Publications

June 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Background Note

Processes of Strategy Definition and Implementation, The

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Jeremy Dann

Strategy definition is not a short, discrete process. Rather, outside influences (market, political, technological, etc.) and the company's own resource allocation process continually reshape an organization's strategy. View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Strategic Planning; Situation or Environment; Strategy

28 Aug 2017
News

Basic Competence Can Be a Strategy

May 2024
Case

SofMedica Group: Managing Growth

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

SofMedica Group had expanded from its origins as a medical equipment distributor in Romania to a holding company with four business lines operating in six countries. This expansion had been driven by SofMedica’s mission: to make cutting edge medical technology... View Details

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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August 2016
Supplement

CEO Succession at Cisco (B): Announcement Strategy

By: Boris Groysberg, J. Yo-Jud Cheng and Annelena Lobb

Supplements the (A) case (417-031). This case supplement describes Cisco’s communications strategy around the CEO announcement, which focused on controlling the narrative and avoiding leaks. The strategy included both internal and external processes aimed at... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Communication Strategy; Technology Industry

August 1986 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Rohm and Haas (A): New Product Marketing Strategy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Lesley Susan

Joan Macey, Rohm and Haas' market manager for Metalworking Fluid Biocides, found that sales of a new biocide, Kathon MWX, was utterly disappointing. This was all the more puzzling since sales of her other product--Kathon 886 MW, a liquid biocide used only in... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Distribution; Performance; Sales

October 1993 (Revised December 1997)
Case

General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A)

William Anders became CEO of defense giant General Dynamics in 1991 as the Cold War was ending and as the industry became saddled with excess capacity. Observing that the company was underserving shareholders and required a massive change in its culture, Anders brought... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Strategy; Executive Compensation; Manufacturing Industry; United States

May 2007
Article

Location Strategies and Knowledge Spillovers

By: Juan Alcacer and Wilbur Chung

Given the importance of proximity for knowledge spillovers, we examine firms' location choices expecting differences in firms' strategies. Firms will locate to maximize their net spillovers as a function of locations' knowledge activity, their own capabilities, and... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; For-Profit Firms; Knowledge Management; Research and Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Disruptive Innovation; Five Forces Framework; Cost Management; Technology; Competition; United States

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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

March 1997
Case

Private Management and Public Schools (A)

Examines the prospects for private management in U.S. public schools. Introduces the U.S. system of education and the concerns driving the education reform process. Focuses on the education and business strategies of Education Alternatives, Inc. (EAI), Public... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Value; Education; Government and Politics; Education Industry; United States

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What are the biggest problems companies face in executing their strategies? Robert Simons explains why management teams must ask themselves tough questions, like "What could cause our business to fail?"

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September 2008 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Loews Corporation: Corporate Strategy as a Portfolio

By: Joseph L. Bower

In 2007, Loews Inc., under the leadership of James Tisch, was considering whether to buy natural gas properties from Dominion Resources. The question is whether the acquisition fits the corporate strategy. In exploring the questions, students will have the chance to... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Business Strategy; Business or Company Management; Value Creation; Acquisition; Management Teams

March 2005 (Revised August 2019)
Case

Cisco Systems: Managing the Go-to-Market Evolution

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

With the collapse of the dot-com market and related shrinkage in the high-tech industry, Cisco took a dip in its sales and profits in 2001. Coming back from the recession, Cisco had to manage and evolve its go-to-market strategy and design in keeping with its new... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Design; Business Cycles; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Business Strategy

01 Jan 2014
News

Building a Game-Changing Talent Strategy

February 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy

By: Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Keith Chi-ho Wong and Tracy Manty

With an almost forty-year history as a business in China, the Wanxiang Group has navigated through the significantly different political and economic changes in China to succeed as a global leader in the auto parts industry and to develop into a broad business... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Global Strategy; Business History; Growth and Development Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Hangzhou; United States

November 2010
Case

Morgan Asset Management

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and Sarah Abbott

It is 2010 and Guillermo Araoz, the equity research director at Morgan Asset Management (MAM), is considering his research budget for the year. Due to recent declines in the equity markets and MAM's sale of its mutual funds business, MAM has seen a decline in its... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment; Resource Allocation; Research and Development; Financial Services Industry

27 May 2015
News

You Need an Innovation Strategy

October 2001 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Store24 (A): Managing Employee Retention

By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell

Provides a retailing context in which employee retention strategies are explored through analyzing detailed store-level data. View Details

Keywords: Retention; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Analytics and Data Science; Strategy; Mathematical Methods; Retail Industry