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- April 2022
- Teaching Note
Tempur Sealy International (A, B & C)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 718-422, 718-423, and 718-424. The cases explore the long-term relationship between Tempur Sealy (TPX, a mattress manufacturer) and Mattress Firm (MFRM, a bedding retailer and TPX's largest customer). For almost 20 years, the firms...
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Keywords:
Porter's 5 Forces;
Bargaining Power;
Buyer Power;
Customer Power;
Supplier Power;
Negotiations;
Value Capture;
Private Equity;
Consumer Durables;
Consumer Discretionary;
Mattresses;
B-2-B;
Industry Dynamics;
Leadership;
Compensation;
Corporate Strategy;
Business Strategy;
Value Creation;
Competition;
Cooperation;
Distribution;
Negotiation;
Industry Structures;
Customers;
Relationships;
Distribution Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Retail Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
United States;
South Africa
- April 2022
- Case
The First Opium War and Global Free Trade
By: Jeremy Friedman and Allison Lazarus
The First Opium War (1839-1842) symbolized the peak of the era of European imperialism, with a political and cultural legacy that remains potent to this day. The British Empire, “acquired in a fit of absent-mindedness” as one observer famously claimed, seemed to be...
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Keywords:
Imperialism;
Narcotics;
Importing;
History;
Globalized Markets and Industries;
Trade;
Social Issues
- December 2021
- Article
Employee Responses to Compensation Changes: Evidence from a Sales Firm
By: Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert and Christopher Stanton
Using data from an inbound sales call center, we study employee responses to compensation changes that ultimately reduced take-home pay by 7% for the average affected worker. These changes caused a significant increase in the turnover rate of the firm's most productive...
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- November 2021 (Revised March 2022)
- Case
AppHarvest: Rebuilding the Appalachian Economy Through Agriculture
By: Joshua Lev Krieger, William R. Kerr and Christian Godwin
In 2021, AppHarvest completed construction of a 60-acre indoor farming facility, one of the world’s largest, recorded its first sales, and went public in a multi-billion dollar IPO. Described as “a force of nature,” Jonathan Webb founded the company to bring jobs back...
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- November 2021
- Case
LKQ-Stahlgruber
By: Guhan Subramanian and Caeden Brynie
Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, LKQ Corp. became the leading aftermarket auto parts distributor in the U.S. by the early 2000s. Beginning in 2012, the company began similarly consolidating the European marketplace. However, by 2017, the...
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- September 2021
- Case
On the Bubble: Startup Bootstrapping
By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Tom Quinn and Annelena Lobb
Bubble was a software company in the low-code/no-code market, making tools that allowed users without traditional programming backgrounds or technical skills to build software. The case covers cofounder Joshua Haas’s engineering background, as he experienced a high...
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Keywords:
Business Startups;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Business Model;
Business Plan;
Disruption;
Transformation;
Trends;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Customer Relationship Management;
Decision Making;
Cost vs Benefits;
Decisions;
Entrepreneurship;
Venture Capital;
Equity;
Executive Compensation;
Recruitment;
Selection and Staffing;
Disruptive Innovation;
Technological Innovation;
Job Interviews;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Ownership Stake;
Opportunities;
Applications and Software;
Technology Adoption;
Technology Industry;
Web Services Industry;
New York (city, NY);
California;
France
- 2021
- Chapter
Digital Transformation and the Salesforce: Observations, Warnings, and Recommendations
Sales is a crucial test for organizational change, including productive use (or not) of new technologies. Changes in selling always have wider organizational implications, because so many other decisions and resource commitments in firms depend upon demand forecasts...
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- April 2021
- Article
The Effects of Quota Frequency: Sales Performance and Product Focus
By: Doug J. Chung, Das Narayandas and Dongkyu Chang
This study investigates the comprehensive and multidimensional effects of quota (goal) frequency on sales force performance. We develop a theory of salespeople’s behavior—aggregate effort and the product type focus—in response to the temporal length of a sales-quota...
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- March 2021 (Revised May 2021)
- Case
M-KOPA: Empowering Lives
By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Wale Lawal and Pippa Tubman Armerding
The Pay As You Go solar power company in East Africa had sales of $71 million in 2019. It wished to grow to $300 million by 2025. M-KOPA, founded by three entrepreneurs in 2011, had grown nicely in Kenya and Uganda to reach nearly 750,000 households with an...
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- January 2021 (Revised March 2022)
- Teaching Note
Maritz Automotive
By: Ashley V. Whillans and Lamar Pierce
This case focuses on Charlotte Blank, the Chief Behavioral Officer at Maritz, as she tries to assist a major automotive manufacturer (CarCo) with increasing their sales by prepaying monthly bonuses to independently franchised car dealers and clawing them back if the...
