Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(9,843)
- Faculty Publications (3,816)
- 2018
- Working Paper
The Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities
By: David J. Collis and Bharat Anand
The concept of dynamic capabilities draws its theoretical basis from two classic traditions within the strategy field—the resource-based view of the firm (RBV) (Wernerfelt, 1984) and market positioning (Porter, 1996). A dynamic capability qualifies as a source of... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
The Strategic Management of Execution
By: David J. Collis
“Tell me David, is it better to have a great strategy poorly executed or a so-so strategy really well executed?” The age-old question suggests there is a fundamental tradeoff between strategy and execution. The tone in which it is asked typically flags that the... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
The Value Potential of New Business Models
By: David J. Collis
One attempt to regain the ground that strategy has recently lost, which was described in the first article, has been the introduction of “business models” as the precursor to competitive positioning within an industry. Understanding a business model provides a... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
Why Has Strategy Become Irrelevant? Understanding the Complete Strategy Landscape
By: David J. Collis
Developing the firm’s strategy was once seen as the most important task facing a CEO. Yet in the last 20 years, the practice of strategy has been relegated to a routinized function—part of the annual planning process, like performance management and succession planning... View Details
- September 2019 (Revised June 2020)
- Case
Othellonia: Growing a Mobile Game
In the summer of 2019, Yu Sasaki, Head of the Game Division of DeNA, a Japanese mobile gaming company, is evaluating various growth strategies for its recent game Othellonia. Sasaki needs to decide if he should focus on customer acquisition, retention, or monetization. View Details
Keywords: Targeting; Retention/churn; Freemium; Monetization; Customer Relationship Management; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Customers; Marketing Strategy; Retention; Acquisition; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan
- September 2019 (Revised February 2020)
- Teaching Note
Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation
By: Ryan W. Buell and Leslie K. John
Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.
This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation (619-018). In August 2017,... View Details
This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Commonwealth Bank of Australia: Unbanklike Experimentation (619-018). In August 2017,... View Details
- 2019
- Article
Pay-for-Monopoly?: An Assessment of Reverse Payment Deals by Pharmaceutical Companies
By: Sana Rafiq and Max Bazerman
Abstract
Over the past eighteen years, pharmaceutical firms have developed a blueprint to impede competition in order
to maintain their monopoly profits. This scheme, termed pay-for-delay, involves direct or indirect payment of
money from a branded-drug manufacturer... View Details
- August 2019 (Revised October 2019)
- Case
Amandla Capital: Real Estate in Côte d‘Ivoire
By: John D. Macomber, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Dilyana Botha
This case describes Amandla Capital, a fledgling company in Cote d’Ivoire, facing three opportunities in the real estate and hospitality industries in Africa. It introduces students to several concepts: decision-making and cost-benefit analysis in real estate,... View Details
- August 2019
- Teaching Note
Back to the Roots
By: Elizabeth A. Keenan and Leslie K. John
Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.
This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Back to the Roots HBS case No. 518-073. Back to the Roots (BTTR) is a start-up with a... View Details
This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Back to the Roots HBS case No. 518-073. Back to the Roots (BTTR) is a start-up with a... View Details
- August 2019
- Case
Walmart's Omnichannel Strategy: Revolution or Miscalculation?
By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman
This case describes Walmart's omnichannel strategy in 2018 as it battled Amazon for online retail market share. The case discusses Walmart's early forays into online retail, as well as its 2018 strategy, which aimed to integrate Walmart's enormous brick and mortar... View Details
- August 2019 (Revised August 2022)
- Case
Baroo (A): Pet Concierge
By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Susie L. Ma
Baroo CEO Lindsay Hyde was facing unrest from the board of her pet services startup in August 2017. One board member (and lead investor) was alarmed that Baroo’s growth was slowing while its appetite for funding was accelerating. Hyde wanted to hit the gas and continue... View Details
- August 2019
- Case
Humanistic Capitalism at Brunello Cucinelli
By: Francesca Gino and Gary Pisano
This case explores one company’s attempt to experiment with a different underlying model for a capitalist enterprise. Brunello Cucinelli, S.p.A. is a leading manufacturer of luxury fashion apparel. Despite being a publicly traded enterprise with annual revenues... View Details
- August 2019
- Case
Apex Ski Boots
By: Kate Barasz and John T. Gourville
Apex Ski Boots has introduced a new ski boot that, due to its radical design, is meeting resistance in the marketplace from many retailers, ski experts, and consumers. The company must decide how best to drive sales in the face of this resistance. View Details
- August 2019 (Revised November 2022)
- Case
Paradigm Capital Value Fund
By: Luis M. Viceira and Elena Corsi
Karl Jan Erick Hummel had founded Paradigm Capital Value Fund in 2007 together with Columbia Business School Professor Bruce Greenwald, an expert in value investing and now chairman of the fund. The fund followed the principles of value investing to their target... View Details
- August 2019 (Revised April 2021)
- Case
Zillow Offers: Winning Online Real Estate 2.0
By: Luis Viceira, Marco Di Maggio and Allison Ciechanover
Founded in 2005, Zillow had become the leading online real estate and home-related marketplace. The brand was recognized as a trusted resource for players in the real estate market, providing information and transparency on home prices. Revenue, which was historically... View Details
- August 2019
- Case
Kazakhstan Railways: From the Middle of Nowhere to a Center of Trade?
By: Willy Shih and Esel Çekin
This case describes the evolution of Kazakhstan's rail connectivity strategy post-collapse of the Soviet Union and its now central role in China's Belt and Road Initiative. This meant shifting from a north-south orientation towards an east-west one, as well as the... View Details
- August 2019
- Case
Legrand's Acquisition of Milestone
By: C. Fritz Foley and F. Katelynn Boland
In June 2017, Legrand, a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructure which was a serial acquirer, announced it had signed an agreement to buy Milestone AV Technologies, a leading designer and manufacturer of branded audio-video products. This... View Details
- 2020
- Working Paper
Digital Experimentation and Startup Performance: Evidence from A/B Testing
By: Rembrand Koning, Sharique Hasan and Aaron Chatterji
Recent work argues that experimentation is the appropriate framework for entrepreneurial strategy. We investigate this proposition by exploiting the time-varying adoption of A/B testing technology, which has drastically reduced the cost of experimentally testing... View Details
- August 2019
- Case
Simón Cohen at Henco: Sustaining 'High Performance, Happy People'
By: Francesca Gino, Jeff Steiner, Arianna Camacho and Paul Green
Simón Cohen—Founder of Henco Logistics—transformed a small Mexican logistics company into a major player within the industry. Cohen credits the firm’s focus on employee happiness as the key ingredient to its success, an approach he developed following a personal... View Details
Keywords: Work/life Balance; Growth Strategy; Corporate Culture; Motivation; Values; Authentic Leadership Development; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Motivation and Incentives; Values and Beliefs; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry
- August 2019
- Case
Huawei and the U.S.-China Trade War
By: Elie Ofek and John Masko
In 2019, Chinese smartphone maker and telecommunications empire Huawei was preparing to launch its new flagship smartphone series, the Mate 30. After years of explosive growth, the previous 18 months had been a challenge for the company. In early 2018, Huawei’s planned... View Details