Publications

Article

Dying Is Unexpectedly Positive

By: Amelia Goranson, Ryan S. Ritter, Adam Waytz, Michael I. Norton and Kurt Gray

In people’s imagination, dying seems dreadful; however, these perceptions may not reflect reality. In two studies, we compared the affective experience of people facing imminent death with that of people imagining imminent death. Study 1 revealed that blog posts of... View Details

Keywords: Death; Language; LIWC; Positivity; Affective Forecasting; Open Materials; Perspective; Attitudes

Article

Positioning Brands Against Large Competitors to Increase Sales

By: Neeru Paharia, Jill Avery and Anat Keinan

We explore the effect of having a large dominant competitor and show the conditions under which focusing on a competitive threat, rather than hiding it, can actually help a brand. We demonstrate through lab and field studies that highlighting a large competitor's size... View Details

Keywords: Brands; Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Competitive Positioning; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Air Transportation Industry; United States

April 1993 (Revised May 1994)
Background Note

By: David E. Bell

Describes the importance of positioning for retail outlets. Sections of the note deal with aspects of the retailing mix. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Distribution; Retail Industry

Educators

Person Page

Positions

dollarDEX (1998-2007)

Retired chief executive, non-executive chairman

One of world's top 30 in online finance (Institutional Investor, March 2003). Wealth management firm in Asia, and has... View Details

October 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Module Note

Rethinking Positioning

By: Youngme E. Moon

Outlines the structure and content of a six-session module that introduces students to a nontraditional approach to positioning strategy. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Brands and Branding; Marketing

01 Sep 2024
News

Net Positive

At LOVB, designing a “community-up” volleyball ecosystem, from youth teams to a professional league. (photo by Melissa Golden) Volleyball is the number-one sport for girls in the United States by participation, yet unlike soccer and basketball, it hasn’t had an... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

January–February 2023
Article

External Interfaces and Internal Processes: Market Positioning and Divergent Professionalization Paths in Young Ventures

By: Alicia DeSantola, Ranjay Gulati and Pavel Zhelyazkov

We explore how the initial market positioning of entrepreneurial ventures shapes how they professionalize over time, focusing specifically on the development of functional roles. In contrast to existing literature, which has presumed a uniform march toward... View Details

Keywords: Market Positioning; Professionalization; Scaling; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Business Startups; Growth and Development; Organizational Structure

Article

Positioning The Nation State

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine E. Jocz

Having a clear, differentiated positioning gives a country an advantage in attracting investment, business and tourism, and in building markets for its exports. Countries like Greece, Spain and Chile are successfully repositioning themselves using coordinated marketing... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Country; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Government and Politics

January 1976 (Revised May 1976)
Case

Daisy (C): Positioning

January 2007
Class Lecture

Brand Positioning (FSS)

By: Youngme E. Moon

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Positioning

Despite extensive research on how worker satisfaction positively affects the financial performance of firms, we know little about how firms’ measurement and reporting of financial performance affects the satisfaction of workers. Through multiple field experiments,... View Details

Article

Common Variants of the Oxytocin Receptor Gene Do Not Predict the Positive Mood Benefits of Prosocial Spending

By: Ashley V. Whillans, Lara B. Aknin, Colin Ross, Lihan Chen and Frances S. Chen

Who benefits most from helping others? Previous research suggests that common polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) predict whether people behave generously and experience increases in positive mood in response to socially-focused experiences in daily... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Positivity; Behavior Genetics; Individual Differences; Behavior; Emotions; Genetics; Spending

Web

Positions - Faculty & Research

Faculty Faculty Positions Positions Harvard Business School seeks candidates in all fields for full time positions. Candidates with strong records in PhD or DBA programs are encouraged to apply. Harvard... View Details

March 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Microsoft: Positioning the Tablet PC

By: Youngme E. Moon and Christina L. Darwall

Microsoft is preparing for the launch of the Tablet PC, which allows users to use a pen (stylus) to run Windows and Windows applications, annotate documents, and create handwritten documents for later reference or even conversion to text. Microsoft's original equipment... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Computer Industry

Educators

20 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Creating a Positive Professional Image

professional image, your best guess of how you think your key constituents perceive you. Q: How do stereotypes affect perceived professional image? A: In the increasingly diverse, twenty-first century workplace, people face a number of complex challenges to creating a... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

21 Mar 2007
News

Porter Posits Healthy Reforms

March 28, 2014
Blog Post

What's Positive About Failure?

By: Christopher G. Myers

Keywords: Learning From Failure; Learning

March 1994 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

Note on Competitive Positioning

Emphasizes the connection between a firm's activities and its prices, costs, and volumes. A firm obtains a competitive advantage when it adopts a system of interrelated activities that generate superior profitabiltiy. Briefly describes differentiation and low-cost... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage

Educators