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- July 2020
- Technical Note
Digital Natives Growing Without a Sales Force
By: Das Narayandas, Michael Norris and Amram Migdal
This brief case describes the rise of so-called digital natives (also called born-in-digital) in the 2000s and 2010s that successfully grew without a sales force. The case highlights the emergence of business-to-business Internet and cloud-based companies and their...
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Keywords:
Government Administration;
Crisis Management;
Health;
Health Pandemics;
Innovation and Invention;
Innovation Leadership;
Innovation Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Social Issues;
Information Technology;
Mobile and Wireless Technology;
Applications and Software;
Technology Adoption;
Information Technology Industry;
Australia;
North and Central America;
United States;
Illinois;
Chicago;
California;
San Francisco
- May 2020
- Teaching Note
Chem-Ecol
By: Richard S. Ruback, Royce Yudkoff and Ahron Rosenfeld
Dahra Allen acquired Chem-Ecol, a machine oil recycling business, for C$13.3 million in December of 2012. Allen decided to hire a sales director and the case discussion largely focuses on selecting the sales director from her short-list of five candidates. During the...
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- February 2020
- Technical Note
Talent Management and the Future of Work
By: William R. Kerr and Gorick Ng
The nature of work is changing—and it is changing rapidly. Few days go by without industry giants such as Amazon and AT&T announcing plans to invest billions of dollars towards retraining nearly half of their respective workforces for jobs of the future. What changes...
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Keywords:
Human Resource Management;
Human Capital Development;
Human Resource Practices;
Talent;
Talent Acquisition;
Talent Development;
Talent Development And Retention;
Talent Management;
Talent Retention;
Labor Flows;
Labor Management;
Labor Market;
Strategy Development;
Strategy Management;
Strategy Execution;
Strategy And Execution;
Strategic Change;
Transformations;
Organization;
Organization Alignment;
Organization Design;
Organizational Adaptation;
Organizational Effectiveness;
Management Challenges;
Management Of Business And Political Risk;
Change Leadership;
Future Of Work;
Future;
Skills Gap;
Skills Development;
Skills;
Offshoring And Outsourcing;
Investment;
Capital Allocation;
Work;
Work Culture;
Work Force Management;
Work/life Balance;
Work/family Balance;
Work-family Boundary Management;
Workers;
Worker Productivity;
Worker Performance;
Work Engagement;
Work Environment;
Work Environments;
Productivity;
Organization Culture;
Soft Skills;
Technology Management;
Technological Change;
Technological Change: Choices And Consequences;
Technology Diffusion;
Disruptive Technology;
Global Business;
Global;
Workplace;
Workplace Context;
Workplace Culture;
Workplace Wellness;
Collaboration;
Competencies;
Productivity Gains;
Digital;
Digital Transition;
Competitive Dynamics;
Competitiveness;
Competitive Strategy;
Data Analytics;
Data;
Data Management;
Data Strategy;
Data Protection;
Aging Society;
Diversity;
Diversity Management;
Millennials;
Communication Complexity;
Communication Technologies;
International Business;
Work Sharing;
Global Competitiveness;
Global Corporate Cultures;
Intellectual Property;
Intellectual Property Management;
Intellectual Property Protection;
Intellectual Capital And Property Issues;
Globalization Of Supply Chain;
Inequality;
Recruiting;
Hiring;
Hiring Of Employees;
Training;
Job Cuts And Outsourcing;
Job Performance;
Job Search;
Job Design;
Job Satisfaction;
Jobs;
Employee Engagement;
Employee Attitude;
Employee Benefits;
Employee Compensation;
Employee Fairness;
Employee Relationship Management;
Employee Retention;
Employee Selection;
Employee Motivation;
Employee Feedback;
Employee Coordination;
Employee Performance Management;
Employee Socialization;
Process Improvement;
Application Performance Management;
Stigma;
Institutional Change;
Candidates;
Digital Enterprise;
Cultural Adaptation;
Cultural Change;
Cultural Diversity;
Cultural Context;
Cultural Strategies;
Cultural Psychology;
Cultural Reform;
Performance;
Performance Effectiveness;
Performance Management;
Performance Evaluation;
Performance Appraisal;
Performance Feedback;
Performance Measurement;
Performance Metrics;
Performance Measures;
Performance Efficiency;
Efficiency;
Performance Analysis;
Performance Appraisals;
Performance Improvement;
Automation;
Artificial Intelligence;
Technology Companies;
Managerial Processes;
Skilled Migration;
Assessment;
Human Resources;
Management;
Human Capital;
Talent and Talent Management;
Retention;
Demographics;
Labor;
Strategy;
Change;
Change Management;
Transformation;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Organizational Culture;
Working Conditions;
Information Technology;
Technology Adoption;
Disruption;
Economy;
Competition;
Globalization;
AI and Machine Learning;
Digital Transformation
- November 2019 (Revised April 2020)
- Case
Purple Innovation, Inc.: The Online to Offline Marketing Challenge
By: Elie Ofek and Nakisha Williams
This case focuses on Purple Innovation Inc. (Purple), a company that started out in the Direct to Consumer (DTC) mattress space. In late 2018, after a successful launch and IPO with sales predominantly originating from its website, Purple was looking to sustain its...
