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In 2019, a three-year-old boy walked with his mother into a Florida Best Buy store, clutching a toy dinosaur that Santa had given him for Christmas....
- January 2021
- Case
Best Buy's Corie Barry: Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic
By: William W. George and Amram Migdal
This case examines the leadership of Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, with a focus on actions the company took in 2020 to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. The case includes a history of Best Buy’s strategy and leadership, including the transitions between the...
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Keywords:
Health Pandemics;
Job Cuts and Outsourcing;
Leadership;
Leadership Development;
Leadership Style;
Business or Company Management;
Crisis Management;
Management Succession;
Management Teams;
Personal Development and Career;
Strategic Planning;
Problems and Challenges;
Safety;
Retail Industry
- June 2020 (Revised October 2020)
- Case
Muddy Waters vs. eHealth: The Debate of a 'Lifetime'
By: Jonas Heese and Cristo Liautaud
In May 2020, an analyst was assessing eHealth’s performance. eHealth was an online / tele-sales broker of health insurance products. The stock had recently hit all-time highs, closing at a peak of $146 on March 4, 2020. But now, May 4, 2020, eHealth traded at $103. The...
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- March 24, 2020
- Article
A Time to Lead with Purpose and Humanity
By: Hubert Joly
In these unprecedented times, corporate leaders are being put to the test. Many just last summer had signed the Business Roundtable Statement of Purpose that committed their companies to serving all stakeholders. The pandemic is the first test of these principles. The...
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- Article
Sales Methodologies and Selling
Sales methodologies play an important role. A common approach in a sales force allows for consistency, dissemination of best practices, acceleration of learning, and it helps the firm to scale because management then has common metrics to monitor and evaluate. However,...
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- November 2019
- Article
The Relevance of Broker Networks for Information Diffusion in the Stock Market
By: Marco Di Maggio, Francesco Franzoni, Amir Kermani and Carlo Sommavilla
This paper shows that the network of relationships between brokers and institutional investors shapes information diffusion in the stock market. We exploit trade-level data to show that central brokers gather information by executing informed trades, which is then...
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- Article
Can Big-Box Retailers Provide Local Health Care?
National retailers, most notably Walmart and Best Buy, are making big bets on their ability to fill this need for local health care. At first glance, these moves are a bit surprising given that these companies have not traditionally been focused on health care...
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- 2018
- Book
Driving Digital Strategy: A Guide to Reimagining Your Business
By: Sunil Gupta
Disruption and transformation get a lot of hype and for good reason. Digital technologies have disrupted entire industries and incumbents have often struggled in this new world. Typical approaches used by legacy players such as using technology to improve efficiency,...
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- November 2017
- Teaching Note
Reinventing Best Buy
By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth
Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455.
On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales....
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Keywords:
Best Buy;
Hubert Joly;
Renew Blue;
Showrooming;
Webrooming;
E-commerce;
E-Commerce Strategy;
Online Retail;
Multichannel Retailing;
Omnichannel;
Marketplaces;
Turnaround;
Consumer Electronics;
Consumer Electronics Accessories;
Appliances;
Stores-within-stores;
Store Experience;
Store Size;
Store Pickup;
Store Management;
Delivery;
Delivery Models;
Amazon;
Amazon.com;
Pricing Strategy;
Business Subsidiaries;
Business Units;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
For-Profit Firms;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Satisfaction;
Entertainment;
Film Entertainment;
Games, Gaming, and Gambling;
Music Entertainment;
Television Entertainment;
Theater Entertainment;
Price;
Profit;
Revenue;
Geographic Scope;
Multinational Firms and Management;
Business History;
Cost;
Selection and Staffing;
Reports;
Technological Innovation;
Job Cuts and Outsourcing;
Human Capital;
Leading Change;
Business or Company Management;
Goals and Objectives;
Growth and Development;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Management Teams;
Brands and Branding;
Product Marketing;
Consumer Behavior;
Demand and Consumers;
Media;
Distribution;
Order Taking and Fulfillment;
Distribution Channels;
Infrastructure;
Product;
Service Delivery;
Service Operations;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Public Ownership;
Problems and Challenges;
Programs;
Groups and Teams;
Sales;
Salesforce Management;
Strategy;
Adaptation;
Business Strategy;
Competition;
Competitive Advantage;
Competitive Strategy;
Corporate Strategy;
Expansion;
Technology;
Hardware;
Information Technology;
Internet;
Mobile Technology;
Online Technology;
Search Technology;
Software;
Web;
Web Sites;
Wireless Technology;
Resource Allocation;
Computer Industry;
Electronics Industry;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
Information Technology Industry;
Retail Industry;
Service Industry;
Technology Industry;
Telecommunications Industry;
Video Game Industry;
United States;
Minnesota;
Minneapolis;
Saint Paul;
St. Paul
- 2017
- Book
HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business: Think Big, Buy Small, Own Your Own Company
By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff
Find, acquire, and run your own business. Are you looking for an alternative to a career path at a big firm? Does founding your own start-up seem too risky? There is a radical third path open to you: you can buy a small business and run it as CEO. Purchasing a small...
