Operations Strategy - Publications - Faculty & Research

December 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Case

Muñoz Group: Sustaining Global Vertical Integration Through Innovation

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Annelena Lobb

Muñoz Group, which supplied supermarket chains and food distribution chains around the world with fruit, flowers, juice and ice cream, was at a strategic crossroads in 2014. CEO Alvaro Muñoz had to choose the best way to achieve profit goals and provide his company... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Supply Chain; Retail; Agribusiness Industry; Globalized Firms and Management; Supply Chain Management; Competitive Advantage; Vertical Integration; Profit; Innovation and Invention; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; North and Central America

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01 Jun 2007
News

A Juicy Story

Yoffie, noting that the case is used as part of the MBA required curriculum in the Strategy course and in numerous Executive Education programs. It can also be taught with a video presentation by John Sculley, Apple’s CEO from 1985 to... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

28 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 28, 2007

large economies for the 2001 to 2005 period. We investigate reasons why Chinese firms are more diversified than companies elsewhere. Design/methodology/approach—We collect data on the number of business segments in which publicly traded companies View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 17

with a dominant platform that earns more than under compatibility. We also find that incompatibility generates larger total welfare than compatibility when horizontal differences between platforms are small. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

September 1981 (Revised April 1984)
Case

Great American Knitting Mills: Gold Toe Socks

Gold Toe has an exclusive distribution policy. Its men's socks are sold only through one department store per city. Executives are trying to decide whether, and how, to widen distribution and to determine what impact broader distribution would have on the nature of the... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Distribution Channels; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

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07 May 2021
News

Fit to Compete

21 Feb 2020
News

Style for Everyone

Nadia Boujarwah and Lydia Gilbert (both MBA 2013) cofounded Dia & Co right out of HBS, producing fashion and online services for plus-size women. In this interview, they talk about the inspiration for the idea and the need it serves. “Dia & Co derives from Dia, which... View Details

Keywords: Apparel Manufacturing; Manufacturing

18 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 18

situations. Filled with stories of people facing a range of challenges, from going on job interviews to asking someone out; scientific research on how our bodies change our minds; and revolutionary strategies like "power... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Jul 2012
First Look

First Look: July 17

prices determine organizational design by studying how trade policy affects vertical integration. Property rights theory asserts that firm boundaries are chosen by stakeholders to mediate organizational goals (e.g., profits) and private benefits (e.g., View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

From the Chief Financial Officer - Annual Report 2020

mid-March through the end of June, when the School had to balance those priorities with the rapidly evolving dynamics and financial pressures of COVID-19. Almost overnight, the pandemic disrupted traditional in-person learning and created the need to View Details

05 Dec 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Walmart Defying Economic Gravity?

federal and state governments, and negative publicity driven by special interest groups." Shadreck Saili added, "Is a company this large manageable? 'Yes' for as long as its policies align with policies of the environments it View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

01 Dec 1997
News

Making Real Progress in the Middle East: The Bottom-Up, Economic Solution

and has been operational now for just over a year. The Israeli side is contributing expertise, access to export markets, and design capabilities; the Jordanian side provides production management and manufacturing prowess. The venture... View Details

Keywords: Michael Porter, Yagil Weinberg, and Noreena Hertz

25 Sep 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Politics is Failing America, and What Business Can Do To Help

operate with a very light touch. Theoretically, voters are supposed to be the ultimate check: If the public doesn’t like what’s going on, the party or elected officials get voted out. Yet even with some leadership churn, candidates from... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

13 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Diagnosing the Public Health Care Alternative

As health insurance reform is hotly debated in Washington, DC, what strategies should be central for the benefit of patients' health? HBS faculty with expertise in business administration, economic development, and View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

2005
Book

Best Face Forward: Why Companies Must Improve Their Service Interfaces With Customers

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Bernard J. Jaworski

Keywords: Technology; Digital; Services; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Service Delivery; Marketing

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03 Mar 2014
News

Former SBA Chief Karen Mills on How to Jump Start the Economy Now

Keywords: Government

Web

An Educated Investment | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Executive Education course Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management (SPNM) because, “To lead such significant scale and growth, I needed leadership training and support to reduce operational complexity and drive the organization... View Details

November 1997
Background Note

Note on Knowledge Management, A

By: David A. Garvin and Artemis March

Provides an overview of knowledge management, including descriptions of knowledge management strategies, processes, organization, infrastructure, systems, and challenges. Describes the approaches at two leading consulting firms, Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young, that... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Management Style; Management Systems; Infrastructure; Organizations; Business Strategy

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