Publications

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Porter’s Perspective: Competing in the Global Economy

proximity that clusters provide, companies can do things together without formal ownership or legal relationships. And this kind of flexibility opens up more possibilities for change and dynamism, which are crucial ingredients in a modern... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

Web

2024 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

a software company that encourages households to reduce their energy consumption. From Opower's earliest days, its managers utilized experiments to amplify their environmental impact and enhance customer value. We will revisit some of... View Details

25 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 25

reduced the temptation governments face to intervene in the operation of large strategic enterprises. In the Leviathan as a minority shareholder mode, governments have small equity ownership in corporations and in general do not intervene... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

01 Sep 2008
News

Faculty Books

identify customer-owners, delight them by exceeding their expectations, foster an ownership culture throughout the company, and measure and increase “ownership quotient” among customers and employees.... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Real Estate

01 Mar 2024
News

What is Web3?

Web3, a new era of the internet, uses blockchains, tokens, and wallets (tools for storing and managing digital assets) to facilitate a wide range of services and functionalities, including the transfer of assets from person-to-person. It represents a paradigm shift... View Details

02 Nov 2016
What Do You Think?

Are Employees Becoming Job 'Renters' Instead of 'Owners'?

Summing Up: Is Job Ownership Nature or Nurture? Employees increasingly are becoming “job renters.” For some, it is a disturbing trend. It doesn’t have to happen. And the phenomenon isn’t universal. These observations by respondents to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 1999
Case

Australia's Telstra Corporation (A): Going Public

By: W. Earl Sasser, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Frank Blount is named CEO of Telstra, Australia's state-owned telecommunications giant. In preparation for its 1997 IPO, he must reorganize the company from an inefficient public entity into a lean, customer-driven organization. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Initial Public Offering; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; State Ownership; Performance Effectiveness; Privatization; Telecommunications Industry; Australia

Find at Harvard

April 1996
Case

Sunshine Villas

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

Ms. Courtney Lowe is president and sole owner of CL Development. She is looking to sell Sunshine Villas to pay off her bank and make a profit. This case is part of a negotiation game simulation that includes Jason Bosworth, Silver Lane Apartments, and Major Insurance... View Details

Keywords: Property; Mortgages; Negotiation Tactics; Customer Ownership; Sales; Real Estate Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Dec 1998
News

Short Takes

Ownership Matters: Bringing Owners on Board In his working paper, "The Impact of Ownership Type on Performance in Public Corporations: A Study of the U.S. Textile Industry 1983-1992," HBS assistant professor... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

September 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Epic: The Future of Health Information Technology

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Brian L. Walker

How should the founder and leadership team of a health IT company with more than 45 years of market leadership prepare for the future, while navigating founder transitions and industry changes? Founded by Judy Faulkner in the late 1970s, Epic pioneered electronic... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Private Ownership; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Industry; Electronics Industry

25 Mar 2019
News

Rent The Runway Joins the Unicorn Club

milestone, CEO Jennifer Hyman (MBA 2009), told Forbes that the company “has created a new consumer behavior of dynamic ownership and clothing rental has become an essential utility in our members’ lives.” Hyman goes on to say that RTR is... View Details

Keywords: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

January 2008 (Revised August 2011)
Case

ProntoWash: Washing the World's Cars to a Tango Beat

ProntoWash management considers whether franchising and the Balanced Scorecard could be combined to help customer-facing employees provide consistent service across the world and capture relevant management information. In 2007, ProntoWash, an international car-wash... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Franchise Ownership; Performance Consistency; Argentina

December 2009 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Diamond Foods

By: David E. Bell and Mary Louise Shelman

CEO Michael Mendes has transformed a grower-owned cooperative into a publicly traded top marketer of snack foods. Diamond's organization, culture, product development process, advertising and promotion strategy, and specifically its marketing department have been built... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Business Model; Customer Focus and Relationships; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Cooperative Ownership; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

July 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Affinity Plus (A)

By: Dennis Campbell and Peter Tufano

The executive team at Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union has pushed the concept of members first deeply throughout the organization, empowering employees to put member-owners' interests ahead of either the organization's interests or their own interests. As a result of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Financial Institutions; Financing and Loans; Profit; Cooperative Ownership; Conflict of Interests; Strategy