Publications

Teaching Interest

MBA Required Curriculum-- Strategy Course

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

The objective of this course is to help students develop the skills for formulating strategy. It provides an understanding of:

A firm's operative environment and how to sustain competitive advantage.
How to generate superior value for customers... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage

14 May 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Humblebragging: A Distinct-and Ineffective-Self-Presentation Strategy

Keywords: by Ovul Sezer, Francesca Gino & Michael I. Norton

January 2014
Case

Social Strategy at Cisco Systems

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski, Daniel Malter and Aaron Smith

In April 2013, Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager for Learning@Cisco Systems, was planning the future of the Cisco Learning Network, an online platform hosted at Cisco.com. Since its launch in 2008, the Cisco Learning Network provided content to... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Competency and Skills; Learning; Web Services Industry

February 2001
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc.: Solaris Strategy

In the late 1990s, Sun Microsystems' Solaris has emerged as the dominant UNIX-based alternative to Microsoft for server operating systems. At the same time, the open source operating system Linux has appeared unexpectedly, and it is generating significant excitement... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Competition; Open Source Distribution; Standards

2016
Working Paper

Algorithmic Foundations for Business Strategy

By: Mihnea Moldoveanu

I introduce algorithmic and meta-algorithmic models for the study of strategic problem solving, aimed at illuminating the processes and procedures by which strategic managers and firms deal with complex problems. These models allow us to explore the relationship... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Business Strategy

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Research Summary

Organizational Identity and Firm Strategy

By: Michael L. Tushman

This research stream focuses on the role of... View Details

April 2015
Case

Accor: Designing an Asset-Right Business and Disclosure Strategy

By: Mozaffar Khan and George Serafeim

Sebastien Bazin was now in charge of Accor, the world's largest French hotelier, a CAC 40 company with 3,600 hotels in 92 countries and a market cap of €10 billion. Previously as the European head of Colony Capital, one of the largest private equity groups and the... View Details

April 5, 2021
Article

Defining a Post-Pandemic Channel Strategy

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Companies have experienced a surge of online orders during the pandemic. As the crisis eases, leaders need to decide whether the shift to e-commerce is a permanent “new normal” or a temporary increase. Across sectors, forecasts aimed at answering this question form the... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Marketing Channels; Strategy; Resource Allocation; E-commerce

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July–August 2016
Article

Stick to the Strategy or Make the Sale?: A Manufacturer of High-tech Streetlights Considers an Exception to Its New Subscription Model

By: Mitchell Weiss

A manufacturer of high-tech streetlights considers an exception to its new subscription model. A fictionalized case study based on the HBS Case 816-005, "Bigbelly," by Mitchell Weiss and Christine Snively. This case is an example of public entrepreneurship. View Details

Keywords: Public Entrepreneurship; Smart Cities; Anything As A Service; Xaas; Bigbelly; Entrepreneurship

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October 2005 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities

Describes the efforts of Volkswagen of America, the U.S. subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, to arrive at a process for setting IT funding priorities so that they align with business priorities and the company's overall strategy. The process is carefully thought out and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Business Subsidiaries; Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Alignment; Auto Industry; United States

March 2021
Technical Note

Competitive Strategy in International Construction

By: John D. Macomber and Emrah Ergelen

Construction of buildings and infrastructure is one of the largest industries in the world in terms of volume. It is also one of the most physically risky, financially uncertain, and politically impacted. The industry is highly fragmented since there are few economies... View Details

Keywords: Construction; Infrastructure; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Strategic Planning; Global Range; Construction Industry

28 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

B2B Branding: Does it Work?

Harvard Business School professor John Quelch writes a blog on marketing issues, called Marketing Know: How, for Harvard Business Online. It is reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge.Many business-to-business (B2B) CEOs view marketing as the... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Consumer Products

August 2000 (Revised September 2002)
Exercise

Working with Your Shadow Partner in Analyzing IT Strategic Partnering

By: Richard L. Nolan

A team-based exercise allowing students to conduct a strategy analysis of the leading companies in the IT business. Involves searching on the web for both public information sources and company information sources. The teams work together to analyze the information and... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Information Technology; Information Technology Industry

21 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

Strategy and Execution for Emerging Markets

mature markets. It could help managers audit any given emerging market and its different institutional voids. Managers can then tailor-make their strategy to a particular... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

February 2007
Case

IBM Culture in Its Architecture

By: A. Eugene Kohn and Kerry Herman

In 1992, Lou Gerstner was the CEO of IBM during a period where the firm was losing money and a turnaround was desperately needed. In a bold decision, Gerstner chose to build a new headquarters in Armonk, NY that had strict limits on expandability. His idea was to use... View Details

Keywords: Design; Leadership; Job Design and Levels; Organizational Structure; Buildings and Facilities; Business Headquarters; Decisions; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology Industry; New York (state, US)

April 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Volkswagen de Mexico's North American Strategy (A)

In 1988, Volkswagen (VW) consolidated its North American operations in Puebla, Mexico, after shutting down its plant in Pennsylvania. Volkswagen de Mexico had been in operation since the 1960s, but produced almost exclusively for the Mexican market. In the late 1980s,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Trade; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Canada; Germany; United States; Mexico

April 2022
Case

NIO: A Chinese EV Company's Global Strategy

By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin and Noah B. Truwit

Founded in November 2014 and based in Shanghai, NIO designed, jointly manufactured, and sold premium “smart” EVs. Its mission was to “shape a joyful lifestyle by offering high-performance smart electric vehicles and being the best user enterprise. At NIO Day 2021,... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Green Technology; Auto Industry; China; Europe; Norway