Publications

03 May 2016
Blog Post

Working With Organizations That Recruit at HBS: An Interview with Renee Pappastratis

Tell us about your role at HBS. As a Recruiting Relations Manager in Career and Professional Development, I engage daily with organizations looking to develop and refine their recruiting strategy at HBS. The industries I work with include... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail; Consumer Products / Retail

January 1974 (Revised January 1987)
Case

Gillette Safety Razor Division: Blank Cassette Project

Gillette is trying to decide whether to enter the fast-growing blank recording cassette business. The vice president of new business development is charged with developing a marketing plan to be used as the basis for a go/no go decision. In part, the issue is whether... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Consumer Products Industry

June 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Global Brand Management of Anheuser Busch InBev's Budweiser

By: Jill Avery

Brian Perkins, chief architect of the $6 billion Budweiser brand, was excited about 2018, in which the company would launch Budweiser into several new markets in Africa and Latin America. He was feeling the pressure to finalize a global brand strategy that would define... View Details

March 2011
Case

MorphoSys AG: The Evolution of a Biotechnology Business Model

By: Gary P. Pisano, Ryan Johnson and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In the biotech world, the 18-year-old Munich-based company MorphoSys was a rarity: it was profitable. The company achieved this profitability not by developing and selling its own drugs, but by licensing access to its proprietary library of human antibodies. Recently,... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Profit; Intellectual Property; Rights; Risk Management; Digital Platforms; Product Development; Business and Shareholder Relations; Vertical Integration; Biotechnology Industry; Munich

19 Dec 2016
Blog Post

The Making of An Internship: Impact

into production in 2017. Lily Wu, who joined The Whitney Museum of American Art, was instrumental in prioritizing the resources and initiatives needed to fully execute the museum’s three-year strategic plan. Ahmed Eldemerdash View Details

Keywords: All Industries

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Cisco Systems (2001): Building and Sustaining a Customer-Centric Culture

By: Ranjay Gulati

Customer centricity has been an important part of the culture at Cisco Systems since its inception. While part of this is attributable to values put in place by the founders and retained by subsequent management, it is also closely interwoven with its organizational... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Research and Development; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Employees; Brands and Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Business Units

February 2025
Supplement

Moleskine: Daniela Riccardi Turns the Page

By: Ryan Raffaelli

Newly appointed CEO Daniela Riccardi needed to develop and present an action plan to the board of the company that owned Moleskine. Riccardi was hired because Moleskine had recently overextended its reach and needed more focus and discipline. Having previously served... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Distribution Channels; Planning; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Product Marketing; Retail Industry; Italy

18 Oct 2016
First Look

October 18, 2016

innovation from a game of chance to one in which they develop products and services that customers want to buy and are willing to purchase at a premium price. How do companies know how to grow? How can they... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Sep 2017
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: Gorton's Seafoods

across the United States and Canada. We are constantly engaged with consumers who want food that is delicious and healthy, and we continue to innovate in order to provide products that satisfy these needs. The Gorton's brand offers a... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail

21 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

When a Competitor Abandons the Market, Should You Advance or Retreat?

Terminations: Learning from Competitors’ R&D Failures, Krieger explores how pharmaceutical companies choose to react strategically when a competitor exits the market during the development stage. These companies may decide further... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Pharmaceutical; Health

June 2000 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Microsoft Office 2000

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the history of Microsoft's Office product suite. Discusses evolution of the Office 2000 project. Set at the end of the project when Steven Sinofsky, Office vice president, must decide upon the direction for the next version of Office, as well as make changes... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Product Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry

21 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

7 Successful Battle Strategies to Beat COVID-19

complications (surging waves) arise. In the Agile environment, the purpose of rapid development is to produce a minimal workable product at the end of each delivery cycle, or "sprint." This short... View Details

Keywords: by Euvin Naidoo

June 2018
Teaching Note

Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2013, Anders Byriel, CEO of the family-owned Danish textiles company, Kvadrat, considered the firm's strategic plan. In 2000, Byriel and Mette Bendix, Kvadrat's Product Director, had taken over management of the company from their fathers, who had founded Kvadrat in... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Human Resources; Asia

03 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 3

authors provide a checklist that managers can use on a daily basis to monitor their progress-enhancing behaviors. Read the article: http://hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins/ar/1 The Best Way to Name Your Product 2.0 Authors:Marco... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Aug 2016
Blog Post

The Making of An Internship: What Drives Students’ Interests

Join HBS Career & Professional Development (CPD) as we follow three students throughout their summer internships, and learn best practices for creating a successful summer program. Meet three Class of 2017 students who share the... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

October 2019
Supplement

Airbus vs. Boeing (L): Discontinuing the A380 (February 2019)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes Airbus’ February 2019 announcement that it was ending production of the A380, with the last delivery scheduled for 2021. The announcement followed an order cancellation by Emirates, a major customer of the A380. The A380 had faced significant... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Air Transportation; Projects; Competition; Air Transportation Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; Europe

Web

Program Requirements - Doctoral

semester it is offered. Students present work in progress and receive feedback from their colleagues and a faculty member. This seminar also develops presentation skills, critical thinking, and enduring relationships among students across... View Details

April 1995 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Disposable Diaper Industry in 1994, The

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Takia Mahmood

Updates the developments in the disposable diaper industry from 1984 to 1994. The key issue is Procter & Gamble's response to the continuing erosion of market share. View Details

Keywords: Markets; Consumer Products Industry