Publications

October 1984
Case

NIKE (F1)

Concerns a specific strategic decision--should the apparel division expand rapidly? The teaching plan would highlight the pros and cons of such a move. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Business Divisions; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

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01 Jun 2017
News

Streamlining the Supermarket

full-time employees, slashing labor costs by 90 percent. Those two innovations are expected to add up to a net profit margin of three times that of the overall industry. “And that is really powerful,” Pedró says. “You can actually give those benefits back to your... View Details

Keywords: Francis Storrs

September 1984
Case

Henkel Corp.: International Sealants Brand SISTA (B)

By: Robert J. Dolan

Describes the outcome of implementation of the standardized plan described in Henkel (A). View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Globalization; Expansion; Profit; Conflict Management; Outcome or Result; Consumer Products Industry; Construction Industry; Europe; West Germany

01 Jun 2018
News

3-Minute Briefing: Simi Nwogugu (MBA 2004)

reaching more than 120,000 students annually and are undertaking an expansion of economic empowerment programs into northeastern Nigeria, which has been ravaged by Boko Haram. The belief in the north is that girls shouldn’t go to school... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

April 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

PayPal Merchant Services

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

In early 2006, PayPal management is deciding how to respond to Google's entry into online payments. PayPal, owned by eBay, has targeted online merchants outside eBay's auction community for its next wave of expansion. Google represents a potential threat to PayPal's... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Competition; Expansion; Service Operations; Auctions; Web Services Industry; Service Industry

01 Sep 2007
News

Riding It Out

recall of 450,000 tires missing a key safety feature that a U.S. importer had purchased from a Chinese manufacturer and distributed to retail outlets. “I don’t think there is a strong culture of adherence to regulations in China right... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; dog food; pets; Retail Trade; Retail Trade; Retail Trade; Retail Trade

13 Mar 2025
Blog Post

Advancing Health Care Innovation and Impact with Anita Gupta (GMP 29, 2020)

experience. I needed a broader perspective, new strategic tools, and a stronger network to drive systemic change. What I gained at HBS went beyond business strategy or policy frameworks—it was a fundamental shift in how I saw leadership.... View Details

15 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 15

poultry products is deciding the company's future strategy in the face of new opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe, a changing retail market in Hungary, and the possibility of increased global... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 1996
News

Capitalist Revolutions Analyzed in MBA "Foundations" Course

born in the first industrial revolution in England has survived for two hundred years. Another case, on Southland Corporation and Seven-Eleven Japan, examines retailing in the third industrial revolution in two very different... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

04 Oct 2016
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: CVS Health

of health. Through its approximately 9,600 retail pharmacies under the CVS, Navarro and Longs Drugs brand names, more than 1,135 walk-in MinuteClinc locations, a leading pharmacy benefits manager with more than 75 million plan members, a... View Details

Keywords: Health Care

March 2019
Teaching Note

KITEA (A)—(F)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This Teaching Note accompanies the KITEA series of cases, which details how the Moroccan furniture company KITEA prepared for the entry of IKEA into the Moroccan market and describes the outcome of that entry. View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

30 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Do Mergers Hurt Product Quality?

comparative consumer product reviews since 1936. The publication ranks competitive brands according to quality, based on in-house testing and customer surveys, and publishes the products' retail prices. "Decades of data, just staring... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

April 2002
Case

In vivo to in vitro to in silico: Coping with Tidal Waves of Data at Biogen

By: Juan Enriquez-Cabot, Gary P. Pisano and Gaye Bok

Biogen is a successful biotech company facing a critical juncture. CEO John Mullen ponders how technological changes introduced into the research function will shape larger corporate decisions. This world in which biotechnology companies operated had changed... View Details

Keywords: Change; Decisions; Product Development; Research and Development; Expansion; Technology; Biotechnology Industry

01 Sep 2003
News

The Kids Are Alright: Alumni Children Crack Case

Reunion kids in class: with comments ranging from random to brilliant, analyzing an online company. Eisenmann: adventures in Neopia. Growth is something that children experience every day. And they certainly know a lot about the Internet. So when it comes to seeking... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

March 2025
Case

Skylight: Hit Product or Scalable Company?

By: Rembrand Koning, Christina Wallace and Jeff Huizinga

Skylight, originally a digital frame startup aimed at connecting dispersed families, expanded with a second product—Calendar—to help families manage schedules. Despite significant potential, Calendar struggled with persistent technical issues and poor customer... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Software; Hardware; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Customer Satisfaction; Resource Allocation; Product Launch; Business Strategy; Expansion

01 Dec 2018
News

Evergreen Business

this seasonal side business, where 99 percent of his customers leave with a tree—a sales rate few retailers can imagine. “Plus it’s Christmas, so everyone’s in a great mood.” View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

November 1997
Case

Odwalla, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

Odwalla suffered one of the worst food safety crises in history and not only survived but continued to grow. Now they need to decide how the crisis affected their business and how to expand their business. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Crisis Management; Safety; Expansion; System Shocks; Food and Beverage Industry

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December 1986 (Revised December 1987)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Manufacturing Productivity Division (B)

By: Benson P. Shapiro and Lawrence B. Levine

Asks where in the Hewlett-Packard (HP) network of groups and sectors the Manufacturing Productivity Division should be placed. Provides a great deal of background regarding marketing, sales, and engineering at HP. It is thus possible to expand and broaden the... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Marketing; Production; Networks; Sales; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry

March 1995 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Co-operative Bank, The

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Srikant M. Datar

A British bank with strong roots in the cooperative movement encounters declining profitability in an increasingly competitive and deregulated financial services industry. It attempts to grow by broadening its customer base and increasing the range of products and... View Details

Keywords: Product; Competition; Expansion; Cost Management; Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry