Publications

September 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Becton Dickinson: Global Health Strategy

By: Mark R. Kramer and Sarah Mehta

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) was a medical technology firm headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, with 43,000 employees and 2016 revenues of $12.5 billion. For several years, the company had pursued developing products that created shared value, defined as... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Creating Shared Value; Odon Device; Medical Technology; Value Creation; Values and Beliefs; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Emerging Markets; Social Issues; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Africa; Asia; Middle East

2008
Book

Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton

In a world of stiffening competition, business strategy is more crucial than ever. Yet most organizations struggle in this area--not with formulating strategy but with executing it, or putting their strategy into action. Owing to execution failures, companies realize... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Operations; Performance; Strategic Planning; Business Strategy

February 2019
Case

Canibal—Play It Green!

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Joseph B. Fuller, Tonia Labruyere and Elena Corsi

In 2011, Canibal launched a machine that could sort and compress aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and cups. Users could play a jackpot-style game on the machine’s digital display, while disposing of their beverage containers and earning coupons or other rewards. The... View Details

Keywords: Sales Growth; Recycling; Start-up; Scaling; Market Selection; Sales; Marketing; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Segmentation; Product Positioning; Technology Industry; France

12 Feb 2020
News

Research: It Pays To Be Yourself

June 2016
Case

Macy's Reinvents Its Millennial Business

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Molly Langenstein, Macy’s executive vice president for fashion and new business development, and members of Macy’s senior team were rethinking the company’s approach to serving millennial customers, customers born between the years of 1980 and 2000. To tackle this... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Age; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Business Processes; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

Article

What It Takes to Reshore Manufacturing Successfully

By: Willy C. Shih

The data on comparative labor and energy costs may seem compelling, but the process of bringing assembly work back to domestic factories from abroad is substantially more challenging than the economics alone would predict. This paper looks at some of the issues firms... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing; Manufacturing Costs; Manufacturing Strategy; U.S. Competitiveness; Competitiveness; Labor Force Participation; Labor Management; Trade; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China

Register to Read

April 2011
Article

Strategies for Learning from Failure

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Many executives believe that all failure is bad (although it usually provides lessons)--and that learning from it is pretty straightforward. The author, a professor at Harvard Business School, thinks both beliefs are misguided. In organizational life, she says, some... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leadership; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Failure; Opportunities

01 Jun 2003
News

Hopping to It

there.” Arista is doing well, thanks to its established stars along with newcomers such as Pink, Avril Lavigne, Usher, and OutKast — the latter two, along with Santana, won Grammys this year. Asked about his goals for the company, Reid... View Details

Keywords: Arista; LA Reid; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Arts, Entertainment

November 2006 (Revised December 2012)
Background Note

Strategies Beyond the Market

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Dennis Yao

Strategists are not alone in finding failing markets irresistible. Governments and social groups ranging from unions to the World Wildlife Fund also respond to market failures. Governments typically seek to fix failing markets, often with prescriptions of what... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Failure; Strategy; Situation or Environment; Social Issues; Government and Politics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

April 2012 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Social Strategy at American Express

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and David Chen

American Express has developed a number of strategic partnerships with Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter to improve their card members experience and lower its customer acquisition cost. The case details the history of these partnerships, examines American Express' own... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Social Marketing; Financial Services Industry

Many blockbuster products and services that have redefined the global business landscape are built around platforms that tie together two distinct groups of users in a network. Examples include credit cards that link consumers and merchants; operating systems that... View Details

Web

Adding a Social Dimension to Strategy - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Creating Shared Value CSV Creating Shared Value CSV Explained Emerging Topics CSV in Practice Published CSV Cases CSV Explained CSV Explained The Three Levels of CSV Adding a Social Dimension to Strategy Redefining Capitalism The... View Details

Web

Strategy in Emerging Economies - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Strategy Strategy Strategy Explained Business Strategy Creating a Successful Strategy Corporate View Details

Web

Strategy - Faculty & Research

Strategy Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students June 2025 Case AI Wars in 2025 By: Andy Wu and Anna Yang In June 2025, Google leaders in Mountain View, CA convened after View Details

October 2013
Article

The Strategy That Will Fix Health Care

By: Michael E. Porter and Thomas H. Lee

In health care, the days of business as usual are over. Around the world, every health care system is struggling with rising costs and uneven quality, despite the hard work of well-intentioned, well-trained clinicians. Health care leaders and policy makers have tried... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Value; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

January 2018 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (C)

By: William C. Kirby, Yuanzhuo Wang and Daniel Fu

This case updates Wanxiang Group's activities since 2012, focusing on its electric vehicle strategy and a transition of the group's leadership. View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Leadership Succession; Strategy; Management Succession; Global Range; Auto Industry; United States; China

July 2012
Case

Shut It Down?

By: Clayton Rose

Meredith, the head of a major division of a financial firm, must confront an unexpected response and challenge from a senior colleague when she proposes shutting down an underperforming unit. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Collaboration; Business Units; Business Exit or Shutdown; Leadership; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

2007
Article

Greedy Bidding Strategies for Keyword Auctions

By: Matthew Cary, Aparna Das, Benjamin Edelman, Ioannis Giotis, Kurtis Heimerl, Anna Karlin, Claire Mathieu and Michael Schwarz

How should players bid in keyword auctions such as those used by Google, Yahoo! and MSN? We consider greedy bidding strategies for a repeated auction on a single keyword, where in each round, each player chooses some optimal bid for the next round, assuming that the... View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Strategy; Revenue; Search Technology