Publications

February 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

i2 TradeMatrix

i2 has recently acquired Aspect Development and is incorporating Aspect's offerings into its TradeMatrix product for business-to-business e-commerce. TradeMatrix embeds i2's existing products for optimizing supply chain performance by applying advanced planning and... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Organizational Culture; Mergers and Acquisitions; Information Technology Industry

May 2007 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Stryker Corporation: In-sourcing PCBs

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

This case examines a proposed investment in the capability to manufacture printed circuit boards (PCBs) in-house rather than buying them from third-party contract manufacturers. Stryker Corporation's Instruments business is considering the proposal in response to... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Capital Budgeting; Investment; Investment Return; Production; Valuation

2022
Working Paper

Product2Vec: Leveraging Representation Learning to Model Consumer Product Choice in Large Assortments

By: Fanglin Chen, Xiao Liu, Davide Proserpio and Isamar Troncoso

We propose a method, Product2Vec, based on representation learning, that can automatically learn latent product attributes that drive consumer choices, to study product-level competition when the number of products is large. We demonstrate Product2Vec’s... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Choice; Consumer Behavior; Competition; Product Marketing

SSRN

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April 1996
Case

Shanghai Volkswagen

Volkswagen and Shanghai Sedan, have developed a joint venture to build western-quality autos in China. Having developed a supplier network capable of delivering quality components, the company now faces a need to expand capacity (demanding rapid expansion of their... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Management Practices and Processes; Joint Ventures; Operations; Performance Capacity; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Germany; China

October 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Boston Beer Company: Samuel Adams, Brewmaster Leading a Revolution

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mollie H. Carter

Boston Beer Co. revolutionized the beer industry by identifying and responding to a new consumer segment. Using the excess capacity in the brewing industry to establish contract brewing arrangements and an extremely capable sales force, the company opened the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Leadership; Product Marketing; Product Development; Production; Quality; Salesforce Management; Segmentation; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2010
Background Note

Millipore Background Note

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

This note provides background on Millipore Corporation, a global provider of products and services used primarily in the discovery, development and production of therapeutic drugs. With a track record of quickly adapting to the evolving needs of its customers,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A5): Solaris 7: Rich Green on Product Strategy and Culture Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

Solaris, Sun Microsystems' version of the UNIX operating system, was an amorphous collection of capabilities that had accumulated over the years, a product the company vaguely wished it could market and sell better. Developing and marketing Solaris 7 would help... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Applications and Software; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Positioning; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Success; Change; Diversification; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

14 Feb 2013
News

Heinz CEO Who Turned Food Maker Around Hints He Might Stay

15 Apr 2021
News

Companies moving to hybrid workplaces will face new challenges

News

How deep personal crises turned a president, an escaped slave, a polar explorer, an environmental crusader, and a Nazi resister into iconic leaders

October 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Komatsu Ltd.: Project G's Globalization

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

This case describes the major strategic and organizational transformation at Komatsu aimed at changing it from a Japan-based producer of construction equipment to a truly global company with the ability to leverage its groupwide portfolio of resources and capabilities... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Construction; Asset Pricing; Investment Portfolio; Global Strategy; Leadership; Resource Allocation; Risk Management; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

Article

What Professional Service Firms Must Do to Thrive

By: Ashish Nanda and Das Narayandas

When the going gets tough, professional service firms (PSFs) often get desperate and chase all kinds of business just to keep the lights on. Consultancies, financial services firms, VC/PE firms, and the like offer services and sign up clients they should never have... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Client Mix; Strategic Positioning; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness; Decision Making; Framework

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December 2002
Other Article

The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy

By: Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer

When it comes to philanthropy, executives increasingly see themselves as caught between critics demanding ever higher levels of "corporate social responsibility" and investors applying pressure to maximize short-term profits. Increasingly, philanthropy is used as a... View Details

Keywords: Strategy

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March 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Aurolab: Bringing First-World Technology to the Third-World Blind

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Aurolab is the in-house producer of IOLs (required in cataract surgery) for the Aravind Eye Care System, a group of charity hospitals with the largest volume of eye surgery in the world. Aurolab's manufacturing capability and capacity had long exceeded the requirements... View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Production; Mission and Purpose; Performance Capacity; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Strategy; India

20 May 2011
News

We're Not As Moral As We Think (And How That Gets Us in Trouble)

08 Mar 2016
News

Do Trade Agreements Kill Jobs?

2024
Working Paper

The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance

By: Nicholas G. Otis, Rowan Clarke, Solène Delecourt, David Holtz and Rembrand Koning

Scalable and low-cost AI assistance has the potential to improve firm decision-making and economic performance. However, running a business involves a myriad of open-ended problems, making it difficult to know whether recent AI advances can help business owners make... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Performance Improvement; Small Business; Decision Choices and Conditions; Kenya