Publications

January 2017
Supplement

Bayer AG: Bidding to Win Merck's OTC Business

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marc Baaij and Arjen Mulder

Keywords: Acquisition; Bidding Strategy; Valuing Synergies; Negotiations; Corporate Strategy; Business Unit Strategy; Bidding Process; Discounted Cash Flow; Cross-border M＆A; Tax Shields; Valuation; Competitive Strategy; Auctions; Germany; United States; United Kingdom

September–October 2017
Article

Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management?: Neither Great Leadership Nor Brilliant Strategy Matters Without Operational Excellence

By: Raffaella Sadun, Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen

A recurring message in business education is that you can’t compete on the basis of management processes because they’re easily copied. Operational effectiveness is table stakes in the competitive universe, it is often assumed, and thus cannot serve as a sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Effectiveness

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03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

organization long term, says Sucher, who collaborated with research associate Marilyn Morgan Westner on the case study and with both Westner and research associate Christopher Diak on the background note. Sucher outlines five strategies... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

January 2013
Supplement

Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (B)

By: Willy Shih and Ying Zhou

Managers at Cabot Corporation are faced with deciding the future of its fuel cell program. The (A) case recounts the view of the business manager and the technical project lead, and the (B) case describes the perspective of a senior manager who is the head of the New... View Details

Research Summary

Overview

My current research focuses on the role of AI in shaping organizational knowledge production, learning, and innovation processes. I run field experiments to study early-stage idea generation and evaluation in entrepreneurial context. View Details

Keywords: Technology And Innovation Management; Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Nascent Industries; Natural Language Processing

Web

Value Measurement for Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Health Care Health Care Value-Based Health Care Health Care Courses Fast Facts Health Care Courses Health Care Courses Executive Education Courses Health Care Curriculum Residents & Fellows Course Strategy for Health Care Delivery... View Details

Article

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

Information technology is revolutionizing products. Once composed solely of mechanical and electrical parts, products have become complex systems that combine hardware, sensors, data storage, microprocessors, software, and connectivity in myriad ways. These "smart,... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Transformation; Information Technology Industry

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January 2013
Case

Cabot Corporation: The Fuel Cell Decision (A)

By: Willy Shih and Ying Zhou

Managers at Cabot Corporation are faced with deciding the future of its fuel cell program. The (A) case recounts the view of the business manager and the technical project lead, and the (B) case describes the perspective of a senior manager who is the head of the New... View Details

January 2017
Case

Bayer AG: Bidding to Win Merck's OTC Business

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Marc Baaij and Arjen Mulder

Shortly after submitting their best and final offer to acquire Merck's Consumer Care Division (a collection of "over-the-counter" (OTC) products with sales totaling $2 billion), the Bayer M&A team was given a chance to revise their bid because another potential... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Bidding Strategy; Valuing Synergies; Negotiations; Corporate Strategy; Business Unit Strategy; Bidding Process; Discounted Cash Flow; Cross-border M＆A; Tax Shields; Valuation; Competitive Strategy; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Germany; United States; United Kingdom

July 2019
Case

Four Products: Predicting Diffusion (2019)

By: John Gourville

One job of product managers, marketers, strategic planners, and other corporate executives is to predict what the demand will be for a new product. This task is easier for certain classes of new products than for others. For new consumer package goods, for instance,... View Details

Keywords: Diffusion Processes; Product Adoption; Marketing; Forecasting and Prediction; Demand and Consumers; Product; Adoption; Product Launch

June 2014
Article

Building Brand Knowledge Structures: Elaboration and Interference Effects on the Processing of Sequentially Advertised Brand Benefit Claims

By: Susan E. Heckler, Kevin L. Keller, Michael J. Houston and Jill Avery

Two experiments are reported that examine the effects of an ad campaign designed to link two different benefit claims to a brand. The findings indicated that recall for a subsequently advertised claim depended on the strength of existing brand-benefit links in memory.... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communication; Brand Building; Brand Management; Brands; Advertising; Consumer Psychology; Advertising Campaigns; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Consumer Behavior; Marketing Strategy; Advertising Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Web

The New Role for Government & NGOs - 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

Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership When Algorithms and Networks Run the World

In industry after industry, data, analytics, and AI-driven processes are transforming the nature of work. While we often still treat AI as the domain of a specific skill, business function, or sector, we have entered a new era in which AI is challenging the very... View Details

September 2000
Background Note

Professional Services Module Two: External Strategy for Sustained Competitive Advantage

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Scot H. Landry

Concerns itself with the strategic dynamics which influence organizations externally. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Business Plan; Service Operations; For-Profit Firms; Power and Influence; Measurement and Metrics; Business Processes; Management Practices and Processes; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

24 Jul 2014
Blog Post

Create a Content Marketing Strategy for your Talent Acquisitions Team

preferred applications and how can you expand upon it? Creating a content marketing strategy is an ongoing process that will evolve with the goals of your HR department, and essentially your firm. View Details

Web

Measure Outcomes & Cost for Every Patient - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

the right location. They also inform choices about service line growth and areas for affiliation. In today’s health care delivery systems many things are measured and reported yet most are surrogates for patient centered outcomes. Process... View Details

October–December 2022
Article

How Psychological Safety and Feeling Heard Relate to Burnout and Adaptation Amid Uncertainty

By: Michaela J. Kerrissey, Tuna Cem Hayirli, Aditi Bhanja, Nicholas Stark, James Hardy and Christopher Peabody

Background: Psychological safety—the belief that it is safe to speak up—is vital amid uncertainty, but its relationship to feeling heard is not well understood.
Purpose: The aims of this study were (a) to measure feeling heard and (b) to assess... View Details

Keywords: Burnout; Crisis; Psychological Safety; Feeling Heard; Process Adaptation; Interpersonal Communication; Well-being; Health Care and Treatment; Adaptation

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01 Jun 1997
News

Competition and Strategy Unit at HBS Sets Pace In Its Field

The following article is the tenth in a series on the activities and research taking place in each academic unit at HBS. The powerful ideas that come under the umbrella of the School's Competition and Strategy (C&S) unit are making an... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

June 1988
Case

John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co.: The Inflation Strategy Task Force (B)

Describes what happened after the apparent eruption and traumas within the task force described in the (A) case. The task force moved from being "the very worst committee" according to one member to becoming "the very best." Tries to explain how and why. Also describes... View Details

Keywords: Business Processes; Insurance Industry