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Article
Stop running so many AI pilots

In late 2023, when the management team at the consumer packaged goods company Reckitt considered adopting gen AI, potential use cases spanned the business—from drafting presentations to delivering customer support to optimizing procurement contracts. Many of the use cases guaranteed time savings and an immediate return on investment, but they ap…

Artificial Intelligence Strategy
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Artificial Intelligence, updated and expanded
By Goutam Challagalla, Mahwesh Khan and Fabrice Beaulieu
in Harvard Business Review
November-December 2025, vol. 103, issue 6, pp. 90-99
Stop running so many AI pilots
By Goutam Challagalla Mahwesh Khan and Fabrice Beaulieu
in Harvard Business Review November-December 2025, vol. 103, issue 6, pp. 90-99
Summary
In late 2023, when the management team at the consumer packaged goods company Reckitt considered adopting gen AI, potential use cases spanned the business—from drafting presentations to delivering customer support to optimizing procurement contracts. Many of the use cases guaranteed time savings and an immediate return on investment, but they ap…
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Artificial Intelligence, updated and expanded
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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Case Study
SKF Bearings series: Market orientation through services (A): Restructuring the before and after market

In the spring of 1987 Mauritz Sahlin, CEO of SKF, the world’s largest bearing company, decided to transform the company to improve profitability and return on assets. Production had already been rationalized and was fully automated, leaving little room for savings. Neither could R&D expenditures be cut, given the company’s reputation for technol…

Marketing
1997 ECCH AWARD WINNER (Marketing); 1995 ECCH AWARD RUNNER-UP (Marketing)
Best-selling Case Study
By Sandra Vandermerwe and Marika Natasha Taishoff
Case reference: IMD-5-0383, © 1990
SKF Bearings series: Market orientation through services (A): Restructuring the before and after market
By Sandra Vandermerwe and Marika Natasha Taishoff
Case reference: IMD-5-0383 ©1990
Summary
In the spring of 1987 Mauritz Sahlin, CEO of SKF, the world’s largest bearing company, decided to transform the company to improve profitability and return on assets. Production had already been rationalized and was fully automated, leaving little room for savings. Neither could R&D expenditures be cut, given the company’s reputation for technological prowess and quality standards. The only viable long term solution was to change the strategic orientation of SKF from the production line to the market, which would now be segmented into the before and after markets. The plan required a complex reorganization of the company with far-reaching consequences throughout the organization, but there was no other option. Intended to be the springboard to a new SKF market culture, SKF Bearing Services was created, and Goran Malm was asked to be its CEO.
1997 ECCH AWARD WINNER (Marketing); 1995 ECCH AWARD RUNNER-UP (Marketing)
Best-selling Case Study
Reference IMD-5-0383
Copyright ©1990
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Available Languages English
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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Article
How to market sustainable products: Three paths to success

Many companies overestimate customers’ appetite for sustainable products, flooding the market with offerings that don’t sell. The reality is, social and environmental benefits have less impact on purchasing decisions than basic product attributes do. Consumers buy products to get specific jobs done, and only after they find something that will d…

Sustainability Global Business Marketing Customer Centricity
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2025: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review
By Goutam Challagalla and Frédéric Dalsace
in Harvard Business Review
March-April 2024, vol. 102, issue 2, pp. 80-87
How to market sustainable products: Three paths to success
By Goutam Challagalla and Frédéric Dalsace
in Harvard Business Review March-April 2024, vol. 102, issue 2, pp. 80-87
Summary
Many companies overestimate customers’ appetite for sustainable products, flooding the market with offerings that don’t sell. The reality is, social and environmental benefits have less impact on purchasing decisions than basic product attributes do. Consumers buy products to get specific jobs done, and only after they find something that will d…
Selected for HBR’s 10 Must Reads 2025: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications