Publications

Winter 2021
Article

How Would-Be Category Kings Become Commoners

By: Rory McDonald and Keith Krach

Category creation is the holy grail in business, but more often than not, the very companies that establish lucrative new markets don’t end up being the category kings. Why? Many executives undermine their own ventures’ standing by misinterpreting and misfiring on... View Details

Keywords: New Markets; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Business Model

April 2002
Article

New Ways of Category Management

By: Alexander Kracklauer, Michael Leyk, D. Quinn Mills, Stefan Ruebke and Dirk Seifert

Keywords: Management

Category creation is the holy grail in business, but more often than not, the very companies that establish lucrative new markets don't end up being the category kings. Why? Many executives undermine their own ventures standing by misinterpreting and misfiring on... View Details

15 Aug 2017
News

The Category Kingmaker

digital transaction management. Each was a category disruptor in its industry, became the market leader, generated significant shareholder value, and provided a series of stepping stones for this energetic entrepreneur. “The principles,... View Details

Keywords: Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services; Information; Corporate Services

December 2010
Article

Changing Landscapes: The Construction of Meaning and Value in a New Market Category Modern Indian Art

By: Mukti Khaire and R. Daniel Wadhwani

Stable category meanings act as institutions that facilitate market exchange by providing bases for comparison and valuation. Yet little is known about meaning construction in new categories or how meaning translates into valuation criteria. We address this gap in a... View Details

Keywords: Change; Valuation; Auctions; Market Transactions; Arts; Agreements and Arrangements; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; India

Awards

Axiom Business Book Award. Gold Medal. Women/Minorities in Business

By: David A. Thomas

Winner of the 2020 Axiom Business Book Award Gold Medal in the Women and Minorities in Business category for Race, Work, and Leadership: New Perspectives on the Black Experience (Harvard Business Review Press, 2019) with Laura Morgan Roberts and Anthony J. Mayo. View Details

10 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Retailing Revolution: Category Killers on the Brink

that no category will be spared from the pressures of transacting on the Internet, including groceries. However, as new products and technologies come to market, there will always be View Details

Keywords: by Rajiv Lal & Jose B. Alvarez; Retail

Other Article

The Market That Wasn't: The Non-emergence of the Online Grocery Category

By: Chad Navis, Greg Fisher, Ryan Raffaelli and Mary Ann Glynn

We examine the non-emergence of a potential new market category. In the late 1990s the entrepreneurial firms that attempted to sell groceries online attracted significant resources, made meaningful technological advancements and generated immense publicity, yet online... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Food; Emerging Markets; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

December 1999 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Charles Schwab: A Category of One

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Thomas H. Esperson

Examines Charles Schwab's on-line discount brokerage firm and questions whether or not Schwab has effectively balanced the old and new world of stock trading, and has remained a leader between giants like Merrill Lynch and Internet pure plays like E-Trade. Also looks... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Banks and Banking; Technological Innovation; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

Educators

Purchase

December 2022
Article

Shaping Nascent Industries: Innovation Strategy and Regulatory Uncertainty in Personal Genomics

By: Cheng Gao and Rory McDonald

In nascent industries—whose new technologies are often poorly understood by regulators—contending with regulatory uncertainty can be crucial to organizational survival and growth. Prior research on nonmarket strategy has largely focused on established firms in mature... View Details

Keywords: Technological Change; Innovation; Qualitative Methods; New Categories; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Risk and Uncertainty; Strategy

31 Mar 2020
News

The Case for Cryptocurrencies as a New Category of Regulated Non-Sovereign Fiat Currency

01 Mar 2014
News

The New Venture Competition's Digital Democracy

The annual alumni New Venture Competition (NVC) is giving the power to the people. As in past years, the HBS regional alumni clubs held local qualifying rounds, producing a dozen or more NVC finalists. But instead of traveling to Boston... View Details

Keywords: New Venture Competition

17 Apr 2014
News

York Street Partners, Busbud Take Top Honors in Alumni New Venture Competition

With online crowd votes from more than 1,200 alumni and MBA students, the winners of the 2014 alumni New Venture Competition have been crowned. Winner of the crowd-voted Most Innovative and Greatest Impact View Details

Keywords: New Venture Competition; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

2012
Working Paper

Entrepreneurship in the Natural Food and Beauty Categories Before 2000: Global Visions and Local Expressions

By: Geoffrey Jones

This working paper examines the creation of the global natural food and beauty categories before 2000. This is shown to have been a lengthy process of new category creation involving the exercise of entrepreneurial imagination. Pioneering entrepreneurs faced little... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Consumer Goods; Entrepreneurs; Environment; Food; Globalization; Business History; Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America

13 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurship in the Natural Food and Beauty Categories Before 2000: Global Visions and Local Expressions

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Beauty & Cosmetics; Food & Beverage

Fast Answer

Political News

legislative and regulatory insights, data tools, and resources for policy research. You can find news by category or do a keyword search. Factiva: aggregates articles from thousands of national and... View Details

September 2003 (Revised September 2004)
Case

Grafica, Inc.: Winning the New Jersey Lottery (A)

Debra Taeschler, CEO of Grafica, is considering how to structure her agency's bid for the New Jersey Lottery account. The Lottery is facing declining sales in all major categories and plans to slash its 1999 marketing budget by 32%. Taeschler is debating whether to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Decision Making; Public Administration Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; New Jersey

Educators

Purchase

April 2018
Teaching Note

Formlabs: Selling a New 3D Printer

By: Frank Cespedes

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-001. Formlabs is a venture that manufactures and sells 3D printers used in a variety of industries and applications. As the young company prepares to ship its latest model, the head of Customer Development is tasked with developing a... View Details

Purchase

June 2012
Article

Managing Risks: A New Framework

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Anette Mikes

Risk management is too often treated as a compliance issue that can be solved by drawing up lots of rules and making sure that all employees follow them. Many such rules, of course, are sensible and do reduce some risks that could severely damage a company. But... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Governance Controls; Corporate Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Framework