessons from Apple's Refurbished iPhones

Some of Apple’s most loyal customers think nothing of upgrading to the latest iPhone every time one comes out. But what about consumers who can’t splurge on a $1,000 iPhone 15 Pro? And what about the electronic waste that would accrue if people threw away functional... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Electronics; Information Technology

07 Jun 2023
HBS Case

3 Ways to Gain a Competitive Advantage Now: Lessons from Amazon, Chipotle, and Facebook

the price, Karp notes. In some cases, a company might keep its prices lower than the amount customers might be willing to part with to earn brand loyalty or hedge against market fluctuations. Similarly, a company may pay employees or... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

Entrepreneurial Management - Faculty & Research

adding new subjects, such as math and music. This product line diversification raised several strategic questions: Did Duolingo have the brand license to extend into adjacent subjects? Which areas were the best fit for the app’s growth,... View Details

Web

Video Clips - Creating Emerging Markets

consumers. Duration: 01:18 Ratan Naval Tata Ratan Naval Tata Base Of The Pyramid Ratan Naval Tata, former Chair of Tata Group in India, assesses the base of the pyramid market and the need to respect the dignity of those consumers. Duration: 02:08 Seema Aziz Seema Aziz... View Details

May 2011 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Nike Football: World Cup 2010 South Africa

By: Elie Ofek and Ryan Johnson

Nike's Football division needs to devise a strategy to excel at the 2010 World Cup games in South Africa. Nike has gone from a niche player in the market for football apparel and footwear in 1994 to a formidable competitor to Adidas in 2008 (with revenues of over $1... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Business Divisions; Communication; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Planning; Competition; Apparel and Accessories Industry; South Africa

29 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Why Do Outlet Stores Exist?

damages the brand," he says. "Anytime a company makes a foray into outlets, they are going to gain in the short term but damage brand image in the long term." To see if that was the case, Ngwe separated customers by a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Retail

February 2011 (Revised November 2013)
Case

The Cheezburger Network

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Cheezburger Network was a Web publisher of humorous, user-contributed content, using social media for dissemination, and selling advertising against the traffic of 1 billion page views per quarter. In January 2011, it raised $30 million in venture capital for the... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Digital Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Venture Capital; Emerging Markets; Strategic Planning; Sales; Internet and the Web; Publishing Industry; Web Services Industry