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Keywords:
Entrepreneurial Finance;
Entrepreneurs;
Small Companies;
Small Business Finance;
Negotiation;
Due Diligence;
Sourcing;
Search Funds;
Search;
Deal Sourcing;
Deal Structuring;
Funnel;
Debt Financing;
Small And Medium Enterprises;
Small Business;
Search Technology;
Entrepreneurship;
Negotiation Deal;
Ownership;
Equity;
Borrowing and Debt
- December 2016
- Article
Health Care Needs Real Competition
By: Leemore S. Dafny and Thomas H. Lee
The U.S. health care system is inefficient, unreliable, and crushingly expensive. There is no shortage of proposed solutions, but central to the best of them is the idea that health care needs more competition. In other sectors, competition improves quality and...
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- March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
- Case
Reinventing Best Buy
By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth
On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales. These results were in marked contrast...
View Details
Keywords:
Best Buy;
Hubert Joly;
Renew Blue;
Showrooming;
Webrooming;
E-commerce;
E-Commerce Strategy;
Online Retail;
Multichannel Retailing;
Omnichannel;
Marketplaces;
Turnaround;
Consumer Electronics;
Consumer Electronics Accessories;
Appliances;
Stores-within-stores;
Store Experience;
Store Size;
Store Pickup;
Store Management;
Delivery;
Delivery Models;
Amazon;
Amazon.com;
Pricing Strategy;
Business Subsidiaries;
Business Units;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
For-Profit Firms;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Satisfaction;
Entertainment;
Film Entertainment;
Games, Gaming, and Gambling;
Music Entertainment;
Television Entertainment;
Theater Entertainment;
Price;
Profit;
Revenue;
Geographic Scope;
Multinational Firms and Management;
Business History;
Cost;
Selection and Staffing;
Reports;
Technological Innovation;
Job Cuts and Outsourcing;
Human Capital;
Leading Change;
Business or Company Management;
Goals and Objectives;
Growth and Development;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Management Teams;
Brands and Branding;
Product Marketing;
Consumer Behavior;
Demand and Consumers;
Media;
Distribution;
Order Taking and Fulfillment;
Distribution Channels;
Infrastructure;
Product;
Service Delivery;
Service Operations;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Public Ownership;
Problems and Challenges;
Programs;
Groups and Teams;
Sales;
Salesforce Management;
Strategy;
Adaptation;
Business Strategy;
Competition;
Competitive Advantage;
Competitive Strategy;
Corporate Strategy;
Expansion;
Technology;
Hardware;
Information Technology;
Internet;
Mobile Technology;
Online Technology;
Search Technology;
Software;
Web;
Web Sites;
Wireless Technology;
Resource Allocation;
Computer Industry;
Electronics Industry;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
Information Technology Industry;
Retail Industry;
Service Industry;
Technology Industry;
Telecommunications Industry;
Video Game Industry;
United States;
Minnesota;
Minneapolis;
Saint Paul;
St. Paul
- Article
Build It, Buy It, or Both? Rethinking the Sourcing of Advertising Services
By: Alvin J. Silk and Marta M. Stiglin
This paper provides an update on the current state of in-house agencies. Whereas traditional consideration of internalizing advertising services was framed as a binary choice of build or buy, today's advertisers frequently pursue hybrid policies of build and buy to...
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- August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
- Case
Amazon.com, 2021
By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin
In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all...