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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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- October 2019
- Teaching Note
Google: To TVC or Not to TVC?
By: William R. Kerr and Carl Kreitzberg
A Teaching Note for the "Google: To TVC or Not to TVC?" case study (HBS#820-048). The case discusses recent controversies regarding how Google manages temporary help agency workers, workers supplied by vendors, and independent contractors ("TVCs"). Such TVCs reportedly...
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Keywords:
Workforce;
Independent Contractors;
Talent Management;
Silicon Valley;
Google;
Employee Attitude;
Employee Compensation;
Employee Engagement;
Future Of Work;
Innovation;
Innovation And Strategy;
Inequality;
Talent Acquisition;
Labor;
Talent and Talent Management;
Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Employees;
Attitudes;
Innovation and Management;
Human Resources;
Information Technology Industry;
United States;
San Francisco
- June 2019 (Revised September 2019)
- Case
Parrot: Navigating the Nascent Drone Industry
By: Rory M. McDonald, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain
In 2018, Henri Seydoux, CEO and Founder of Parrot, believed that his company was at an inflection point in its history. Parrot had been a European leader in consumer electronics since the 1990s, first developing Bluetooth kits for cars before moving on to electronic...
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Keywords:
Forecasting and Prediction;
Disruption;
Entrepreneurship;
Corporate Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Leading Change;
Competitive Advantage;
Information Technology;
Competitive Strategy;
Consumer Products Industry;
Electronics Industry;
Entertainment and Recreation Industry;
Motion Pictures and Video Industry;
Technology Industry;
Video Game Industry;
Europe;
France;
Paris
- April 2019 (Revised January 2022)
- Case
Clear Link Technologies, LLC: Driving Sales with Peer Effects
By: Christopher Stanton, Richard Saouma and Olivia Hull
The importance of a good peer or coworker is widely discussed, but understanding the glue that makes coworkers valuable is less understood. This case sheds light on the importance of peers and the practices and environments that make a group greater than the sum of its...
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Keywords:
Talent and Talent Management;
Interactive Communication;
Experience and Expertise;
Decision Making;
Training;
Design;
Compensation and Benefits;
Knowledge Acquisition;
Knowledge Sharing;
Human Capital;
Working Conditions;
Measurement and Metrics;
Outcome or Result;
Performance;
Performance Improvement;
Research;
Sales;
Salesforce Management;
Motivation and Incentives;
Telecommunications Industry;
Utah;
United States
- April 2019
- Teaching Note
The a2 Milk Company
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) became the most valuable company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange in 2018 by capitalizing on a biochemical discovery related to the protein composition of cow's milk. Because many people find the A1 protein difficult to digest, and...
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Keywords:
Judo Economics;
Market Entry;
Innovation;
Barriers To Response;
Industry Attractiveness;
Advantage Horizon;
Sustainability;
First-mover Advantage;
Scope;
Strategy Execution;
Strategic Evolution;
Biochemistry;
Genetics;
Branding;
Commodity;
Milk;
Dairy;
Infant Formula;
Farming;
Porter's Five Forces;
Market Entry and Exit;
Disruption;
Innovation and Invention;
Competitive Advantage;
Corporate Strategy;
Value Creation;
Competition;
Brands and Branding;
Five Forces Framework;
Consumer Products Industry;
New Zealand;
Australia;
China
- February 2019 (Revised September 2021)
- Case
The a2 Milk Company
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher
The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) became the most valuable company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange in 2018 by capitalizing on a biochemical discovery related to the protein composition of cow's milk. Because many people find the A1 protein difficult to digest, and...
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Keywords:
Judo Economics;
Market Entry;
Innovation;
Barriers To Response;
Industry Attractiveness;
Advantage Horizon;
Sustainability;
First-mover Advantage;
Scope;
Strategy Execution;
Strategic Evolution;
Biochemistry;
Genetics;
Branding;
Commodity;
Milk;
Dairy;
Infant Formula;
Farming;
Porter's Five Forces;
Competitive Advantage;
Corporate Strategy;
Value Creation;
Competition;
Disruption;
Innovation and Invention;
Five Forces Framework;
Market Entry and Exit