Publications

28 May 2012
Research & Ideas

A Pragmatic Alternative for Creating a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

companies do CSR in fits and starts” The problem? They lack a cohesive CSR strategy, says Rangan, who recently cowrote the working paper Why Every Company Needs a CSR Strategy and How to Build It with HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

May 2014 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Intellectual Property Strategy at North Technology Group—Sailing Downwind

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and William W. Fisher III

North Sails is the world's leading sailmaker. The company commands a global market share of more than 50% and is largely responsible for the rapid technological progress in the sailmaking industry over the past 30 years. CEO Tom Whidden needs to consider how to best... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Intellectual Property

12 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy

What a company externally reports shapes how it behaves internally. The key question is, "What should companies report?" A new reporting practice--"integrated reporting," which integrates measures of financial and... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Eccles; Accounting

25 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Lean Strategy Not Just for Start-Ups

Lean start-up strategies aren't just for start-ups anymore. That was the key message that Intuit cofounder Scott Cook (HBS MBA '76) shared in a small seminar with Harvard Business School faculty recently. Since View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Financial Services

22 Feb 2012
Working Paper Summaries

The Dynamic Effects of Bundling as a Product Strategy

Keywords: by Timothy Derdenger & Vineet Kumar; Video Game

Article

Well Said: Why Articulating Your Strategy Can Set You Apart

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Senior finance managers now operate in an altered c-suite landscape. The executives reporting to the CEO have doubled in the past 30 years, mostly an increase in functional specialists, not general managers responsible for cross-functional integration. Three decades... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Sales

16 Nov 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Can Mass General Brigham Diversify Its Community of Innovators?

Keywords: Re: Katherine B. Coffman; Health

December 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Bed Bath & Beyond: The New Strategy to Drive Shareholder Value

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

At one time, Bed Bath & Beyond was one of the most successful specialty retailers in the United States—its growth and profit margins far exceeded both peer retailers in the home goods market as well as many other discount retailers. But in 2014, its stock price peaked,... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Diversification; Corporate Governance; Leading Change; Performance Evaluation; Valuation; Investment Activism; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

July 2022
Case

David Crane’s Clean(er) Energy Strategy at NRG

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Tom Quinn

In 2015, David Crane was the CEO of NRG, the second-largest energy producer in the United States. NRG got most of its power from fossil fuels, but Crane – hired as CEO in 2003 as NRG emerged from bankruptcy – had invested heavily in alternative energy, loudly... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Leadership; Corporate Governance; Transformation; Alternative Energy; Energy Generation; Climate Change; Corporate Accountability; Renewable Energy; Energy Industry; United States

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

A Perfect Fit: Aligning Organization & Strategy

to implement its strategy more effectively," Beer remembers. He and Eisenstat knew from previous research, however, that strategy implementation depends on how well the... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

The Regional Slice of Your Global Strategy

the 1990s by aggregating along the economic dimension—that is, by expanding into markets that were emerging, like its Mexican home base. This strategy created the so-called ring of gray gold: developing... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

August 1989 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.: Marketing Strategy for the European Market

By: John A. Quelch

Nissan executives are reviewing their European marketing strategy in light of the 1992 European Community (EC) market integration program and the likely end of bilateral import quotas on Japanese cars by some EC countries. Having recently established a manufacturing... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Resource Allocation; Market Entry and Exit; Trade; Auto Industry; Japan; United Kingdom; Europe

Find at Harvard

January 2010 (Revised March 2011)
Case

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Network Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter, Carolyn Daly and Andrew Peter Dervan

In 2009 Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) had been recognized as the best children's hospital in the country for six years in a row; but leadership saw CHOP as more than the large main campus in western Philadelphia. Beginning in the 1990s, CHOP had created a... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Organizational Structure; Networks; Integration; Health Industry; Philadelphia

September 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Boston Teacher Residency: Developing a Strategy for Long-term Impact

By: Stacey M. Childress, Geoff Eckman Marietta and Sara Suchman

In June 2008, Jesse Solomon, the founding director of the Boston Teacher Residency (BTR), faced an important decision about the organization's strategic direction. Since its founding in 2003, 125 of its graduates had joined the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and BTR had... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Teaching; Entrepreneurship; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Business Strategy; Education Industry; Boston

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08 Apr 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

The Life of Luxury and How to Sell It

lucrative but often confusing dynamics of the luxury market. Harvard Business School researchers have studied the trends to answer a number of questions. Does a prestige brand like Longchamp dilute its aura by selling an affordable... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto; Retail; Fashion

January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
Supplement

Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (B)

By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Toyota Argentina (TASA) and the union representing automotive industry workers in the country had been working together since 2011 to address the challenges faced by Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Zárate (Argentina). The strategy for moving forward was built on an... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Production; Performance Improvement; Strategy; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Agreements and Arrangements; Strategic Planning; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina

January 2003 (Revised March 2009)
Case

The State of Connecticut: Strategy for Economic Development

By: Michael E. Porter and Kaia Miller

Describes the history of Connecticut's economy, its competitive challenges in the 1990s, and the steps taken to develop an economic plan for the state. A prominent issue is the competitive position of Connecticut's industry clusters and the efforts to create a formal... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Economy; Government and Politics; Industry Clusters; Competition; Connecticut