Publications

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March 2009 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Executing Strategy

By: J. Bruce Harreld

This is a note to introduce the principles for effectively implementing a new strategy. It emphasizes the interdependence of strategy and execution in developing and sustaining superior competitive performance. Primarily based on the notion that strategy should be a... View Details

Keywords: Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Management Teams

February 2018
Teaching Plan

Entrepreneurship for All

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Julia Kelley

Teaching Note for HBS No. 818-007. View Details

November 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Arcor: Global Strategy and Local Turbulence

Argentine confectionery manufacturer, Arcor Group, seeks to implement an international strategy but in 2003, recovering from the Argentine financial crisis, thwarts globalization plans. Already Latin America's leading candy producer and an exporter to over 100... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Making; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Argentina

December 2021
Article

The Evolutionary Nature of Breakthrough Innovation: An Empirical Investigation of Firm Search Strategies

By: Dominika Kinga Randle and Gary P. Pisano

Breakthrough innovation has been an important topic of study for generations of scholars. Previous research in this domain has focused on exploring the way breakthroughs emerge from cumulative combination and recombination of prior technologies and knowledge components... View Details

Keywords: Breakthrough Innovation; Exploration And Exploitation; Search Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Strategy

July 1994
Article

Retail Pricing and Advertising Strategies

By: R. Lal and C. Matutes

Keywords: Price; Strategy; Advertising

Teaching Interest

IFC: London; Entrepreneurship in the UK and Europe

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

This immersion course is designed to provide “a view from the bridge” between the HBS campus and Europe for those who are interested in understanding the region’s extraordinary recent explosion of entrepreneurial activity and capital deployment, who want to meet... View Details

05 Jul 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Schumpeter’s Plea: Rediscovering History and Relevance in the Study of Entrepreneurship

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones & Dan Wadhwani

04 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

RealNetworks, CNET, and Judo Strategy

Commerce and Strategy panel at the 2001 Global Alumni Conference. He told alumni that fighting against a larger, stronger rival means not playing the game that your opponents want you to play. "Instead,... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

October 2009
Simulation

Strategy Simulation: Competitive Dynamics and Wintel

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

In this online simulation students study the dynamics of cooperation and competition between two markedly different businesses that both rely on the flow of PC sales. Playing the role of Microsoft or Intel, students determine product release schedules and pricing, as... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; Motivation and Incentives; Negotiation; Software; Computer Industry

October 2013
Background Note

Multi-Sided Platforms: Foundations and Strategy

By: Andrei Hagiu

This note offers an analysis of four fundamental strategic decisions and associated tradeoffs that set MSPs apart from other types of businesses (e.g. product firms) and that every MSP entrepreneur and investor should carefully consider. In the last section I also... View Details

Keywords: Multi-Sided Platforms; Strategy; Technology; Technology Industry

August 2011
Module Note

Assessing the Legal Climate for Entrepreneurship

By: Lena G. Goldberg

This module note briefly reviews several approaches to assessing the link between law and specific rules and regulations and a favorable climate for entrepreneurship and economic growth. View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Law

April 1979 (Revised April 1986)
Case

Mexico: Development Strategies and Performance

By: James E. Austin

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Growth and Development Strategy; Mexico

Research Summary

Privatization, Regulatory Reform and Management Strategy

Alexander Dyck's research illustrates why privatization and deregulation often improve performance and factors that separate success from failure. A simplistic model of privatization and regulatory reform assumed that the shift from government to private sector... View Details

November 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Sam Huttenbauer: Entrepreneurship in Food Preservation and Nutraceuticals

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop, Stacey J. Bell and David Benedict Pearcy

Sam Huttenbauer is trying to get two companies, in high-pressure food preservation and in nutraceuticals, off the ground. This case covers strategic, marketing, and financing challenges. It also looks at innovative technologies in the food industry and the role of the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Food; Problems and Challenges; Corporate Strategy; Marketing; Finance; Technological Innovation; Commercialization

January 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Background Note

Strategy and Positioning in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case provides a definition of strategy, distinguishes between corporate and practice strategy, and discusses how and why developing and implementing strategy for professional service firms is different from developing and implementing strategy for commercial... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Service Industry

2006
Working Paper

Skill vs. Luck in Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital: Evidence from Serial Entrepreneurs

By: Paul A. Gompers, Anna Kovner, Josh Lerner and David S. Scharfstein

This paper argues that a large component of success in entrepreneurship and venture capital can be attributed to skill. We show that entrepreneurs with a track record of success are more likely to succeed than first time entrepreneurs and those who have previously... View Details

Keywords: Return On Investment; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Success; Experience and Expertise

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September 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

J.C. Penney's 'Fair and Square' Pricing Strategy

By: Elie Ofek and Jill Avery

As a he gets ready to release 2nd quarter 2012 results, Ron Johnson, the new CEO of department store J.C. Penney, is reconsidering the dramatic changes he initiated for the business model and brand image of his company. A new pricing scheme he put in place in February,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Consumer Behavior; Management Teams; Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Price; Brands and Branding; Decision Making; Retail Industry; United States

October 1978 (Revised March 1980)
Background Note

Corporate Strategy and Technological Policy