General Strategy - Publications - Faculty & Research

16 May 2011
Research & Ideas

What Loyalty? High-End Customers are First to Flee

service-level strategy better than one that varies by market? There is something to be said for and against both approaches. While there are certainly cost benefits to service standardization (Buell cites McDonald's as an example), the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

16 Apr 2012
Research & Ideas

The Inner Workings of Corporate Headquarters

Edward Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. "Interdepartmental coordination doesn't tend to happen organically. It needs some intervention to create collaborative networks." “What corporate-level View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

03 Jun 2020
News

Weathering the Storm

Nnamdi Okike (MBA 2007) Nnamdi Okike (MBA 2007) In this special video edition of Skydeck, contributing host Chitra Nawbatt (GMP 6, 2009) speaks with 645 Ventures Cofounder and General Partner Nnamdi Okike (MBA 2007) about near-term and... View Details

Keywords: Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

01 Oct 2001
News

Q&A: Orin Smith

people-watching, and the general ambience, it was extremely attractive to customers. Also, a key aspect of our strategy is to be preemptive; we get there ahead of the competition, and if we're a little late,... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia; Hospitality; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

02 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part One]

former HBS professor who is now dean at the new Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy at Tokyo's Hitotsubashi University; and Sakakibara, a former Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI) official with a doctorate from Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

01 Jun 2008
News

Faculty Books

The Oxford Handbook of Business History edited by Geoffrey Jones and Jonathan Zeitlin (Oxford University Press) This handbook surveys research in business history, a broad area of study generating empirical data that have sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Educational Services; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information; Management

03 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Making Money Making Movies

the momentum generated in the U.S. Buzz, it appears, quickly wears out. There is an important caveat. Our study suggests that foreign exhibitors—not foreign audiences—mostly drive this effect. Shortening release times can thus be a useful... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Entertainment & Recreation; Motion Pictures & Video

Web

Tough Tech Ventures - Course Catalog

strategies to overcome those challenges and successfully lead these ventures to scale in order to generate financial returns and deliver the intended impact. Key Learning Objectives Understand key founding... View Details

05 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

What Wall Street Doesn’t Understand About International Trade

sense to do business with that country. What part of that country is the best trade partner? Who are the best contacts?" Analyzing Data Of course, immigrants most likely to aid trading decisions are those who work at the firm. But because firms View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Career Coach

Jon Puz

roles have included general management, strategy, business development, sales, account management, product, operations, marketing, technology, finance, HR and more. Jon has partnered with a variety of investors, including angel, venture... View Details

02 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Retail Reaches a Tipping Point—Which Stores Will Survive?

In this three-part series, we start with an overview of why retail experts Rajiv Lal, José B. Alvarez, and Dan Greenberg believe retail is at an inflection point. In Part Two, coming next week, they identify effective strategies for... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

August 2017 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Enel: The Future of Energy

By: Mark R. Kramer and Bhanuteja Nadella

Enel has transformed from the Italian state-owned energy monopoly into a global leader in renewable energy and shared value creation. Through its open innovation model, the company has catapulted to the cutting edge of electric mobility and distributed power... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Energy Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

29 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement

centers on the media, entertainment, and sports industries. One general question I try to answer in my research is what value is created by superstars in these sectors, and how much of that value these stars themselves capture. I was... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Sports

17 Nov 2016
News

Wired for Innovation

ultimate goal of selling transmission capacity to generators of renewable-energy seeking to get their product to market; or to utilities looking to access the lowest-cost clean power in the country. To make that happen, Skelly spends much... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

02 Jun 2014
Research & Ideas

Excerpt: ‘A Social Strategy’

Twitter—establishing an account, getting people to follow the firm, and hoping that those people will respond in kind. Such strategies have allowed firms to engage in an activity that's very familiar to them: broadcasting content to... View Details

Career Coach

Alan Neider

Alan’s also happy to help with interview prep, resume and cover letter reviews, and general career conversations and coaching. To schedule a session with Alan, please send him an email. Work Experience: City of Cleveland Mayor’s Office... View Details

17 Nov 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

How Activist Investors Became Respectable

online well before any regulatory filing disclosed his holdings in the company. These tactics may have been designed for drama, but the investment strategy and its scale are nothing unusual today. Activist shareholders and the hedge funds... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph Fuller; Financial Services; Banking

Michael Ilitch

Ilitch built a small take-out pizza shop in Detroit into a 4,700 chain enterprise. At a time when take-out food was still a novelty, Ilitch catered to an increasingly mobile and convenience-oriented population. His strategy was based on... View Details

Keywords: Restaurants & Lodging

01 Mar 2015
News

Research Brief: Political Capital

It’s no secret that politicians are trying to buy your vote—in the 2012 presidential campaign, Republicans and Democrats shelled out nearly $2 billion in their fight for the White House. But what’s the most effective way to spend that money? In a new working paper, HBS... View Details

Keywords: Janelle Nanos; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support; Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support

06 Nov 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Top-Down Resource Allocation on the Rise?

levels—these days. Why? Is it because large organizations are perceived as lacking agility, unable or unwilling to generate the impetus for development and exploitation of disruptive technologies? Is it because a new View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Publications