Operations Strategy - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Jun 2016
News

Taking Care of Business

Winners the HBS New Venture Competition don’t rest on their laurels for long—the ink is hardly dry on those prizewinning checks before it’s time to shift to a higher gear. (This year’s cash prizes in the alumni competition totaled more than $75,000.) Much like its... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

January 1978 (Revised February 1983)
Case

Polaroid-Kodak (B1)

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes additional events in battle between Polaroid and Kodak outlined in Polaroid-Kodak. Includes the competitive actions taken by the companies such as the introduction of customer rebates and bonus plans with dealers. Details the new products of each company and... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Product; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry

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23 Sep 2010
News

How Did You Spend Your Summer Vacation?

telecom provider. “I helped redesign the strategy for M-Paisa, the country’s first mobile money mechanism,” Keshavjee told the Harbus. “Given that 97 percent of Afghanistan’s population is unbanked, M-Paisa represented a unique mechanism... View Details

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

01 Dec 2017
News

The Changing Nature of Research

School’s Bureau of Business Research—comprised a comparative examination of the costs of operating a retail shoe business. The resulting report helped companies devise strategies to manage inventories,... View Details

26 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 26, 2008

agents. Truncation Strategies in Matching Markets Author:Lars Ehlers Periodical:Mathematics of Operations Research (forthcoming) Abstract Roth and Rothblum showed that for matching markets using the deferred... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July–August 2018
Article

Learning by Contributing: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Contribution to Crowdsourced Public Goods

By: Frank Nagle

As the economy becomes more information based, firms are increasingly using crowdsourced public goods as inputs for innovation and production. Counterintuitively, some firms pay their employees to contribute to the creation of these goods, which can be used freely by... View Details

Keywords: Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software; Competitive Strategy; Learning; Competitive Advantage

Citation

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01 Jan 2005
News

Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., MBA 1965

company's long-term viability. The strategy paid off, with sales jumping well over 50 percent in the first year alone. Under intense scrutiny, Gerstner then reversed a plan to split IBM into independently View Details

12 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

Entrepreneurship and Multinationals Drive Globalization

global standard. This was historically contingent on the unique circumstances prevailing at that time, but once the standard was in place, the marketing and branding strategies of firms helped to make it reinforcing. The momentum behind... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Pharmaceutical

15 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 15

producing analysis and interpretation, while operating in key decision-making fora. In the first bank ("Saxon Bank"), the risk function was successful in achieving such influence. The risk experts established a tight... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Financial Services 24/7

customers to take their business elsewhere. With new Internet-only banks and brokerages popping up regularly, established firms must find innovative ways to hold onto their customers. "Traditionally, strategy was institutionally... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

01 Feb 2000
News

Financial Services 24/7

dissatisfied customers to take their business elsewhere. With new Internet-only banks and brokerages popping up regularly, established firms must find innovative ways to hold onto their customers. "Traditionally, strategy was... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

01 Mar 2009
News

Health Care a Top Priority at HBS

a topic of great interest to our faculty, students, and alumni.” She notes that some 20 percent of HBS professors are interested in health care, pursuing research in four general areas: management best practices; lab-to-marketplace processes; View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Health, Social Assistance

17 Aug 2021
Blog Post

Applying the MBA Skillset to Global Health Challenges: Summer Fellow Vasilis Theodorou (MBA 2022)

diseases in low-and middle-income countries. I am part of CHAI’s Global Malaria Strategy and Financing team, a team that provides direct technical and operational support to countries to strengthen their... View Details

May 2010
Teaching Note

Alpen Bank: Launching the Credit Card in Romania (Brief Case)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sunru Yong

Teaching Note for 4559. View Details

Keywords: Consumer Credit; International Business; International Marketing; Product Introduction; Service Management; International Finance; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Service Operations; Product Launch; Credit

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June 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Colgate-Palmolive: Staying Ahead in Oral Care

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

In 2011, Colgate-Palmolive (Colgate) was the global leader in oral care, with a dominant market share lead in toothpaste and a growing presence in toothbrushes and mouthwash. However, the firm faced stiff competition with perennial rivals P&G increasing their focus on... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Distribution Channels; Relationships; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Customization and Personalization; Health Industry

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January 2008 (Revised February 2008)
Case

South Dakota Wheat Growers

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

As a farmer-owned cooperative, South Dakota Wheat Growers (SDWG) serves the needs of its 3,600 active farmer-members by supplying farm inputs and organizing the marketing and transportation of grain produced in the co-op's service territory. For almost 80 years, the... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Production; Rail Transportation; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Economic Growth; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; South Dakota

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18 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 18, 2007

with higher average information asymmetries. We fail to find evidence consistent with this proposition. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-014.pdf PublicationsLocation Strategies and Knowledge Spillovers Authors:Juan... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Synthes

By: John T. Gourville

Synthes is the recognized leader in the U.S. orthopedic implant market, with a 50% market share in the metallic plates, rods, and screws used to fix severe bone fractures. Synthes' marketplace strength lies in the strength of its sales force and in the quality and... View Details