Publications

September 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Friendster (A)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In January 2006, the president of Friendster needs to choose between two strategic options to revive the company. Friendster started the social networking industry in 2003, but has been overtaken by MySpace and Facebook. The two options are: 1) offer new features to... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Social and Collaborative Networks; Brands and Branding; Service Industry

September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Orient-Express Hotels

By: Frances X. Frei and Corey B. Hajim

Describes how a hotel and leisure company provides high-end service through its distinctive hotels and trains. Provides an opportunity to learn about the company's unusual quality practices and puts into doubt the unquestioned use of well-known practices, such as... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Quality; Management; Opportunities; Practice; Programs; Motivation and Incentives; Brands and Branding; Service Industry; Accommodations Industry

May 2000
Supplement

Launching the BMW Z3 Roadster

By: Robert J. Dolan and Susan M. Fournier

Contains two BMW Z3 television commercials used at launch, a Jay Leno Tonight Show segment, a Bryant Gumbel Today Show segment, Central Park PR event coverage, and Go: An American Road Story (promotional video from BMW). View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Auto Industry

26 Jan 2016
First Look

January 26, 2016

paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50433 Harvard Business School Case 515-072 onefinestay Miranda Cresswell, marketing director, and Greg Marsh, founder and CEO of onefinestay, were grappling with branding and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Aug 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers

marketing decision-making. These could include marketing research concepts such as conjoint analysis and perceptual mapping, and brand analysis techniques such as calculating brand equity and conducting... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

January 2021
Supplement

Bespoken Spirits: Disrupting Distilling

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

On October 7, 2020, Bespoken Spirits publicly announced it had received $2.6 million of seed funding for its “sustainable maturation process,” a process that could produce award-winning whiskeys in just days rather than years using a novel technology and data science. ... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Cash Flow; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; United States; California

February 2022
Teaching Note

AptDeco: Circular Economy Furniture Marketplace

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 521-069. AptDeco, a used furniture marketplace, was growing rapidly in the tri-state area. The co-founders were confident that the business model, financial position, and unit economics positioned AptDeco for scaling in the massive $120... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Mobile; Word-of-Mouth; Word Of Mouth; Word-of-mouth Marketing; Internet Marketing; Growth Strategy; Platform; Platforms; Two Sided Markets; Two-sided Market; Two-sided Marketplace; Two-Sided Markets; Two-sided Network; Black Entrepreneurs; Black Leadership; African Americans; African-American Protagonist; Circular; Peer-to-peer Markets; Furniture Industry; Growth Hacking; Monetization Strategy; Growth Management; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Marketing Channels; Digital Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Acquisition; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Expansion; Brands and Branding; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; North America; New York (city, NY); New York (state, US)

March 2024
Case

Nomad: A License to Bank

By: Paul A. Gompers and Pedro Levindo

In late 2023, Lucas Vargas, CEO and co-founder of Nomad, a fintech that offered financial services in the United States for Brazilian residents, had to decide what to do to ensure the company’s continued expansion. Nomad launched its first product, a U.S. digital bank... View Details

09 Sep 2024
HBS Case

McDonald’s and the Post #MeToo Rules of Sex in the Workplace

drive-through restaurant with low prices that appealed to working-class families. “The company has built its brand around family dining, so that is especially important to its culture,” explains Paine. Despite its ubiquity, McDonald’s... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Food & Beverage

10 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

The Legacy of Boaty McBoatface: Beware of Customers Who Vote

consumers to vote also engenders brand loyalty by giving users more of a sense of ownership over products. Once a company opens those floodgates, however, they are essentially making a series of promises with consumers, whether they know... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Advertising

08 Jan 2007
What Do You Think?

Neuro Economics: Science or Science Fiction?

straightforward considerations are best answered in the conscious portion of the brain, presumably after considerable conscious thought. Work in neuro marketing at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich now claims that strong brands... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

28 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, February 28

company, DO & CO, growing geographically with its existing businesses while also adding new brands to its portfolio. The company had $1 billion in revenues in 2015 from its three divisions: airline catering; international event... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Jan 2019
What Do You Think?

Who Will Measure up to These Two Remarkable Leaders?

Summing Up: Which Schools Will Produce the Next Generation of Transformative Leaders? This month’s column featured two leaders who were able to build organizations that literally transformed the mutual fund and airline industries. In the process they created a cadre of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Air Transportation; Financial Services

July 2023
Case

Honeycomb

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Kumba Sennaar

Honeycomb, an audio app enabling seniors to record stories and save family memories, suddenly draws interest from a younger user demographic. The co-founders consider pivoting to better serve this new user demographic. How should they think about strategy, brand, and... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Operations; Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Brands and Branding; Technology Industry; United States

June 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Ducati

Focuses on the turnaround and strategic repositioning of Ducati, an Italian maker of high-end sport motorcycles, and describes the current concerns with the growth prospects of the company. Federico Minoli, the CEO and strategic mind behind the turnaround, knew that... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Product Positioning; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Motorcycle Industry