Publications

08 Dec 2016
Cold Call Podcast

How Wayfair Built a Furniture Brand from Scratch

Keywords: Retail

December 2010 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Vodafone in Japan (A)

By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Mayuka Yamazaki

Despite a rough start in the Japanese telecom market, by late 2003, Vodafone seemed to have weathered the storm, largely based on the strength of their mobile phone unit. But was it simply the calm before the storm? View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Global Strategy; Knowledge Acquisition; Adaptation; Diversification; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

May 1998 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Leadership Online (A): Barnes & Noble vs. Amazon.com

Describes the attempt of a traditional retailer, Barnes & Noble, to counter the challenges posed by an Internet-based start-up, Amazon.com. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet; Retail Industry

19 Jan 2022
In Practice

7 Trends to Watch in 2022

As 2022 gets underway we asked our faculty to highlight some trends worth watching in the coming year. Ariel Stern: A new future for digital health care While 2020 and 2021 were years of rapid innovation and deployment of new health care technologies and delivery... View Details

Keywords: by HBS News

May 2025
Supplement

On (B): The Cyclon Spins On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader and Karen Elterman

A follow-up to the On case (723-430), this short case explores how the performance athletic shoe company On expanded its Cyclon subscription and recycling program through 2024, adding two new shoe models to the subscription and a one-time-purchase recyclable T-shirt. View Details

25 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

An Organization Your Customers Understand

and intensive retail marketing programs. Hospitals, pharmacies, and research scientists are managed as constituents; efforts are made to ensure only that they feel fairly treated in their transactions with the firm. The pharmaceutical... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

20 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 20

self-report of a licensee. Self-reporting gives rise to demand for auditing by the licensor or third-party attestation by the licensee. We characterize the optimal royalty contract, accounting system choice by the licensee, and audit View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 2020
Case

XP: Dual Track Financing Alternatives

By: Marco Di Maggio, Pedro Levindo and Carla Larangeira

XP, an investment platform, was on the verge of defining whether to do an IPO or selling off a majority stake to Itaú Unibanco, Brazil´s largest financial conglomerate. Under the leadership of Guilherme Benchimol, XP´s co-founder and CEO, XP had risen to become the... View Details

Keywords: Financing Decisions; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Latin America; Brazil

27 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

The Coffee Economy That Bloomed Out of Nowhere

such a rich trove of information." Lurtz's research has revealed a patchwork of entrepreneurial effort that contradicted common conceptions about agriculture and commerce in that era. Much credit for the expansion of Mexican export crops... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Agriculture & Agribusiness

June 2019
Case

ClearLife: From Prospect to Platform

By: Alexander Braun, Lauren Cohen, Mauro Elvedi and Jiahua Xu

ClearLife’s first product was a trading and analytics platform for participants in the U.S. life settlement market, the secondary market for life insurance. ClearLife played a key role in facilitating transactions and devising a common language for expressing value and... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Insurance; Entrepreneurship; Expansion; Diversification; Strategy

March 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Supplement

Sandlands Vineyards

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Greg Saldutte

Approximately 80% of the wineries in the US breakeven or lose money. An even greater percentage lose money on an economic basis (i.e., after a charge for the cost of equity). Tegan Passalacqua is a successful, young, Californian winemaker who specializes in making... View Details

July 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Petstore.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Petstore.com is one of four contenders for leadership in the highly competitive online pet supply business. Petstore.com faces decisions regarding potential merger partners and how to brand its service within the website managed by its ultimate merger partner,... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry

October 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Marsh Supermarkets, Inc. (B): The Entry of Meijer Supercenters

The Marsh chain of supermarkets is challenged by the entry of Meijer Supercenters into the Indianapolis market. Marsh management must decide how to select, price, promote, and merchandise its products in order to retain the loyalty of its customers and maintain... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Retail Industry; Indianapolis

December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

A Wider Europe: The Challenge of EU Enlargement

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Kimberly A. Haddad

By 2002, the euphoria that accompanied the grandest achievement to date of Europe's 50-plus years of integration--full monetary union--was fading fast. European policy makers completed the historically unprecedented monetary integration of 12 countries, and then they... View Details

Keywords: History; Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Problems and Challenges; European Union; Europe

September 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Strategic Services at Andersen Consulting

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Catherine M. Conneely and Abby J. Hansen PHD

Bill Copacino, Andersen Consulting's managing partner of Strategic Services Americas, needed to submit his recommendation to Peter Fuchs, Strategic Services worldwide director, for the operating plan for Strategic Services Americas for fiscal year 1999. Strategic... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Recruitment; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Business Units; Consulting Industry