Publications

15 Dec 2014
News

Deconstructing the Price Tag

November 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

PureCircle

By: David E. Bell and Aldo Sesia

In December 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that high-purity Rebaudioside A (Reb A), a natural and calorie-free product that a young company named PureCircle manufactured from the Stevia plant, could be used in beverages, foods, and as a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Investment; Globalization; Leadership; Risk Management; Product Launch; Production; Performance Productivity; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Article

Know Your Customers' 'Jobs to Be Done'

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Taddy Hall, Karen Dillon and David S. Duncan

Firms have never known more about their customers, but their innovation processes remain hit-or-miss. Why? According to Christensen and his coauthors, product developers focus too much on building customer profiles and looking for correlations in data. To create... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

October 1993 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen

Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (CSSC) is a small, privately owned metal working company with a reputation for providing quality products to its customers. CSSC's business is primarily the production of springs and stamped parts used in a variety of mechanical... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Engineering; Private Ownership; Quality; Manufacturing Industry

April 1998
Case

Compaq, 1998

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden

In 1997, Compaq Computer Corp. had become a $25 billion powerhouse. It had accomplished its revenue growth projections, successfully made a number of strategic acquisitions, and increased its gross margins, principally by moving up market into servers, workstations,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transformation; Customer Relationship Management; Profit; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Distribution Channels; Alliances; Customization and Personalization; Computer Industry

January 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Silverado (A)

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Charles J. Woodard

Silverado has raised $50 million and launched its first product: an Internet-based trivia game with innovative software. In a highly uncertain environment, the young management team must decide whether to continue developing the product and whether to branch out into... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Technological Innovation; Strategic Planning; Internet and the Web; Decision Choices and Conditions; Product Launch; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

February 2008
Supplement

Terumo (C)

By: David Godes, Masako Egawa and Mayuka Yamazaki

This case provides a further update on the firm's decision regarding its U.S. sales strategy for its catheter products and the progress of Solution Pack. It also discusses the expansion of the firm's “Medical Pranex,” a unique facility offering training and meeting... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Global Strategy; Sales; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

June 1995 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Integron Incorporated: The Integrated Components Division (ICD)

A high-technology manufacturing company was recently given profit-and-loss "stand-alone" status by its parent. No longer a captive supplier, it must seek new markets for its technology and products on the outside world. Describes a benchmarking study by a group of... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Manufacturing Industry

December 1994 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Jensen Shoes: Lyndon Brooks' Story

Jane Kravitz (Caucasian female), strategic product manager, and Lyndon Brooks (African American male), a member of her staff at Jensen Shoes, a successful producer and marketer of casual, athletic, and children's footwear, are assigned to new positions and to each... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Ethnicity; Race Characteristics; Performance Evaluation; Gender Characteristics; Management Skills; Diversity; Apparel and Accessories Industry

September 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Intrawest Corporation

By: Frances X. Frei, Daniel Rethazy and Corey B. Hajim

Describes the dilemma surrounding Intrawest's growth strategy for the future. The organization must decide whether to continue its present development tactic or use its expertise to diversify its resort products in terms of location and type or spin off associated... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Growth and Development Strategy; Accommodations Industry; Tourism Industry

Find at Harvard

12 Apr 2022
Book

Racism, Colonialism, and Britain's Legacy of Violence

Britain’s 20th century empire was the largest in human history, with a quarter of the world’s land and nearly 700 million people. Yet the empire drew its strength from violence. That’s the conclusion Harvard Business School Professor Caroline Elkins draws in her new... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Research Summary

Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection

By: Debora L. Spar

In this book, Spar explores how American women’s lives have—and have not—changed over the past fifty years. Armed with reams of new research, she details how women struggled for power and instead got stuck in an endless quest for perfection. The challenges... View Details

06 May 2019
News

Forget Socialism. The U.S. Needs Responsible Capitalism

March 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Hometown Foods: Changing Price amid Inflation

By: Julian De Freitas, Jeremy Yang and Das Narayandas

During the early part of the 2021 Covid-19 pandemic, Hometown Foods, a large seller of flour-based products, thrived as consumers hoarded baked goods and took up baking to pass the time and find comfort. Then, amid growing shortages in commodities, a vaccine arrived,... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Consumer Behavior; Supply Chain; Inflation and Deflation; Spending; Price Bubble; Price; Volatility; Food and Beverage Industry

31 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Extremeness Seeking: When and Why Consumers Prefer the Extremes

Keywords: by John T. Gourville & Dilip Soman

March 2019
Case

DayTwo: Going to Market with Gut Microbiome

By: Ayelet Israeli and David Lane

DayTwo is a young Israeli startup that applies research on the gut microbiome and machine learning algorithms to deliver personalized nutritional recommendations to its users in order to minimize blood sugar spikes after meals. After a first year of trial rollout in... View Details

30 Apr 2020
News

Leading Your Team Past the Peak of a Crisis

Krishna G. Palepu

KRISHNA G. PALEPU is the Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration, and has served previously as Senior Advisor to the President of Harvard University, and Senior Associate Dean at the... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; banking; financial services; information technology industry; pharmaceuticals; retailing

August 2013
Case

The Republic of the Philippines: The Next Asian Tiger?

By: Richard H.K. Vietor, Carol Dominguez and Tully Moss

The Philippines, for long a laggard in Asia, is now growing fast in 2012, with a positive current account balance. While it still exports services, it is increasing its assembly of manufactured products and trying to increase mining. For these activities, however, it... View Details

Keywords: Country Strategy; Asia; Outsourcing; Macroeconomics; Foreign Direct Investment; Country; Asia; Philippines