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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(825)
- News (303)
- Research (354)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (16)
- Faculty Publications (208)
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- June 2012 (Revised October 2012)
- Teaching Note
TripAdvisor (TN)
By: Sunil Gupta
By 2010, TripAdvisor (TA) was the largest travel site in the world operating in 24 countries and 16 languages, with listings for 455,000 hotels, 92,000 attractions and 564,000 restaurants in over 71,000 destinations worldwide. It had over 40 million reviews from 35... View Details
- May 2016 (Revised June 2017)
- Case
Sales Compensation Vignettes
By: Frank V. Cespedes
This case study is comprised of two vignettes about startup companies considering whether and how to change their sales compensation plans. ElMenus.com is a restaurant app venture in Egypt seeking to lower customer churn while confronting new competition. BigBelly is a... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V. "Sales Compensation Vignettes." Harvard Business School Case 816-092, May 2016. (Revised June 2017.)
- November 2012 (Revised July 2013)
- Supplement
The Great East Japan Earthquake (B): Fast Retailing Group's Response
By: Hirotaka Takeuchi, Kenichi Nonomura, Dena Neuenschwander, Meghan Ricci, David Roth, Kate Schoch and Sergey Vartanov
A few hours after the earthquake hit on March 11, 2011, CEO Tadashi Yanai of Fast Retailing was eating sushi at a restaurant near his office. He was confident that his store managers would be able to decide for themselves the best action to take in the midst of this... View Details
Keywords: Japan; Earthquake; Fast Retailing Group; Decisions; Natural Disasters; Crisis Management; Retail Industry; Japan
Takeuchi, Hirotaka, Kenichi Nonomura, Dena Neuenschwander, Meghan Ricci, David Roth, Kate Schoch, and Sergey Vartanov. "The Great East Japan Earthquake (B): Fast Retailing Group's Response." Harvard Business School Supplement 713-439, November 2012. (Revised July 2013.)
- May 1987 (Revised December 1987)
- Case
Caruso's Pizza (Condensed)
Caruso's Pizza is a small, entrepreneurial restaurant chain. The case considers expansion of an experimental pizza delivery system ("express delivery") that involves a major process innovation--producing pizzas to inventory rather than to order. The system promises... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Processes; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry
Hart, Christopher. "Caruso's Pizza (Condensed)." Harvard Business School Case 687-071, May 1987. (Revised December 1987.)
- September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
- Case
Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A1)
By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber
Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979, they... View Details
Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
Ferri, Fabrizio, V.G. Narayanan, and James Weber. "Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A1)." Harvard Business School Case 109-013, September 2008. (Revised October 2008.)
- August 2011 (Revised July 2012)
- Case
Sealed Air Corporation: Deciding the Fate of VTID
By: Elie Ofek
In mid 2010 the Sealed Air Corporation has to decide on next steps for its novel video tracking technology (called VTID) after unsuccessful attempts to market it in three different industry settings. The company must determine whether its most recent target market, the... View Details
Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Commercialization; Service Industry
Ofek, Elie. "Sealed Air Corporation: Deciding the Fate of VTID." Harvard Business School Case 512-029, August 2011. (Revised July 2012.)
- September 2018
- Case
Sealed Air Corporation: Deciding the Fate of VTID (Abridged)
By: Elie Ofek
In mid-2010 the Sealed Air Corporation has to decide on next steps for its novel video tracking technology (called VTID) after unsuccessful attempts to market it in three different industry settings. The company must determine whether its most recent target market, the... View Details
Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Technological Innovation; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Commercialization; Service Industry
Ofek, Elie. "Sealed Air Corporation: Deciding the Fate of VTID (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 519-030, September 2018.
- July 2021
- Article
The Effect of Price on Firm Reputation
By: Michael Luca and Oren Reshef
While a business's reputation can affect its pricing, prices can also affect its reputation. To explore the effect of prices on reputation, we investigate daily data on menu prices and online ratings from a large rating and ordering platform. We find that a price... View Details
Keywords: Pricing; Reputation Systems; IT Policy And Management; Economics Of Digital Platforms; Business Ventures; Reputation; Price; Consumer Behavior; Analysis
Luca, Michael, and Oren Reshef. "The Effect of Price on Firm Reputation." Management Science 67, no. 7 (July 2021): 4408–4419.
- Article
Crowdsourcing City Government: Using Tournaments to Improve Inspection Accuracy
By: Edward Glaeser, Andrew Hillis, Scott Duke Kominers and Michael Luca
The proliferation of big data makes it possible to better target city services like hygiene inspections, but city governments rarely have the in-house talent needed for developing prediction algorithms. Cities could hire consultants, but a cheaper alternative is to... View Details
Keywords: User-generated Content; Operations; Tournaments; Policy-making; Machine Learning; Online Platforms; Analytics and Data Science; Mathematical Methods; City; Infrastructure; Business Processes; Government and Politics
Glaeser, Edward, Andrew Hillis, Scott Duke Kominers, and Michael Luca. "Crowdsourcing City Government: Using Tournaments to Improve Inspection Accuracy." American Economic Review: Papers and Proceedings 106, no. 5 (May 2016): 114–118.
