Publications

January 2013 (Revised June 2018)
Case

Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google 2018

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Four businesses had, by 2012, grown to dominate the infrastructure that all firms rely on to reach online customers. Will the balance of power among the four persist, will one take command at the expense of the other three, or are all four more vulnerable than they... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competitive Advantage; Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

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Aerospace/Defense Agriculture Auto Communications E-Commerce E-Education Energy Entertainment Financial Services Food/Beverage Health/Medical Hospitality Insurance Manufacturing Non-Profit Pharmaceuticals Professional Services Retail... View Details

June 2005 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Whole Foods Market, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock

Can a short-sleeved, sandal-wearing, college dropout create a company manifesting love, joy, and happiness? Chainsaw John Mackey did. This CEO took a five-month sabbatical to hike the Appalachian Trail. More credentials: Sales-per-square foot of $690 and rising. Hiring... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Food; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Success; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Business Growth and Maturation; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

01 Dec 2022
News

My First Job

did make sense and thus had my first lesson about COGS (cost of goods sold). It took me a few more months to earn enough for the bike. After that, whatever I desired beyond basics, I had to earn myself—including HBS, during which time I started a View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

01 Mar 2018
News

Every Trick in the Book

moment, the model for Barnes & Noble, a venerable but struggling small chain, which that year sold its single remaining location on Fifth Avenue in New York to a bookseller named Leonard Riggio. But the retail landscape was already... View Details

Keywords: April White

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

When Benchmarks Don’t Work

proposition offered by the two clothing retailers is so different that one cannot learn much from comparing the aggregate cost of servicing customers at the two companies. Armani would probably not benefit from studying Wal-Mart's selling... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan; Service

18 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

How New Managers Become Great Managers

turned over 75 percent of the assortment, tripled net direct product profitability, and increased sales. When she advanced again, she moved back into the marketing department as senior vice president of small business and retail... View Details

Keywords: by Linda Hill

28 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Supply Chain Risk: Deal With It

should," says Harvard Business School professor Ananth Raman. Their influence is akin to the danger of drivers rubbernecking at the scene of a highway accident. In the days after 9/11, says Raman, the retailing executives with whom... View Details

Keywords: by David Stauffer

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

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 millions of single-use take-out food... View Details