Publications

26 Sep 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Lady Gaga

secret that Lady Gaga's star has continued to shine and thrive. A follow-up case, Lady Gaga (B), focuses on the release strategy for her latest album, Born This Way, and the brand partnerships that were born in the wake of her... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Entertainment & Recreation; Music

February 2001 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Howard Schultz and Starbucks Coffee Company

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Investigates the entrepreneur's strategic initiatives to develop a mass market for specialty coffee in the 1980s and 1990s. These initiatives included the development of premium products, rapid expansion of company-owned stores--each with attractive retail environments... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Groups and Teams; Brands and Branding; Growth Management; Employee Relationship Management; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Design; Leadership Style; Customer Relationship Management; Competitive Advantage; Vertical Integration; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Mar 2024
News

Unlocking the Power of Community

When Tara Fung (MBA 2016) explains Co:Create, the company she cofounded in 2022 and now leads as CEO, she doesn’t mention Web3 first. “We help innovative brands and creators unlock the power of community,” she explains. Co:Create does... View Details

Keywords: April White

Web

Systems Integration - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

some degree of autonomy yet gain the power of affiliation with a major high volume provider bringing expertise and brand recognition. The key in this type of affiliation is outcome measurement across the system as the ultimate measure of... View Details

Web

Online Business Strategy Courses | HBS Online

Other Top Business Schools with Online, Asynchronous Courses HBS Online HBSO Others Considered more impactful than other online programs by learners* Yes No The preferred brand among prospective online learners* Yes No Reimagined the case... View Details

10 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Time to Move On? Career Advice for Entrepreneurs Preparing for the Next Stage

it’s like to lead a larger team at scale. Or perhaps you were great at building a social media campaign, but want to learn more about the broader elements of marketing and brand functions. What do you wish to leave behind? Consider... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

09 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Industry Self-Regulation: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

Q: Do firms compete on their programs? A: Except for niche firms, few companies brag about the conditions under which their products are made. Interestingly, many of the brands that were once targets of activists are now leaders in this... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

28 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Billions of Entrepreneurs in China and India

that they can leverage both countries symbiotically. Second, conduct a series of experiments. An entrepreneur has to make many decisions: how much money to sink in, whether to partner, how to work with relevant government or regulatory entities, whether to invest in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2025
Case

Duolingo: On a "Streak"

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Nicole Tempest Keller and Nicole Luo

In December 2024, Severin Hacker, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Duolingo, reflected on the remarkable evolution of the language-learning app he helped launch in 2011. As the #1 most downloaded education app in the world, Duolingo had over 100 million... View Details

Keywords: Education; Learning; Technology Industry; Education Industry; United States

May 2022
Case

Maestro Pizza: Coming in Hot!

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro Pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

23 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

caution that it’s a mistake to dwell on the familiar for too long, because the real audience is looking for “what is new, fresh, and unique.” 7. Focus on the job to be done One of the most challenging tensions is between product and purpose in sustaining a unique View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

16 Apr 2018
Research & Ideas

Can Consumers Be Saved From Their Misguided Decisions?

iStock Consumers make regretable decisions every day, even though easily available information should convince them to do otherwise: Twenty-six percent of consumers choose Advil or other branded headache remedies when they walk into a... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Consulting; Retail

14 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

Pay Attention To Your ‘Extreme Consumers’

typical consumers think. That's fine if you only want to keep making incremental improvements to your products, says Jill Avery, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and a former brand manager at Gillette, Samuel Adams, and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

June 2024
Module Note

Value Creation Potential of New Business Models

By: David J. Collis

A business model is composed of three elements. These describe a generic way of creating value and identify the maximum potential value of that model for customers. The elements of a business model are the “job to be done” for the customer, the asset configuration, or... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

March 2006 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Harley-Davidson: Preparing for the Next Century

By: Richard L. Nolan and Suresh Kotha

Harley-Davidson Co. exemplifies a remarkable management-led business transformation of a long standing manufacturing company. The company successfully met global competition and continues to innovate to maintain its market position. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Transformation; Change Management; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Motorcycle Industry

November 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

The Globalization of Manchester City Football Group

By: Maria P. Roche, Tiona Zuzul, Exequiel Hernandez and Amy Klopfenstein

This case describes the efforts of City Football Group (CFG) to purchase Esporte Clube Bahia (Bahia), a Brazilian professional soccer club. CFG’s strategy was to acquire under-performing clubs worldwide, invest money in high-profile players, and improve the teams’... View Details