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    Cold Call
    A podcast featuring faculty discussing cases they've written and the lessons they impart.
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    • 14 Feb 2019
    • Cold Call Podcast

    The Delicious History of Hershey Chocolate

    Have you ever wondered how Hershey chocolate came to be so popular? Professor Nancy Koehn discusses the life and vision of Milton Hershey, the entrepreneur and philanthropist behind the Hershey chocolate bar, the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the Milton Hershey School.  Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

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    RetailRemove Retail →

    New research on the retail industry from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including online and brick-and-mortar strategies, consumer behavior, and use of technology.
    Page 1 of 138 Results →
    • 28 Nov 2018
    • HBS Case

    On Target: Rethinking the Retail Website

    by Dina Gerdeman

    Target is one big-brand retailer that seems to have survived and even thrived in the apocalyptic retail landscape. What's its secret? Srikant Datar discusses the company's relentless focus on online data. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 19 Nov 2018
    • Sharpening Your Skills

    E-Santa: Is Retail Ready for Digital Christmas?

    by Sean Silverthorne

    The retail industry is in such a spin over multichannel strategy, mall closings, and big brand shutterings, to name a few pressures, that even Santa can't keep track of it all. Here is recent Harvard Business School research on digital trends shaping how we shop and sell. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 08 Nov 2018
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Could Big Data Replace the Creative Director at the Gap?

    Re: Ayelet Israeli

    Is it time to throw out the creative director and rely on big data to predict what consumers want to wear next? Assistant Professor Ayelet Israeli discusses how Gap CEO Art Peck considers a bold idea to boost sales. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 18 Oct 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    How to Use Free Shipping as a Competitive Weapon

    by Kristen Senz

    Free shipping is an increasingly important tool in the online retailer's marketing arsenal, but profit is lost when not done right, says Donald Ngwe. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 16 Oct 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Shipping Fees and Product Assortment in Online Retail

    by Chaoqun Chen and Donald Ngwe

    This study highlights a strong link between an online retailer’s product assortment decisions and shipping policies in determining purchase outcomes and profits. Consumers are less sensitive to shipping fees than to product prices, but free shipping for orders above the minimum is a strong motivator for increasing average basket sizes.

    • 27 Sep 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Large-Scale Demand Estimation with Search Data

    by Tomomichi Amano, Andrew Rhodes, and Stephan Seiler

    Online retailers face the challenge of leveraging the rich data they collect on their websites to uncover insights about consumer behavior. This study proposes a practical and tractable model of economic behavior that can reveal helpful patterns of cross-product substitution. The model can be used to simulate optimal prices.

    • 20 Aug 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Bargain Hunters Beware: A Store's 'Original Price' Might Not Be After All

    by Michael Blanding

    Retailers often compare a "sale" price to the original price. Donald Ngwe says consumers should be skeptical of those original prices — and so should regulators. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 16 Jul 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Impact of Increasing Search Frictions on Online Shopping Behavior: Evidence from a Field Experiment

    by Donald Ngwe and Thales S. Teixeira

    With even minor changes to the design of an online store, sellers may get more full-priced sales from price-insensitive shoppers. As shoppers spend more time on the website given higher search frictions, they may also be considering a larger set of products.

    • 09 Jul 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Overcoming the Challenges of Selling Brand New Technology (Hey, Need a 3-D Printer?)

    by Michael Blanding

    Selling technology that is new to the market involves tricky tradeoffs around prospect targeting, channels, and tactics. Frank Cespedes makes the point with 3-D printers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 13 Jun 2018
    • Sharpening Your Skills

    That Costs HOW Much?

    by Sean Silverthorne

    Beyond the attributes of the product itself, price is probably the leading determinant of success in the marketplace. What does it takes to get the price right? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 30 May 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Should Retailers Match Their Own Prices Online and in Stores?

    by Dina Gerdeman

    For multichannel retailers, pricing strategy can be difficult to execute and confusing to shoppers. Research by Elie Ofek and colleagues offers alternative approaches to getting the price right. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 07 May 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Why Online Retailers Should Hide Their Best Discounts

    by Michael Blanding

    Online retailers should take a tip from brick-and-mortar shops: Shove your best deals to the back of the store. Research by Thales Teixeira and Donald Ngwe. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 16 Apr 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Can Consumers Be Saved From Their Misguided Decisions?

    by Rachel Layne

    Even with a world of information at our fingertips, consumers routinely make bad decisions on everything from investments to health coverage. Can science help? Research by Joshua Schwartzstein and Benjamin Handel. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 19 Feb 2018
    • Sharpening Your Skills

    Amazoned: Is Any Industry Safe?

    by Sean Silverthorne

    Like the Amazon River itself, Jeff Bezos's company cuts a powerful, meandering channel through the business landscape, changing every industry it touches. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 13 Feb 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    In Search of Organizational Alignment Using a 360° Assessment System: Evidence from a Retail Chain

    by Carolyn Deller, Susanna Gallani, and Tatiana Sandino

    This study assesses a values-based 360° performance measurement system implemented at an Indian retail chain that led to improvements on financial performance, but not on desired non-financial dimensions.

    • 12 Feb 2018
    • Research & Ideas

    Customers at the Back of the Line Are Anxious—Can You Keep Them from Leaving?

    by Michael Blanding

    The irrational anxiety associated with being last in line can lead to unhappy customers, according to new research by Ryan Buell. But there are ways to make people happier while they wait—and keep them from abandoning the queue. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 02 Feb 2018
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Last Place Aversion in Queues

    by Ryan W. Buell

    While no one likes standing in line for service, being last intensifies the pain of waiting, doubles the probability of switching queues, and quadruples the chances of leaving the line altogether. Many service settings could be improved if managers actively mitigated last place aversion.

    • 20 Nov 2017
    • Research & Ideas

    How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com

    by Carmen Nobel (with video by Amelia Kunhardt)

    Ryan Raffaelli set out to discover how independent bookstores managed to survive and even thrive in spite of competition from Amazon and other online retailers. His initial findings reveal how much consumers still value community and personal contact. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 16 Nov 2017
    • Cold Call Podcast

    Language and Globalization: The Mandate to Speak English at Rakuten

    Re: Tsedal Neeley

    Japan’s largest online retailer, Rakuten, is rapidly expanding into global markets and requiring all employees, where ever they are located, to conduct business in English. Tsedal Neeley discusses the strong connection between language and globalization. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

    • 10 Jul 2017
    • Op-Ed

    Op-Ed: It’s a Bad Idea to Ban Customers From Recording Videos

    by Benjamin G. Edelman

    With videos of bad business practices routinely going viral, it might be tempting to prohibit customers from recording their surroundings. But banning cameras is the wrong way to go, says Benjamin Edelman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

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