Strategy Development - Publications - Faculty & Research

January 2013
Case

Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (A)

By: Willy Shih and Ying Zhou

Managers at Cabot Corporation are faced with deciding the future of its fuel cell program. The (A) case recounts the view of the business manager and the technical project lead, and the (B) case describes the perspective of a senior manager who is the head of the New... View Details

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November 2004 (Revised September 2019)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004

By: John R. Wells, Gabriel Ellsworth and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2004, the $16.8 billion U.S. health club industry continued its strong record of growth. There were almost 27,000 health clubs in the United States, up from 6,700 two decades earlier, and these clubs claimed 41 million members, over 14% of the U.S. population.... View Details

Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Customers; Demographics; Age; Income; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Retention; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Operations; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Hardware; Health Industry; United States

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February 2017
Supplement

JCDecaux, 2016: Global Leader ... Again

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In 2016, JCDecaux was number one in the world in outdoor advertising. This was a far cry from the situation in 2003; at that time, JCDecaux had been unseated by Clear Channel from the number-one spot that it had held for decades, and it was fighting for second place... View Details

Keywords: JCDecaux; Clear Channel Outdoor; OUTFRONT Media; Lamar Advertising Company; Jean-François Decaux; Jean-Charles Decaux; Outdoor Advertising; Street Furniture; Airports; Billboards; Bicycles; Digital Devices; Digital Marketing; Bidding; Advertising; Advertising Campaigns; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; Family Business; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Design; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Globalization; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Government Legislation; Business History; Human Resources; Laws and Statutes; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Operations; Distribution; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product; Product Design; Production; Organizational Structure; Property; Public Ownership; Renting or Rental; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Family and Family Relationships; Sales; Situation or Environment; Luxury; Strategy; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Mobile Technology; Wireless Technology; Air Transportation; Bicycle Transportation; Rail Transportation; Transportation Networks; Advertising Industry; France; Paris

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13 Dec 2016
First Look

December 13, 2016

Falabella stores, whether to develop personal banking services further, and whether to make substantial changes to the strategy or to exit the business. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

24 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

How Kayak Users Built a New Industry

The sport of rodeo kayaking—the use of specialized kayaks to perform acrobatic tricks and maneuvers in rough white water—began around 1968 when an avid sportsman by the name of Walt Blackader developed techniques for entering waves... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation

02 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Health Care Research and Prospects

is a lot other work at the school going on around these issues by many other faculty. For instance, Dave Scharfstein is doing great work on how capital market forces influence the development strategies of... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild Swearingen; Health

2005
Article

Increasing Exploration: Evidence from International Expansion

By: Juan Alcacer, Heather Berry and Wilbur Chung

While firms balance exploitation and exploration to maximize profits, specifics of how firms pursue this balance are scarce. We focus on how firms increase their exploration after obtaining greater capabilities and experience via sequential international expansion.... View Details

Keywords: Price Bubble; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Industry Growth; Research and Development; Profit; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Disruptive Innovation; Five Forces Framework; SWOT Analysis; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Manufacturing Industry; Japan; United States

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September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Keroche (D): Transforming the Core Business

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case describes Keroche co-founder Tabitha Karanja’s decision to exit the wine business following the Kenyan government’s 2007 increase in excise taxes on wine. In August 2007, Keroche introduced the vodka drink Viena Ice as a replacement for its fortified wines,... View Details

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September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
Supplement

Keroche (C): The Excise Tax Increase

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding

This case discusses the Kenyan government’s decision to increase excise taxes on wines in 2007. The tax increase would cause an average increase in price of 367% on Keroche’s fortified wines. Meanwhile, Keroche’s competitor EABL had effectively lobbied the government... View Details

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16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Marketing Wine to the World

Michael Roberto: My parents are Italian immigrants, and my family back in Tuscany and the Campania region of Italy continue to make their own wine. Therefore, I've always had an interest in the wine-making process. A few years ago, when teaching the View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Consumer Products; Entertainment & Recreation; Food & Beverage

December 2016
Case

Public Mission, Private Funding: The University of California, Berkeley

By: William C. Kirby and Joycelyn W. Eby

UC Berkley, long known as one of the leading public universities in both the U.S. and the world, has seen turbulent times recently. While student enrollment and costs have increased steadily in recent years, the school, which has been fiercely proud of its public... View Details

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January 2013
Supplement

Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (B)

By: Willy Shih and Ying Zhou

Managers at Cabot Corporation are faced with deciding the future of its fuel cell program. The (A) case recounts the view of the business manager and the technical project lead, and the (B) case describes the perspective of a senior manager who is the head of the New... View Details

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22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Important Management Trends of the (Still Young) Twenty-First Century

strategy and organizational management. Products are being developed through open innovation, with input from people connected to each other and the company only through a common interest—and electronic... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 Dec 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Walmart Defying Economic Gravity?

''How long can this be sustained without effective push-back?" Others noted the benefits of scale in fostering success for the foreseeable future. Robert Duque suggested that the organization will learn from its subsidiaries, such as Sam's Club, which is View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

07 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Negotiation and All That Jazz

into your strategy right from the start. "There are certain things you won't know until you engage with the other side. In other words, negotiation is a dynamic, interactive process," Wheeler says. Whatever questions, offers, or threats... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

13 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

Managing to Learn: How Companies Can Turn Knowledge into Action

his research, few managers know how to channel innovative thinking into practice by making sense of the overwhelming amount of market, financial, and technical data now available and then sharing discoveries and strategies with other... View Details

Keywords: by Laurie Joan Aron

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Global Brands: Connecting With Consumers Across Boundaries

elements of the marketing mix when it comes to brand building. Developing new products provides an edge in product differentiation, he said, and pricing should be as important to marketers as it is to retailers. As for distribution, in a... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

14 Jun 2016
First Look

June 14, 2016

practices are broadly familiar, their application within cross-industry teams calls for unique leadership approaches that combine flexibility, open-mindedness, humility, and fierce resolve. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51140 2016... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 28

Se Yan Abstract Our paper provides a comparative perspective on the development of public primary education in four of the largest developing economies circa 1910: Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC).... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Seeds of Innovation: GALY's Quest to Cultivate the Future of Agriculture in the Lab

By: George Serafeim and Michael Norris

In 2023, Luciano Bueno, CEO and founder of plant cell culture agriculture company GALY, was considering the best path forward for his company as he planned to pitch Series B investors. GALY, founded in 2019, aimed to produce cotton and other crops from cells grown in... View Details