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Keywords:
Strategic Analysis;
Retail;
E-commerce;
Amazon;
Amazon.com;
AmazonFresh;
Jeff Bezos;
Cloud Computing;
Marketplaces;
Streaming;
E-reader Market;
Digital Media;
Mobile App;
Online Retail;
Shipping;
Database;
Tablet;
Kindle;
Kindle Fire;
Smartphone;
Delivery;
Market Platforms;
Two-Sided Platforms;
Competition;
Internet;
Corporate Strategy;
Online Advertising;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
Business Organization;
For-Profit Firms;
Film Entertainment;
Games, Gaming, and Gambling;
Music Entertainment;
Television Entertainment;
Profit;
Revenue;
Global Strategy;
Multinational Firms and Management;
Taxation;
Business History;
Human Resources;
Resignation and Termination;
Books;
Human Capital;
Working Conditions;
Business or Company Management;
Goals and Objectives;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Growth Management;
Management Practices and Processes;
Industry Growth;
Industry Structures;
Media;
Distribution;
Distribution Channels;
Order Taking and Fulfillment;
Infrastructure;
Logistics;
Product Development;
Supply Chain;
Supply Chain Management;
Organizational Culture;
Public Ownership;
Work-Life Balance;
Problems and Challenges;
Labor and Management Relations;
Strategy;
Adaptation;
Business Strategy;
Competitive Strategy;
Diversification;
Expansion;
Integration;
Horizontal Integration;
Vertical Integration;
Hardware;
Information Technology;
Mobile Technology;
Online Technology;
Technology Networks;
Technology Platform;
Web;
Web Sites;
Price;
Software;
Marketing;
Marketing Strategy;
Working Capital;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Value and Value Chain;
Retail Industry;
Advertising Industry;
Distribution Industry;
Electronics Industry;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
Information Technology Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Motion Pictures and Video Industry;
Music Industry;
Publishing Industry;
Shipping Industry;
Technology Industry;
Video Game Industry;
Web Services Industry;
United States;
Washington (state, US);
Seattle
- 2015
- Book
What Great Service Leaders Know and Do: Creating Breakthroughs in Service Firms
Based on decades of collective field experiences, the authors present anecdotal evidence in support of eight things that great service leaders know and do. Great service leaders know that (1) leading a breakthrough service is different, and they take steps to ensure...
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- 2015
- Working Paper
Build It, Buy It or Both? Rethinking the Sourcing of Advertising Services
By: Alvin J. Silk and Marta M. Stiglin
This paper provides an update on the current state of in-house agencies. Whereas traditional consideration of internalizing advertising services was framed as a binary choice of build or buy, today's advertisers frequently pursue hybrid policies of build and buy to...
View Details
- Blog Post
Health Care Transparency: The Fox Is Guarding the Chicken Coop in Washington Again
Now that more people can shop directly for their own health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, they have been transformed from potential patients to consumers, and like any other consumers of goods or services, they want to know if what they're buying is any... View Details
- 2013
- Book
The Art of Negotiation: How to Improvise Agreement in a Chaotic World
By: Michael Wheeler
A member of the world-renowned Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School introduces the powerful next-generation approach to negotiation. For many years, two approaches to negotiation have prevailed: the "win-win" method exemplified in Getting to Yes by Roger...
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Keywords:
Negotiation
- 2013
- Tool
Harvard Business Review's Go to Market Tools: Pricing for Profit
By: Thomas Steenburgh and Jill Avery
What price is right? Figuring out the best price for your product or service can be nerve-wracking. Your new product launch or marketing campaign's success—perhaps even your career advancement—may hinge on the price you choose. So how do you select a price that's...
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- June 2012 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
Best Buy in Crisis
By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin
In June 2012, Best Buy was in crisis. In 1996, Best Buy overtook Circuit City as the world's leader in consumer electronics retailing; however, 18 years later, Best Buy now found this position threatened. With $51 billion in revenues, it was still the biggest CE...
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- June 2011 (Revised July 2012)
- Case
Reversing the AMD Fusion Launch
By: Elie Ofek and Ryan Johnson
AMD management needs to make a critical decision on the launch sequence of its next-generation technology called Fusion. The Fusion processor concept merges the central and graphics processing units (CPU and GPU) onto one chip-- yielding advantages in performance...
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