Publications

September 1992 (Revised March 1994)
Case

Warsaw Marriott: New Competition for Warsaw's Marriott Hotel

A very successful luxury hotel in Warsaw, Poland is faced with its first serious competition as new luxury hotels enter the Warsaw market. The case raises the general issue of how to sustain a competitive advantage in an international service business. A variety of... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Globalized Markets and Industries; Accommodations Industry; Poland

23 Jan 2013
News

Are Today's Business Leaders Too Afraid of Risk?

19 May 2009
News

Mid-level jobs key to recovery

15 Feb 2012
News

Occupy Wall Street Protestors Have a Point

2016
Case

Africa Strategy of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Jie Jiao, Dayong Yang and Shanshan Cao

Founded in 1983, China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. ("CNMC") is one of the earliest and largest global Chinese nonferrous metal industrial enterprises. It has investments and projects in 27 countries and trade networks in nearly 100 countries with a... View Details

Keywords: Cross-cultural Management; Global Strategy; Globalization; International Business; Strategy Management; Africa; China

February 2010 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Living PlanIT

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, Susan Thyne and Tiona Zuzul

Living PlanIT is a start-up company that has developed a new, innovative business model for sustainable urbanization. This model reflects the software and technology backgrounds of its founders, Steve Lewis and Malcolm Hutchinson, and is in vivid contrast to other... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Development Economics; Entrepreneurship; City; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Urban Development; Construction Industry; Green Technology Industry; Real Estate Industry; Portugal

Program

Owner/President Management

sustain enterprise success. Read More Understand the major drivers of your business Position your business for long-term competitive advantage Strengthen your decision-making and negotiation skills Capitalize on disruptive innovation and... View Details

February 2023
Supplement

Graphic Packaging: Project Cowboy (A) Courseware

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Scott Mayfield

In July 2019, Graphic Packaging CEO Michael Doss was proposing a $600 million investment in a new machine to produce coated recycled board (CRB), a type of paper packaging used for consumer products (cups, cereal boxes, beverage boxes, etc.) that utilized recycled... View Details

Keywords: Capital Budgeting; Growth Management; Demand and Consumers; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Value Creation; Supply and Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; North America

September–October 2017
Article

Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management?: Neither Great Leadership Nor Brilliant Strategy Matters Without Operational Excellence

By: Raffaella Sadun, Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen

A recurring message in business education is that you can’t compete on the basis of management processes because they’re easily copied. Operational effectiveness is table stakes in the competitive universe, it is often assumed, and thus cannot serve as a sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Effectiveness

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February 2015
Case

Continental Hope Group

By: Christopher Marquis and Qi Li

This case provides an opportunity to examine and discuss how a traditional Chinese private business was launched and developed into a globalizing, multi-industry corporation. It also highlights how second generation entrepreneurs successfully developed an innovative... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; China; Technology; Real Estate; Talent Retention; Incentives; Talent and Talent Management; Diversification; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Construction Industry; Tourism Industry; Energy Industry; Real Estate Industry; Chemical Industry; China

February 1988 (Revised February 1991)
Case

Baxter Healthcare Corp.: ASAP Express

A continuation of the ASAP story described in American Hospital Supply Corp.: The ASAP System (A). As the industry and information technology have evolved, ASAP and systems like it have moved from strategic advantage to competitive necessity. Poses the issues of... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

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March 1999 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Apple Computer--1999

By: David B. Yoffie and Mary Kwak

In 1980, Apple was the leader of the PC industry, but by 1999, it had suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Wintel camp. This case examines Apple's efforts to create sustainable competitive advantage as the PC industry evolves. After discussing Apple's history and... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology Industry

25 Aug 2011
News

Across borders, a murky trade

Collective Genius

Why can some organizations innovate time and again, while most cannot? You might think the key to innovation is attracting exceptional creative talent. Or making the right investments. Or breaking down organizational silos. All of these things may help--but there's... View Details

August 2020 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Nubank: Democratizing Financial Services

By: Michael Chu, Carla Larangeira and Pedro Levindo

Nubank, a wholly-digital solution created to disrupt Brazilian banking, with 6 million clients and a $4 billion valuation after five years, must decide whether to expand to Mexico. The company was founded in São Paulo in 2013 by Colombian-born David Vélez to seize what... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Financial Inclusion; Digital Banking; Credit Cards; Banks and Banking; Disruption; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; South America; Brazil; North America; Mexico

June 2018
Case

Forta Furniture: International Expansion

By: John A. Quelch and Karthik Easwar

The Forta Furniture case highlights the need to consider new market expansion to grow a firm. It demonstrates that simply doing what has always been done is not sustainable when other competitors enter the market with differentiated or potentially superior offerings.... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Global Range; Decision Making; Analysis; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Expansion

February 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

The New York Times Paywall

By: Vineet Kumar, Bharat Anand, Sunil Gupta and Felix Oberholzer-Gee

On March 28, 2011, The New York Times website became a restricted site where most of the content was protected behind a "paywall." Users who exceeded the limit of 20 free articles per month were required to pay for either a digital or print subscription. The newspaper... View Details

Keywords: Newspapers; Strategy; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry