Publications

17 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Welcome to Retirement. Who Am I Now?

beautiful things. “Most people are very happy right from that first morning,” Amabile says. The rocky self-reflection stage of retirement Yet, for many, that giddy glow starts to wear off within weeks or months, as they shuffle through a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Entertainment & Recreation

09 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Identify Great Customers from Their First Purchase

Testing data on 13,000 shoppers To show how the model works, Ascarza and Padilla fed it some customer data supplied by an international retailer that sells its own brand of beauty products exclusively in its stores and on its website.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Retail; Service

22 May 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

A Luxury Industry Veteran Teaches the Importance of Aesthetics to Budding Business Leaders

Pauline Brown joined the HBS faculty following a tenure as Chairman of North America at the French luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. (Photo credit: Albert Cheung) To future CEOs who want to succeed in the business of making and marketing... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Beauty & Cosmetics; Beauty & Cosmetics; Beauty & Cosmetics; Beauty & Cosmetics

2023
Book

Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

By: Geoffrey Jones

Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase the challenges and upside of deeply responsible business. Should... View Details

16 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Does Competition Make Us More Creative?

a professor of mine once put it, you want to scatter your seeds widely to see what sprouts,” says Gross. “But you ought not try to make a thousand flowers bloom, or else they will all turn out weak. To get a few beautiful blossoms, you... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising

26 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

How Paid Promos Take the Shine Off YouTube Stars (and Tips for Better Influencer Marketing)

offering recommendations and reviews. The researchers picked the beauty and lifestyle category because it attracts the highest amount of brand sponsorships on YouTube. The authors attempted to compare the behavior of influencers in... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Technology; Media & Broadcasting

February 2005 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever's Project Shakti--Marketing FMCG to the Rural Consumer

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Rohithari Rajan

With liberalization of India's economy and the opening up of markets to foreign multinationals such as Procter & Gamble, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever--Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)--was under pressure to grow revenues and profits. HLL had a long and stellar record of... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Subsidiaries; Revenue; Profit; Market Participation; Programs; Rural Scope; Poverty; Multinational Firms and Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; India

28 Mar 2012
What Do You Think?

Are Factory Jobs Important to the Economy?

which the directors toured a newly-created "beauty park" in the US, where companies cooperating to create and manufacture new fashion beauty products are located together in one light industrial park. It is a reflection of colleagues Gary... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing

October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

La Roche-Posay: Growing L'Oreal's Active Cosmetics Brand

By: Jill Avery, Vincent Dessain and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

As 2018 neared its end, Laetitia Toupet, international general manager of L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay brand reflected on the brand’s achievements over the past year. At €1 billion in revenue, La Roche-Posay had recently become the number one dermocosmetics brand in the... View Details

November 2021 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Farfetch: Digital Transformation for Luxury Brands

By: Sunil Gupta, Jill Avery, Elena Corsi and Federica Gabrieli

Farfetch, a global luxury technology platform and digital marketplace had been surfing the wave of digital transformation in the luxury fashion industry since 2008. While the company’s stock price and market valuation had fluctuated since its IPO in 2018, it had... View Details

10 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Key to Doing Your Best at Work? Be Yourself

idea of reframing or reworking your expectations. [One] person who comes to mind when I think about authenticity—she’s African American and a woman—is filmmaker and writer Ava DuVernay. What’s beautiful about her is that she decided to... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

11 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?

product—until the ideal rug emerged. It was only then that the price negotiation began—“price changes the discussion,” says Avery. “Buying a car could be a beautiful experience” Imagine if cars were sold this way. This would help dealers... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto

21 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Do TV Debates Sway Voters?

Intense preparation helped Hillary Clinton command the podium in her first debate with Donald Trump in September 2016—the most-watched presidential debate in US history. In one of the debate’s most memorable moments, Clinton called out Trump for ridiculing a View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

August 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Facelift at Olay (A)

By: Sunil Gupta, Rajiv Lal and Olivia Hull

By October 2017, Procter & Gamble’s skincare brand Olay has been struggling with declining sales for several years. The team has tried many remedies, but none has returned the brand to growth. As pressure grows from Olay’s competitors, including hundreds of new... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Demographics; Age; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Digital Marketing; Transformation; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; United States; Ohio

24 Jan 2011
HBS Case

Terror at the Taj

On November 26, 2008, 175 people died in Mumbai, India, when 10 terrorists simultaneously struck sites. Of the five locations—all well-known landmarks—the beautiful domes of the hotel known as the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower would become... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Accommodations

January 2009
Article

From Regional Star to Global Leader

By: Nitin Nohria

Yang Jianguo was recently promoted from country manager for China to global head of product development at a staid French perfume maker. He was chosen for his technical smarts and his knowledge of emerging markets—a critical avenue for growth, given that sales in the... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Leadership Development; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Paris

Find at Harvard

February 2020
Case

Leading Change in Talent at L'Oréal

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Vincent Dessain and Emer Moloney

Jean-Claude Le Grand just stepped into a new role as Executive Vice-President for Human Resources at the global cosmetics company, L’Oréal. He is now responsible for the hiring, development, promotion, and retention of 83,000 employees worldwide. The highly successful... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Headquarters; Business Divisions; Business Organization; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Competency and Skills; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Demographics; Diversity; Gender; Nationality; Multinational Firms and Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Management; Jobs and Positions; Employment; Human Capital; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Personal Development and Career; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Social Psychology; Attitudes; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Business Strategy; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; France; Paris