Publications

Read Now

March 2011
Case

Cash Flow Productivity at PepsiCo: Communicating Value to Retailers

PepsiCo developed a new metric that better measured the value added by Pepsi products than did gross margin, the traditional metric used by retailers to determine shelf space and promotional activity. The new metric, cash flow productivity, captured the value of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Cash Flow; Measurement and Metrics; Distribution; Performance Productivity; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2007 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Wal-Mart, 2007

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

In 2007, Wal-Mart faced challenges to its historically high growth rate. Lagging same-store sales and setbacks overseas led the company to consider strategic shifts. Wal-Mart was the world's largest retailer, but competition had become particularly acute as the company... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Management Practices and Processes; Rural Scope; Human Resources; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Globalized Firms and Management; Marketing Strategy; Growth Management; Urban Scope; Retail Industry; United States

November 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Technical Note

Rechargeable Batteries, 2017: Gigafactory Wars in the Offing?

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2017, the global market for rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries was 126 gigawatt-hours (GWh) valued at $37 billion, growing by $10 billion in two years. Once confined largely to consumer electronics and appliances, the rapid increase in demand was spurred by... View Details

November 1997 (Revised February 1998)
Case

WESCO Distribution, Inc.

By: Das Narayandas

In 1996, WESCO, a national distributor of electrical equipment and supplies, charted out a growth of 6 to 8 percent in sales, and 12 to 16 percent in profitability over the next five years. The centerpiece of this growth strategy is the National Accounts (NA) program... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Customer Satisfaction; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution; Sales; Balance and Stability; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry

Program

Owner/President Management

capabilities Formulate optimal financing strategies Embrace digital transformation to drive breakthrough innovation Lead organizational change and drive profitable growth Identify and exploit opportunities locally and internationally... View Details

April 1992 (Revised July 1992)
Case

U.S. Robotics, Inc.

U.S. Robotics (USR) is a fast-growing $80 million computer communications company with the aggressive growth target of becoming a $500 million company by 1995. It is widely accepted as the technology leader in its market, and relies strongly on its ability to bring... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Computer Industry; Communications Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

Program

Creating Brand Value

Expand your brand's profitably Develop an effective brand portfolio strategy Manage brand risk Leverage a brand as a significant corporate asset Determine the value of a brand Invest in brands and evaluate... View Details

2024
Working Paper

Private Regulation, Institutional Entrepreneurship and Climate Change: A Business History Perspective

By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Geoffrey Jones

Private regulatory systems, including voluntary efforts by firms to restrain their own behavior are the primary form of global climate change governance. However, when environmental challenges first rose up on the scientific and political agendas during the 1970s, the... View Details

Keywords: Certification; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Business History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy

Read Now

Program

Managing Turbulence

all-out war for scarce talent. How do the best business leaders manage through these disruptions? What strategies have proven successful in unstable environments with few certainties? How do leaders continue to grow when faced with... View Details

W. Carl Kester

Carl Kester is a Baker Foundation Professor and the George Fisher Baker Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Finance Unit. He served as Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs (2006-2010), Chairman of the... View Details

Keywords: asset management; banking; education industry; financial services; investment banking industry; pharmaceuticals; private equity (LBO funds)

March 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Massive Incorporated (A)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Clark Gilbert and Victoria Winston

How do you go to market with a brand new product in a new industry? How does a business develop an opportunity and then adapt its strategy to ensure success? Who are the early adopters and how does a business work with them? Katherine Hays, chief operating office at... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Product Launch; Digital Marketing; Business Startups; Advertising Industry

May 2019
Case

Whiskey and Cheddar: Ingredient Branding at the Caesan Cheese Cooperative (Brief Case)

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine B. Hartman

The Caesan Cheese Cooperative is considering introducing a new high-quality, high-margin artisan whiskey cheddar cheese. Deidra Kelly, vice president of marketing and product development at Caesan, must recommend to the Board of Directors whether to launch the product... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Management; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Food and Beverage Industry

Program

Risk Management for Corporate Leaders—Virtual

takes a more comprehensive and strategic view of risk management. It provides frameworks and tools for senior leadership and corporate boards to strengthen your company's approach to managing both internal and external risks. You will return from this virtual program... View Details

September 1999
Case

New Zealand: The Wonder Down Under

By: Willis M. Emmons III and Kevin W. W. Glasgow

Long regarded as the most extensive welfare state among the world's industrialized nations, New Zealand embarked on a strategy of radical economic reform/liberalization following a severe foreign exchange crisis in 1984. This case examines the initial reform strategy... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Development Economics; New Zealand

Find at Harvard

02 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating in Three Dimensions

Business School and a principal of Lax Sebenius LLC, a negotiation strategy firm. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. David A. Lax, a former faculty member at Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

15 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Businesses Beware: The World Is Not Flat

expansion," Ghemawat argues. While identifying similarities from one place to the next is essential, effective cross-border strategies will take careful stock of differences as well. An expert on global strategy, Ghemawat lays out an... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Wilkerson Company

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The president of Wilkerson, faced with declining profits, is struggling to understand why the company is encountering severe price competition on one product line while able to raise prices without competitive response on another product line. The controller proposes... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Competition; Profit; Product; Consumer Products Industry