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June 2004 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Scientific-Atlantia (S-A), a leading manufacturer of cable TV equipment, is confronting strategic challenges in mid-2004. For decades, cable operators have faced high switching costs that have locked them into exclusive supply relationships with either S-A or its... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Competition; Industry Structures; Television Entertainment; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Manufacturing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

2021
Working Paper

Information Avoidance and Image Concerns

By: Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler

A rich literature finds that individuals avoid information, even information that is instrumental to their choices. A common hypothesis posits that individuals strategically avoid information to hold particular beliefs or to take certain actions--such as behaving... View Details

Keywords: Image Motivation; Self-image; Information; Behavior; Identity; Personal Characteristics

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2015
Chapter

How Leaders Use Values-based Guidance Systems to Create Dynamic Capabilities

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Matthew Bird, Ethan Bernstein and Ryan Raffaelli

How do strategic leaders create change-adept organizations? Based on qualitative field research, this chapter argues that well-defined institutionalized purpose, values, and principles act as an organizational guidance system that integrates and strengthens the... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Capabilities; Field Research; Intrinsic Motivation; Organizational Identity; Ecosystem; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Motivation and Incentives; Research; Management Systems; Change

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July 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Agricultural Biotechnology and its Regulation

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

In the United States, genetically modified corn and soybeans are now widely grown and consumed. In Europe, however, they have been dubbed "Frankenstein foods," shunned by packaged food manufacturers, and subjected to a host of governmental restrictions. This case... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Genetics; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Corporate Strategy; Trade; Law; Goods and Commodities; Safety; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Europe; United States

Today's business leaders are so obsessed with all things global and virtual that they risk neglecting the critical impact of physical place. It's a paradox of the Internet age: now that it's possible for businesses to be everywhere at once, they need to focus on... View Details

September 2008 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Khosla Ventures: Biofuels Strategy

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

By 2008, a number of the firm's early cleantech investments were showing promise, and the companies were starting to need significantly more money to create the massive scale required in the energy sector. As Khosla thought about the hundreds of millions of dollars... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Marketing; Entrepreneurial Finance; New Product Development; Partnerships; Entrepreneurial Management; Venture Capital; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Investment Funds; Environmental Sustainability; Product Development; Biotechnology Industry; Financial Services Industry

January 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

DO & CO: Crafting Luxury in the Fast Lane (A)

By: Juan Alcácer, Esel Cekin, Michael Lee and Noah Roberson

In July 2023, Attila Dogudan, the chairman of DO & CO, a renowned international catering firm, found himself in a deep conversation with his two sons about a potential new venture: catering for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, a significant step beyond their 31-year history... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Health Pandemics; Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Luxury; Food and Beverage Industry; Las Vegas

March 2010 (Revised July 2010)
Case

The Economist

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Bharat N. Anand and Lizzie Gomez

In 2009 the Economist continued to experience impressive growth and operating margins while many of its peers reeled from both a cyclical downturn and structural threats to print publishing. The case describes the history, organization, and business model of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Journals and Magazines; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Online Technology; Publishing Industry; United Kingdom

30 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Entering the Age of Alliances

The twenty-first century will be the age of alliances. In this age, collaboration between nonprofit organizations and corporations will grow in frequency and strategic importance. Collaborative relationships will increasingly migrate from... View Details

Keywords: by James Austin

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How Business Strategy Tamed the “Invisible Hand”

Ghemawat The organizational challenges involved in World War II were a vital stimulus to strategic thinking. The problem of allocating scarce resources across the entire economy in wartime led to many innovations in management science.... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

October 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Global Farmer and the Future of Soybean Production, The

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Kevin M. Allison

Three farmers from three different countries are looking at the global soybean system and how to position themselves in the future. View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Trade; Globalized Markets and Industries; Food; Strategic Planning; Forecasting and Prediction; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 1

and 90%. Executives can dramatically increase their odds of success, the authors argue, if they understand how to select targets, how much to pay for them, and whether and how to integrate them. The most common reasons for making an acquisition include holding on to a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Robert H. Hayes

Robert Hayes is the Philip Caldwell Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at the Harvard Business School. Prior to his appointment to the Harvard Faculty in 1966, he worked for I.B.M. and McKinsey & Company. He received his Ph.D. degree in 1966 from... View Details

03 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit

It's been said that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." HBS Assistant Professor Deishin Lee, however, has taken that old adage a step further in her recent working paper Turning Waste into By-Product by showing how it's possible for companies to turn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

Article

The Lives and Deaths of Jobs: Technical Interdependence and Survival in a Job Structure

By: Sharique Hasan, John-Paul Ferguson and Rembrand Koning

Prior work has considered the properties of individual jobs that make them more or less likely to survive in organizations. Yet little research examines how a job’s position within a larger job structure affects its life chances and thus the evolution of the... View Details

Keywords: Jobs; Natural Language Processing; Jobs and Positions; Organizational Structure

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