Publications

August 2002 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Gillette Company (A): Pressure for Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and James Weber

After years of strong performance with market-dominating brands, Gillette's performance slips and a new CEO is selected from outside the company to lead a turnaround. This case describes the business and financial situation he inherited and asks what he should do... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Performance Consistency; Product Positioning; Selection and Staffing; Change Management; Leading Change; Competitive Strategy; Planning; Retail Industry

November 1998 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc. (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Management Succession; Competitive Advantage; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Retail Industry; United States

05 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 5, 2007

good. If the content provider sells its content outright and relinquishes control over its price, the content will tend to be exclusive unless there are sufficient market expansion effects. On the other hand, if the content provider... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

22 Mar 2016
First Look

March 22, 2016

pursuing an aggressive strategy of acquisitions over the last several years. End-market consolidation in the retail space has driven vertical integration in the extremely competitive fresh tomato business,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 1995
Case

Hannaford Brothers: Leading the Grocery Channel Transformation

The merchandising manager of a supermarket chain leads an effort to reorganize the process of buying and delivering products from manufacturers to their warehouse for further distribution to stores. The company is an early mover in implementing efficient consumer... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Supply Chain Management; Distribution Channels; Customer Focus and Relationships; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

21 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: December 21

Competitiveness Institute, Hanoi/Singapore, December 2010 Abstract The 2010 Vietnam Competitiveness Report contains a broad assessment of Vietnam's current competitiveness, an analysis of the key challenges and opportunities ahead, and a proposal for an economic View Details

19 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 19, 2007

Egyptian Retailers Harvard Business School Case 106-065 CEMEX has pursued an aggressive decommoditization strategy focused on its relationship with small Egyptian retailers. In particular, the strategic role... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty Debate Financial Reform Legislation

more than $150 million in assets to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Such registration will subject these managers to regular reporting and inspections by the SEC, although these managers can continue to pursue any investment View Details

Keywords: by Staff

June 2024
Supplement

Zeswitz Music (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Revenue; Marketing; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

30 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 30

strong selection effect: R&D resources (skilled labor) are inefficiently used by low-type incumbent firms. Subsidies to incumbents encourage the survival and expansion of these firms at the expense of potential high-type entrants. We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 10

introduces methods for increasing the efficiency of retail store liquidation, which we define as the time-constrained divestment of retail outlets through an in-store sale of inventory. The View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

12 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 12

learn some lessons from the limited success of current approaches to design their strategy in this exciting area. Do You Really Want to Be an eBay? Authors:Hagiu, Andrei, and Julian Wright Publication:Harvard Business Review Abstract Most... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A1): "Dot-comming" the World: Philip Nenon on a Billion Dollar Bet

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

A group at Sun Microsystems, Inc. proposed that a recent acquisition that made fault-tolerant computers for telecommunications was a major opportunity for Sun. If the board provided funding to expand the acquisition's portfolio of products and make them part of the... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Governing and Advisory Boards; Motivation and Incentives; Expansion; Technology Industry

January 1998 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Sealed Air Corporation: Globalization and Corporate Culture (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Karen Wruck

Sealed Air Corp.'s CEO and COO are considering what approach they should take to building a seamless corporate culture worldwide. Anticipating continuing growth and expansion, especially outside the United States, they are concerned with preserving and promoting the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Leadership; United States; Europe; Asia

17 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Navigating Tradeoffs: How Purpose Becomes a Company's ‘Lighthouse in the Storm’

a bind: Would they have to compromise on their social purpose and use plastic? Or could they come up with a different solution? Team members had an idea: What if they sold their produce to supermarkets unpackaged, and supermarkets View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

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

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