Publications

23 Jan 2008
First Look

First Look: January 23, 2008

strong differences remained among consumer markets. Although American influence was strong, it was already evident that globalization had not resulted in the creation of a stereotyped American blonde and blue-eyed female beauty ideal as... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2011 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Cree, Inc.: Which Bright Future?

By: David J. Collis, Mary Furey and Matthew Shaffer

After its founding in the late 1980s, Cree Inc. quickly grew into a major player in the emerging LED market. By 2007, technological improvements in LEDs had made them suitable for TV, computer, and mobile "backlighting"; and concerns over global warning led to calls to... View Details

May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

DVD War

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

In 2006, the DVD was the most popular storage medium in the entertainment and computer industries. The development of high-definition (HD) technology created a need for a format with greater storage capacity. Instead of agreeing on a single standard for a new HD disc,... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Entertainment; Business History; Intellectual Property; Product; Competition; Technology Adoption; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry

April 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Best Buy Co., Inc.: Customer-Centricity

By: Rajiv Lal, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Irina Tarsis

With FY2005 sales of $27.3 billion, Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy Co., Inc. was the leading retailer of consumer electronics, home-office products, and related services in North America. Its operations included the distinct store formats Best Buy, Future Shop in... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Operations; Business Earnings; Financial Crisis; Failure; Business Model; Leadership; Segmentation; Value Creation; Electronics Industry; United States; Canada; Mongolia

19 Jan 2011
First Look

First Look: Jan. 18

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9390.html Why You Aren't Buying Venezuelan Chocolate Author:Rohit Deshpandé Publication:Harvard Business Review 88, no. 12 (December 2010) Abstract The article discusses the "provenance paradox," wherein View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 Sep 2023
Book

Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

clearly epitomized by the advent and affirmation of the electronic processing and sharing of data at a magnitude and speed that in no way we have seen before. The digital age is enabled by the emergence and adoption of four key... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology

01 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Better by the Bundle?

for video games and other electronics drop significantly over time. Nintendo's Game Boy console, for example, started out at $100 but within a year had decreased to $70. "If consumers don't like the offering... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

24 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 24

structuring of consumer loans than those who are not. Conditional on using decision-making authority, their decisions are also less risky ex post. These findings demonstrate employee selection as an important, but understudied, element of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

15 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Five Imperatives for Improving Health Care

that it's critical to encourage consumers to pursue healthier lifestyles. But just as importantly, patients also need better access to data on both the cost and potential outcome of specific medical procedures. Moreover, they need a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

2020, Delta’s plans looked promising. It was the first airline to headline the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with Bastian as the headline speaker. He was joined on stage by Nicole Jones, the... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

Article

The Re-Industrialization of the United States?

By: Willy C. Shih

Talk of "re-industrialization" in the United States has been supported by a seeming resurgence in manufacturing, but this is driven more by the end of labor arbitrage and increasing coordination costs of offshore manufacturing. Aggressive restructurings and significant... View Details

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

example of a company that has been on this journey? A: Best Buy, the largest dedicated consumer electronics retailer in the United States, provides a good example of a company that developed an outside-in... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

28 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

Keep or Cut Workers? How Companies Reacted to the COVID-19 Crisis

accelerating a trend that began before the pandemic. For instance, the consumer electronics chain Best Buy struggled to attract sales, and the company ended up cutting costs through layoffs and furloughs.... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

31 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Japan Disaster Shakes Up Supply-Chain Strategies

Already, some auto parts plants in the United States have had to suspend production because of shortages, and it's likely many more problems will follow, especially in the high-tech sector. Lithium battery production, for one, is likely to slow, resulting in the delay... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Electronics; Electronics; Electronics; Electronics

March 2015 (Revised April 2015)
Case

The Heat Is On: Emerging Ecosystems in the Thermostat Industry

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Beth Wozniak, President of Honeywell Environmental and Combustion Controls (ECC) at Honeywell International Inc., spun around in her office chair, reflecting about how the classic, mature thermostat industry was rapidly evolving. In February 2014, Google paid $3.2... View Details

19 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 19

virtual currency including electronic payments. Since its inception in 2009 by an anonymous group of developers, Bitcoin has served tens of millions of transactions with total dollar value in the billions. Users have been drawn to Bitcoin... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

New Research Explores Multi-Sided Markets

vertical chain and therefore come up with superior products. One tradeoff would therefore seem to be between large market share and high quality, of which the Microsoft/Apple comparison is a good illustration. Sony illustrates another dimension of vertical integration.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

January 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Arçelik: From a Dealer Network to an Omnichannel Experience

By: Ayelet Israeli and Fares Khrais

Arçelik Turkey, the country’s market leader in household appliances, was at an omnichannel crossroads in January 2020. Arçelik was a B2B player utilizing a dealership network with an umbrella of brands and had one of the largest brick-and-mortar store networks in... View Details