Publications

January 2015 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Nasty Gals Do It Better

By: David Collis, Diane Chang, Matthew Shaffer and Ashley Hartman

In 2006, Sophia Amoruso started Nasty Gal, an eBay boutique selling vintage clothes. With a strong sense of style and personality, Amoruso poured herself into building the brand and developing relationships with her customers—typically the slightly edgy 18–24 year old.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth; Brand Management; Online Retail; Clothing; Apparel; Expansion; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Management; Marketing Strategy; Strategic Planning; Social Media; E-commerce; Digital Marketing; Retail Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States

22 Feb 2022
News

Action Plan: Portfolio Strategy

people’s lives.” And he did, first as a consultant to the airline industry and then as chief commercial officer at a low-cost Brazilian airline. But when the company’s IPO was called off and it was sold, Sadiq took a step that has come to... View Details

Keywords: April White; entrepreneurship; career planning; creativity; Air Transportation; Transportation

April 2005 (Revised April 2005)
Background Note

Corporate Strategies in Media and Entertainment Businesses

By: Bharat N. Anand

In recent years, many debates in corporate strategy have centered around information goods markets, and the media and entertainment sector in particular. Vertical integration is the norm in many parts of the media sector, despite conventional wisdom that it offers no... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

a promising set of innovative technologies; it was becoming the core of the firm. Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business Review Press. Excerpted from Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and Leadership... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

August 2020
Case

Ready for Take-Off at Jet It

By: Gary P. Pisano, Hise Gibson and Nicole Gilmore

This case examines the business model and growth of a start-up company in the private aviation industry. In June 2020, amidst the COVID crisis, the company's co-founder and CEO must make a decision regarding an order of new jets that will significantly expand the... View Details

Keywords: Capacity Planning; Business Startups; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Air Transportation Industry

Research Summary

Performance Pricing and Business Strategy

This research focuses on companies that have sustained high willingness-to-pay over diverse market conditions, including economic slumps. It examines how firms identify, articulate, and communicate value to selected customer groups and the organizational implications,... View Details

Fast Answer

Water: management strategy in agriculture

Where to find information on water management strategies in agriculture? GeoRef is a database by the American Geological Institute. It provides studies on the topic from various publications including... View Details

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

July 2009
Case

Arcor: Global Strategy and Local Turbulence (Abridged)

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

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Currency; Global Strategy; Expansion; Balance and Stability; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; Argentina

01 Nov 2010
News

How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making

February 2018
Case

Earlham College Basketball: Turnaround Strategy

By: Juan Alcacer and Anne Marie Knott

Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, is in the heart of basketball country. Yet its record for the 2013/2014 basketball season was a dismal 5–20. The school recruited Jason Polykoff from the University of Pennsylvania’s coaching staff to reinvent the program. By... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry; Indiana

2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Strategy Reading: Setting Aspirations—Mission, Vision, and Values

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

"Setting Aspirations-Mission, Vision, and Values" introduces students to the concepts of organizational aspirations and the link to strategy. The Reading presents a framework for analyzing aspirations, discusses the differences between mission and vision, and uses... View Details

October 2018
Case

BBVA: Corporate Governance & Corporate Strategy

By: Krishna Palepu and Jordi Canals

BBVA is a very successful Spanish bank facing a number of challenges as a result of significant industry and regulatory changes. The company takes pride in its board structure and excellent corporate governance. The Chairman of the Board was wondering how best to... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Corporate Governance; Strategy; Change Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Banking Industry; Spain

February 2018
Case

Rosslyn Resource: Monetization and Sales Strategy

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong

Rosslyn Resource identifies exploration targets (potential mineral deposits) in the mining industry and advances them until the project can be monetized, usually through sale to a larger mining company, in return for an upfront fee and a royalty on future revenues.... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mining Industry

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

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

27 May 2015
News

You Need an Innovation Strategy

12 Oct 2022
Video

Candice Morgan: Navigating Inclusive Strategy in Tech

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