Publications

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March 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Layoffs in the Tech Industry: 2022–2023

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Marilyn Morgan Westner

This case examines the mass layoffs that swept through the tech industry (2022-2023) through the lens of four companies: Twitter, Stripe, Meta, and Google. How these companies implemented workforce change through mass layoffs raises critical questions applicable beyond... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Human Resource Management; Workforce Reductions; Ethics; Human Resources; Management; Values and Beliefs; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Technology Industry; United States; United Kingdom

May 2013
Case

Kaiser Permanente: Innovating to Transform Healthcare

By: Lynda Applegate

This case enables discussion of organizational and industry transformation. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Strategy; Organ; Entrepreneurship; Management; Competitive Strategy; Behavior; Leadership; Health Industry; United States

January 1987 (Revised June 1989)
Case

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi-Cola (A)

Focuses on the competitive interaction between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola specifically and the effect their dominance has on the other industry participants. Coke and Pepsi's competitive strategies are examined in an in-depth analysis; each firm's behavior is used to... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

April 1999 (Revised February 2001)
Background Note

Offshore Drilling Industry, The

After booming in 1997 and early 1998, the offshore drilling industry slumps in late 1998 and early 1999. Lower oil prices lead oil companies to reduce drilling budgets, and rig utilization falls from essentially 100% to 70% in some markets. Day rates--the prices paid... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Price; Supply and Industry; Mining Industry

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell is the Herman C. Krannert Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He joined HBS in 2000 where he has taught the required MBA Strategy course, an elective course on Competing Business Models, and Ph.D. courses on... View Details

Keywords: apparel; energy; paper; semiconductor; software

2003
Other Unpublished Work

The Cluster Initiative Greenbook

By: Örjan Sölvell, Göran Lindqvist and Christian H.M. Ketels

After Michael Porter's seminal work on clusters and competitiveness published around 1990, cluster initiatives (CIs) have become a central feature of microeconomic policy around the world. CIs add a new dimension to traditional policy areas such as industrial... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Policy; Investment; Industry Clusters; Innovation and Invention; Developing Countries and Economies; Transition; Partners and Partnerships; Science

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13 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Science Business: What Happened to Biotech?

Thirty years ago it appeared as if biotech would not only revolutionize healthcare, but also radically improve the very process of R&D itself. This hasn't happened. Though some firms such as Amgen have created dramatic breakthroughs, the overall View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology

Spring 2017
Article

Globalizing Latin American Beauty

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article discusses the growth over time of the beauty industry in Latin America and its bias towards celebrating whiter rather than darker skin. Although alleged Latin American fascination with beauty is regularly ascribed to culture, Latin sensuousness, and... View Details

Keywords: Latin America; Race And Ethnicity; Globalization; Race; Ethnicity; Prejudice and Bias; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Latin America

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June 2003 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Cipla

By: Rohit Deshpande and Laura Winig

The head of Cipla, a $325-million-dollar Indian pharmaceutical company and seller of low-cost AIDS drugs to South Africa, must decide what to do about Cipla's future. With India poised to enforce international patents in only two years, much of Cipla's product line... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Price; Global Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Patents; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Health Industry; South Africa; India

Video

Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar

Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, former Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), speaks on competition between India and China as it relates to innovation, arguing that investment from industry should be increased to bolster India’s global... View Details

February 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Competitive Dynamics in Home Video Games (B): Nintendo Power

Tells the story of Nintendo's revival of the home video game industry in the mid-1980s and its dominance of the market in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Strategic issues addressed include the creation of value by sparking dormant demand and the capture of value... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Video Game Industry

February 1991 (Revised April 1991)
Case

Zenith and High-Definition Television--1990

By: Benjamin Gomes-Casseres, David B. Yoffie and Heather A. Hazard

Describes Zenith's strategy in HDTV and high resolution monitors. Includes overview of HDTV industry with profiles of major competitors worldwide and policies of U.S., Japanese, and European governments. Focuses on competition over standards setting, industrial policy,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Standards; Production; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Electronics Industry; Electronics Industry

Find at Harvard

2018
Simulation

Financial Analysis Simulation: Data Detective

By: Suraj Srinivasan and V.G. Narayanan

In this simulation, students learn to identify typical industry characteristics revealed in financial data. Equipped with an interactive and flexible set of tools, students analyze disguised financials and—using their knowledge of operational practices and reasoning... View Details

Keywords: Financial Analysis; Financial Accounting; Financial Ratios; Accounting; Financial Statements; Analysis

February 2020
Technical Note

Talent Management and the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Gorick Ng

The nature of work is changing—and it is changing rapidly. Few days go by without industry giants such as Amazon and AT&T announcing plans to invest billions of dollars towards retraining nearly half of their respective workforces for jobs of the future. What changes... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Human Capital Development; Human Resource Practices; Talent; Talent Acquisition; Talent Development; Talent Development And Retention; Talent Management; Talent Retention; Labor Flows; Labor Management; Labor Market; Strategy Development; Strategy Management; Strategy Execution; Strategy And Execution; Strategic Change; Transformations; Organization; Organization Alignment; Organization Design; Organizational Adaptation; Organizational Effectiveness; Management Challenges; Management Of Business And Political Risk; Change Leadership; Future Of Work; Future; Skills Gap; Skills Development; Skills; Offshoring And Outsourcing; Investment; Capital Allocation; Work; Work Culture; Work Force Management; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Work-family Boundary Management; Workers; Worker Productivity; Worker Performance; Work Engagement; Work Environment; Work Environments; Productivity; Organization Culture; Soft Skills; Technology Management; Technological Change; Technological Change: Choices And Consequences; Technology Diffusion; Disruptive Technology; Global Business; Global; Workplace; Workplace Context; Workplace Culture; Workplace Wellness; Collaboration; Competencies; Productivity Gains; Digital; Digital Transition; Competitive Dynamics; Competitiveness; Competitive Strategy; Data Analytics; Data; Data Management; Data Strategy; Data Protection; Aging Society; Diversity; Diversity Management; Millennials; Communication Complexity; Communication Technologies; International Business; Work Sharing; Global Competitiveness; Global Corporate Cultures; Intellectual Property; Intellectual Property Management; Intellectual Property Protection; Intellectual Capital And Property Issues; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Inequality; Recruiting; Hiring; Hiring Of Employees; Training; Job Cuts And Outsourcing; Job Performance; Job Search; Job Design; Job Satisfaction; Jobs; Employee Engagement; Employee Attitude; Employee Benefits; Employee Compensation; Employee Fairness; Employee Relationship Management; Employee Retention; Employee Selection; Employee Motivation; Employee Feedback; Employee Coordination; Employee Performance Management; Employee Socialization; Process Improvement; Application Performance Management; Stigma; Institutional Change; Candidates; Digital Enterprise; Cultural Adaptation; Cultural Change; Cultural Diversity; Cultural Context; Cultural Strategies; Cultural Psychology; Cultural Reform; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Performance Appraisal; Performance Feedback; Performance Measurement; Performance Metrics; Performance Measures; Performance Efficiency; Efficiency; Performance Analysis; Performance Appraisals; Performance Improvement; Automation; Artificial Intelligence; Technology Companies; Managerial Processes; Skilled Migration; Assessment; Human Resources; Management; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Retention; Demographics; Labor; Strategy; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Disruption; Economy; Competition; Globalization; AI and Machine Learning; Digital Transformation