Publications

December 1986 (Revised November 1990)
Case

Club Med (B)

Highlights the issue of high employee turnover in a multi-site, international subsidiary of a large resort company. Also described are service-quality problems the company has because the amount of value added through employee interaction with customers is high.... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Retention; Recruitment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Tourism Industry; United States

April 1990 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Black & Decker Corp.: Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker (A)

A fire is reported in a Black & Decker Spacemaker Plus Coffeemaker. This newly introduced product is a "Key Introduction" for Black & Decker's Household Product Group (HPG). HPG's president has to decide whether the product should be recalled and, if so, how the recall... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Risk Management; Ethics; Product Marketing; Consumer Products Industry

06 Nov 2012
News

For Entrepreneurs, Three Ways to Control Your Destiny and Rekindle Joy

20 May 2019
News

Why Do We Let Political Parties Act Like Monopolies?

02 Mar 2017
News

For retail, the revolution is televised

March 2009
Case

The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management

By: Herman B. Leonard, Marc J. Epstein and Melissa Tritter

Examines the challenges The Home Depot faced in the aftermath of natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Andrew. By providing 40,000 to 50,000 items sold by knowledgeable associates, The Home Depot became a destination place for customers in need of... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Leadership; Crisis Management; Logistics; Natural Disasters; Retail Industry

December 2012 (Revised September 2022)
Case

BabbaCo

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Gaurav Jain

Having just raised a Series B financing, the case protagonist is faced with a tough decision: should she "step on the gas" and scale the customer base, or continue focusing on fine-tuning the product and business model. The case describes the various marketing channels... View Details

Keywords: Subscription; Marketing; Scaling; Product-market Fit; Online Marketing; Customers; Decisions; Expansion; Marketing Channels; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Marketing; Marketing Strategy

22 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Humans vs. Machines: Untangling the Tasks AI Can (and Can't) Handle

explains. The second would engage in “business problem-solving tasks using quantitative data, customer and company interviews, and a persuasive writing component.” The experiments represent typical activities for consultants; some... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

18 Apr 2022
HBS Case

Dick’s Sporting Goods Followed Its Conscience on Guns—and It Paid Off

our economic analysis.” Crafting a careful communications strategy Stack and his colleagues fully expected a backlash from angry customers and gun-rights groups, such as the National Rifle Association, and they were additionally concerned... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

Program

Managing Innovation

Understand the potential of disruptive innovation Integrate your customers into the innovation process Take advantage of digital transformation Expand your personal and professional network Extend your network by living and working with... View Details

22 Apr 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Is No News (Perceived as) Bad News? An Experimental Investigation of Information Disclosure

Keywords: by Ginger Jin, Michael Luca & Daniel Martin

March 2020 (Revised February 2021)
Module Note

Corporate Strategy

By: Ashish Nanda

As a strategist, you must decide for your firm what products to produce, what customers to serve, what geographies to operate in, and what activities to perform. This note on Corporate Strategy, which introduces the fifth module of the RC Strategy course, offers a... View Details

Keywords: Scope; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration

July 2019
Case

LaCroix Sparkling Water (Abridged)

By: Tomomichi Amano, Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

Launched in 1981 as an “all occasion” sparkling water brand, LaCroix Sparkling Water has had a number of ups and downs as a brand. After being purchased by National Beverage in 1996, the brand was repositioned as a new, colorful, fun alternative to the other sparkling... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Industry Structures; Food and Beverage Industry

December 1986 (Revised November 1990)
Case

Club Med (A)

The rapidly growing American subsidiary of an international resort company seeks to identify the factors underlying its success. The case describes the forces that shape the industry's structure, raising the issue of where it is possible for Club Med to establish a... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Tourism Industry; United States

October 1984
Case

Citibank Indonesia

Describes a dilemma faced by Citibank's country manager for Indonesia. His superiors have asked him to raise his profit goal for 1984. But to produce increased profits he would either have to reduce the amount lent at below-market rates, particularly to prime customers... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Multinational Firms and Management; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Indonesia

June 1994 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

Beating the Commodity Magnet

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and George T. Bowman

All markets follow a cycle of growth and maturity, then commoditization and decline. This note argues that while commoditization of an industry may seem inevitable, the better managed firms find a way to make money in the commodity cycle. These firms know how and when... View Details

Keywords: Goods and Commodities; Financial Markets; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

12 Feb 2022
News

The Technology That’s Helping Companies Thrive Amid the Supply-Chain Chaos

June 2022
Case

Zalando: Becoming the Starting Point for Fashion

By: Antonio Moreno, Leela Nageswaran, Emilie Billaud and Federica Gabrieli

Born in 2008 as a small startup selling flip flops, by mid-2021 Zalando had turned into an online fashion company with an assortment of more than 4,500 international brands, 45 million active customers, and a presence in 23 European markets. An essential component in... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Customer Value and Value Chain; Digital Platforms; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Service Operations; Strategy; Business Strategy; Fashion Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Distribution Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Europe

January 2021
Case

Anodot: Autonomous Business Monitoring

By: Antonio Moreno and Danielle Golan

Autonomous business monitoring platform Anodot leveraged machine learning to provide real-time alerts regarding business anomalies. Anodot’s solution was used in various industries in order to primarily monitor business health, such as revenue and payments, product... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Knowledge Sharing; Information Management; Sales; Value Creation; Product Positioning; Israel