- December 2019 (Revised March 2020)
- Case
Impossible Foods
By: Jose B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred
Impossible Foods founder and CEO Pat Brown started the company out of concern over livestock production’s impact on climate change. Impossible’s mission is to end consumption of animals by 2035, and its strategy is to develop and market plant-based foods so similar to... View Details
Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Consumer Behavior; Behavior; Venture Capital; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Marketing Strategy; Distribution; Production; Product Development; Product Positioning; Growth Management; Global Strategy; Competition; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Technology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; China; Asia; California; Hong Kong; Taiwan
Alvarez, Jose B., and Natalie Kindred. "Impossible Foods." Harvard Business School Case 520-046, December 2019. (Revised March 2020.)
- October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Fantuan
By: Feng Zhu and David Lane
In 2023, CEO Randy Wu was considering the optimal growth strategy for Fantuan, a restaurant food delivery platform that had expanded from its 2014 founding in Vancouver, Canada to serve the Chinese demand for Asian cuisine in urban markets across Australia, Canada, the... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Diasporas; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Growth Management; Business Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; United Kingdom; Australia
Zhu, Feng, and David Lane. "Fantuan." Harvard Business School Case 624-023, October 2023. (Revised March 2024.)
- December 2003 (Revised March 2005)
- Background Note
Who is a Professional?
By: Ashish Nanda
Many occupations lay claim to professional status. Business executives, social workers, musicians, sportsmen, and academics describe their occupations as "professions". Office assistants call themselves "administrative professionals". Obviously, not all occupations... View Details
Nanda, Ashish. "Who is a Professional?" Harvard Business School Background Note 904-047, December 2003. (Revised March 2005.)
- February 2025 (Revised April 2025)
- Case
Shake Shack's Playbook for the Digital Era
By: Christopher Stanton, Allison Ciechanover and George Gonzalez
This case examines Shake Shack’s journey from a single New York City hot dog cart to a global fast-casual restaurant chain renowned for both premium quality and a culture of “enlightened hospitality.” As the company expands worldwide, it pilots digital ordering... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Customer Satisfaction; Technology Adoption; Brands and Branding; Organizational Culture; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Digital Transformation; Food and Beverage Industry
Stanton, Christopher, Allison Ciechanover, and George Gonzalez. "Shake Shack's Playbook for the Digital Era." Harvard Business School Case 825-136, February 2025. (Revised April 2025.)
- January 2025
- Teaching Note
Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service
By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details
Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Startups; Resource Allocation; Risk Management; Adoption; Strategy; Performance Productivity; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Supply Chain; Distribution; Entrepreneurship; Climate Change; Business Model; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Profit; Financing and Loans; Expansion; Green Technology Industry; Service Industry; Retail Industry; Germany; Europe
- February 2015
- Case
TouchTunes and the Connected Digital Jukebox Platform
By: Alan MacCormack and Noah Fisher
The case describes innovation and new product development at TouchTunes, the leader in the Digital Jukebox market. In March 2013, after releasing its innovative "Virtuo" jukebox developed in collaboration with frog design, TouchTunes was at a crossroads. Having... View Details
- Article
How Much Is a Reduction of Your Customers' Wait Worth? An Empirical Study of the Fast-Food Drive-Thru Industry Based on Structural Estimation Methods
In many service industries, companies compete with each other on the basis of the waiting time their customers experience, along with other strategic instruments such as the price they charge for their service. The objective of this paper is to conduct an empirical... View Details
Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Price; Service Delivery; Mathematical Methods; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry
Allon, Gad, Awi Federgruen, and Margaret P. Pierson. "How Much Is a Reduction of Your Customers' Wait Worth? An Empirical Study of the Fast-Food Drive-Thru Industry Based on Structural Estimation Methods ." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 13, no. 4 (Fall 2011).
- 2025
- Working Paper
Training Within Firms
By: Brayan Diaz, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun and Jorge Tamayo
Training investments are essential for improving worker and firm productivity, yet their
implementation is often hindered by low participation rates and insufficient worker engagement.
This study uses data from three firms–a car manufacturer, a quick-service... View Details
Keywords: Productivity; Absenteeism; Middle Managers; Training; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Employees
Diaz, Brayan, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun, and Jorge Tamayo. "Training Within Firms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-045, April 2025.
- 29 Jun 2007
- First Look
First Look: June 29, 2007
Silverstein needs to raise an additional $1.5 million from private investors to round out the equity financing for his new Quick Service Restaurant venture in China, Korea, and Japan. How should he pitch the opportunity? What should be... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- 27 Sep 2011
- First Look
First Look: September 27
the United States. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-015.pdf Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com Author:Michael Luca Abstract Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand? I investigate this... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
- Supplement
Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A2)
By: V.G. Narayanan, Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber
The A1 and A2 versions of the “Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)” split the original A case into two parts. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006. The... View Details
Keywords: Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Conflict and Resolution; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
Narayanan, V.G., Fabrizio Ferri, and James Weber. "Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A2)." Harvard Business School Supplement 109-014, September 2008. (Revised October 2008.)