Publications

October 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Tweeter etc.

By: John T. Gourville and George Wu

In the early 1990s, Tweeter etc., a small regional retailer of higher-end audio and video equipment, faced increasing competitive pricing pressures from several large regional and national consumer electronics chains. In response, in 1993, they introduced "Automatic... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Customer Focus and Relationships; Price; Market Entry and Exit; Supply Chain Management; Competition; Electronics Industry; Retail Industry

08 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 8, 2008

and practice are discussed. Download the revised paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-080.pdf PublicationsShould You Invest in the Long Tail? Author:Anita Elberse Periodical:HBS Centennial Issue. Harvard Business Review 86, nos. 7/8 (July-August 2008): 88-96... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 1992 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Richardson Sheffield

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

The case traces Bryan Upton’s 20-plus years as managing director of a Sheffield-based cutlery company and describes the strategic and organizational actions he took to raise sales and earnings at more than 25% annually, even as the local industry was in steep... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Human Resource Practices; General Management; Human Resources; Management; Leadership; Strategy; United Kingdom

27 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 27

an honest, collective, and public conversation about their organization's alignment with espoused strategy and values. The research has identified a syndrome of six silent barriers to effectiveness and a dynamic theory of organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2005 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Can Bollywood Go Global?

By: Geoffrey Jones, Namrata Arora, Surachita Mishra and Alexis Lefort

Considers the opportunities and challenges facing Indian film producers in accessing the global film market. Provides a historical context by describing the history of the cinema and the rise of Hollywood to global dominance by the 1920s. Although film industries... View Details

Keywords: History; Competition; Film Entertainment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Product Development; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Inditex: 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In the 11 years since its public offering, Inditex and its flagship brand, Zara, had expanded into 86 countries, achieved $21.6 billion in revenue, and become the largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. In marked contrast to the general malaise of the Bolsa de... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Fashion Industry; Spain

21 Jun 2022
HBS Case

Free Isn’t Always Better: How Slack Holds Its Own Against Microsoft Teams

Salesforce, which acquired the firm in 2021. Microsoft, meanwhile, was finally able to draw users to Teams, the free business communication platform it introduced in 2017 as part of Office 365. "Can these collaborative software platforms become an View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Information Technology; Technology

Web

Leadership - Health Care

Health Care Initiative Leadership 2ms Robert S. Huckman Howard Cox Health Care Initiative Faculty Chair Professor Huckman teaches the second-year course in Operations Strategy and has taught HBS Executive... View Details

01 Dec 2023
News

Case Study: Staking a Claim

traditionally associated with growing up and choosing instead to rent cars and apartments, even if they have the means to buy. Surround is a digital insurance agency that operates in 30 states and offers just the right insurance for these... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Insurance Carriers and Related Activities; Finance

15 Feb 2024
News

Startup Shepherds

By their count, Catalina Daniels and Jim Sherman (both MBA 1991) listened to approximately 300 startup pitches in 2016, the first year the HBS classmates worked side by side as angel investors in New York. “You meet a lot of very smart people, with what sound like good... View Details

Keywords: April White

25 Jun 2020
Blog Post

Harvard Business School Class of 2021 Student Profiles

beverage company in his home continent, Brice has pursued a career path that prepares him for leadership in manufacturing. “That’s why I studied engineering, then joined W.R. Grace,” says Brice. Through Grace’s rotational program, Brice acquired View Details

13 Oct 2015
First Look

October 13, 2015

James Heppelmann looked at how this shift is changing the structure of industries and forcing firms to rethink their strategies. In this companion article, the authors look at the effects inside firms, examining the impact that smart, connected products have on View Details

April 2023
Supplement

Fresh Food Generation

By: Brian Trelstad

Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

This case highlights one of five BIPOC entrepreneuers in the Boston area as part of the HBS Impact Investment Fund. In fall 2021, a team of... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Race; Food and Beverage Industry

26 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 26, 2018

evidence to challenge a common misperception about internalization theory. The theory has often been criticized for maintaining that it assumes a hierarchically organized MNE based on knowledge flowing from the home country. This is not an accurate description of how... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

percent between 1990 and 2000. (We confirmed our findings in the five years following the study period.) Both companies' performance was directly linked to whether or not they adhered to the 4+2 formula. In the strategy practice, for... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

01 Sep 2023
News

Case Study: The Home Team

Illustration by Jon Krause Illustration by Jon Krause Brendan Kennealey (MBA 2006) wasn’t even searching for a business idea. A couple of years ago, the Wilmington, Delaware, native met up with an old friend who’d bought a new house. Over dinner this friend enumerated... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Real Estate

08 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Creating Value in Your Business Ecosystem

focus primarily on their internal capabilities—have realized this and pursued strategies that not only aggressively further their own interests but also promote their ecosystems' overall health. . . . The Keystone Advantage Keystone... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

Article

Two-Sided Platforms: Product Variety and Pricing Structures

By: Andrei Hagiu

This paper provides a new modeling framework to analyze two-sided platforms connecting producers and consumers. In contrast to the existing literature, indirect network effects are determined endogenously, through consumers' taste for variety and producer competition.... View Details

Keywords: Pricing Structure; Indirect Network Effects; Product Variety; Price; Network Effects; Two-Sided Platforms; Product; Renting or Rental; Competition