Publications

October 1992 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Nopane Advertising Strategy

By: David E. Bell

Nopane is a proprietary drug that sells in much of the United States. It faces substantial competition. The brand manager is undertaking an experiment to determine whether ad copy should be emotional-based or rational-based. The data and associated regression results... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Intellectual Property; Advertising; Health Care and Treatment; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

November 2003 (Revised December 2007)
Supplement

Circle Gastroenterology Products (B)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and James Weber

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Marketing Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

January 2008
Article

The Value of a Broader Product Portfolio

By: Bharat Anand

The mantra "Every product must stand on its own bottom line" may no longer be the one to chant. Nowadays, broadening your portfolio can increase both your chances of a big win and the benefit your other products can get from a hit's popularity. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Expansion; Value Creation

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April 2009
Journal Article

Perspectives on the Productivity Dilemma

By: Paul S. Adler, Mary Benner, David James Brunner, John Paul MacDuffie, Emi Osono, Bradley R. Staats, Hirotaka Takeuchi, Michael Tushman and Sidney G. Winter

For more than a century, operations researchers have recognized that organizations can increase efficiency by adhering strictly to proven process templates, thereby rendering operations more stable and predictable. For several decades, researchers have also recognized... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Adaptation

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August 1988 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Dunkin' Donuts (E): 1988 Distribution Strategies

Dunkin' Donuts is exploring various methods of increasing distribution. Possibilities involving new outlets include area development contracts, subfranchising, regional rollout strategies, and an increase in company owned stores. Possibilities focusing on existing... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Franchise Ownership; Distribution Channels; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

March 2022
Module Note

Navigating Nascent Industries and Product Categories

By: Rory McDonald

This Note introduces a module of cases used at Harvard Business School to teach fundamental concepts about navigating nascent industries and product categories. It elaborates a set of ‘innovation tensions’ that managers must address in these domains. In connecting the... View Details

Keywords: Nascent Industries; Product; Innovation and Management; Strategy

2003
Article

Closing the Loop: Product Take-back Requirements and their Strategic Implications

By: Michael W. Toffel

In Asia, Europe, and North America, regulators are seeking to reduce waste disposal and develop recycling markets by requiring manufacturers to manage the end-of-life disposition of products they produce. Such policies attempt to "close the loop" for products ranging... View Details

Keywords: Wastes and Waste Processing; Energy Conservation; Product Development; Strategy; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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Summer 2018
Article

Why High-Tech Commoditization Is Accelerating

By: Willy C. Shih

Knowledge embedded within state-of-the-art production and design tools is a powerful force that is leveling the global technology playing field. It democratizes innovation and makes future competition more challenging. This paper describes the knowledge flows through... View Details

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September 1983 (Revised December 1985)
Case

Dunkin' Donuts (C): Growth Strategy

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Dunkin' Donuts franchises and operates retail donut shops for take-home and in-shop consumption. Looks at three growth alternatives: 1) More shops (owned or franchised); 2) A broader product line; and 3) More advertising. Raises important issues related to franchise... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Logistics; Franchise Ownership; Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

May 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Lowe's: Improving the Total Home Strategy

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Alicia Dadlani

In 2023, Marvin Ellison, CEO of Lowe’s, contemplated enhancements to the company’s Total Home Strategy to accelerate performance and grow market share. In the last five years since becoming CEO, Ellison had championed a turnaround of the company, completing a... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Competition; Brands and Branding; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; North Carolina

January 1989 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Du Pont Freon Products Division (A)

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Forest L. Reinhardt

In 1988, the Du Pont Co. is abruptly confronted with solid scientific evidence that chlorofluorocarbons are destroying the earth's ozone shield. Du Pont, with its Freon brand product line serving markets for foam insulation, electronics solvents, and especially... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Policy; Management; Brands and Branding; Production; Service Operations; Natural Environment; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability

May 1998
Article

Market Structure, Innovation and Vertical Product Differentiation

By: Shane Greenstein and Garey Ramey

We reassess Arrow's (1962) [Economic Welfare and the Allocation of Resources for Invention, in NBER, The Rate and Direction of Innovative Activity (Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ)] results concerning the effect of market structure on the returns from process... View Details

Keywords: Product; Market Design; Innovation and Invention; Monopoly; Competition

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January 2014
Case

In a Bind: Peak Sealing Technologies' Product Line Extension Dilemma

By: Robert J. Dolan and Heather Beckham

Peak Sealing Technologies (PST), a manufacturer of premium carton sealing tapes, stresses technological innovation as the company's core value. But when a new regional competitor introduces a less expensive and inferior product, PST is faced with a decision that could... View Details

October 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Volkswagen do Brasil: Driving Strategy with the Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

A new management team at VW do Brazil develops and deploys a strategy map and Balanced Scorecard to accomplish a turnaround and cultural change after eight consecutive years of financial losses and market share declines. The team uses the strategy map to align... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Developing Countries and Economies; Management Teams; Leadership; Balanced Scorecard; Strategic Planning; Balance and Stability; Motivation and Incentives; Communication Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Auto Industry; Brazil; Germany

December 1999
Case

Avon Products China (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jennifer Gui

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business Ventures; Ethics; Government and Politics; Globalization; Global Strategy; China

March 1996
Case

New Product Development at Canon: The Contact Sensor Project

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Partington

Canon is one of the leading innovators in the world. This case describes the processes by which Canon manages the flow of ideas from basic science to new products, and how it harnesses product innovation to a strategy of diversification. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Strategic Planning; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Diversification; Success; Consumer Products Industry