Publications

January 2011
Teaching Note

Online Pet Supply Retailing (TN)

By: Tom Nicholas

Teaching Note for 809-117. View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Failure; Information Technology; Market Entry and Exit; Decisions; Retail Industry; United States

Web

Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise Q4 - Course Catalog

danger of core competence theory? How should we decide which activities to keep in-house and which to outsource? What’s the signal that an industry is about to commoditize, and how can we profit from that shift? How do we set strategy in... View Details

26 Feb 2018
Research & Ideas

The Airbnb Effect: Cheaper Rooms for Travelers, Less Revenue for Hotels

Airbnb wasn't an option" Competition between traditional hotels and Airbnb is intensifying. Last Friday, Airbnb announced it is expanding its "experiences" offerings to an additional 1,000 cities. Meanwhile, the lodging View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Travel

December 2010
Teaching Note

Corporate Strategy at Berkshire Partners (TN)

By: Julie M. Wulf

Teaching Note for 710-414. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Financial Services Industry

January 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Allstate Corporation

By: John R. Wells

In 2007, Allstate was the number two property and casualty insurer in the USA and had enjoyed five years of rapid profit improvement. The question facing CEO Thomas J. Wilson was how to maintain the momentum. This case tracks the evolution of Allstate's strategy over... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Institutions; Insurance; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry

March 2007 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Edward Jones in 2006: Confronting Success

By: David J. Collis and Troy Smith

When Jim Weddle took over as Managing Partner of Edward Jones in January 2006, the brokerage firm was at a critical juncture. The firm's distinctive strategy had enabled it to grow from its roots in small-town America to become the 4th largest broker in the U.S. Weddle... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Performance; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Case

CarTrade

By: Rajiv Lal and Shreya Ramachandran

Vinay Sanghi, the founder and CEO of CarTrade, had been trying different business strategies to keep the company, which he founded in 2010 as an online marketplace for used and new cars, profitable and on track for growth. In a crowded and disorganized dealer... View Details

Keywords: Online Marketplace; Automobiles; Customer Base; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Financing and Loans; E-commerce; Digital Platforms; Digital Marketing; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; India; Mumbai

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

Goals Challenges Traditional Organizational Designs By: Battilana, Julie, Michael Fuerstein, and Michael Lee Abstract—For an extended period during the first half of the 20th century, industrial democracy was a vibrant movement, with... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Web

Day in IFC: Layla Ramirez (MBA 2017), Africa - MBA

time for non-stop work on our final presentations. On our last day in Addis Ababa, a week’s worth of meetings, guest speaker panels, cultural experiences and memories to last a lifetime, culminated with a presentation to an audience of peers, View Details

01 Feb 2018
News

HBS Professor Emeritus Hugo Uyterhoeven Dies at 86

in the Harvard MBA program, including Management of International Business; Business, Government, and the International Economy; and Industry and Competitive Analysis. He taught in and was course head of Business Policy and the General... View Details

19 Sep 2012
News

On a Sound Track

management consultant at Monitor, which sharpened my perspective on business and industry strategy. I learned a huge amount at HBS in discussions of leadership, entrepreneurial marketing, finance, and ethics. I also spent some time at... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; audio equipment; fashion; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

July 1987 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Atlas Copco (A): Gaining and Building Distribution Channels

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Atlas Copco, a Swedish company, holds the highest market share for air compressors worldwide. However, its attempts to enter U.S. markets have been unsuccessful. The case describes a series of strategic distribution maneuvers implemented by the company which enable it... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Marketing Channels; Market Entry and Exit; Market Participation; Distribution Channels; Failure; Industrial Products Industry; Sweden; United States

April 2019
Case

GE Appliances: Implementing Haier's Made-In-China Management System

By: Dennis Campbell, Marshall Meyer, Bonnie Yining Cao and Dawn H. Lau

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China; United States

17 Nov 2022
News

Alumni Leaders on Decarbonization Strategies for Combating Climate Change

concrete producers, but this is a conservative industry that does not have a history of changing quickly. Making the economics even better can help to change that. IRA's combination of investment tax credits, grant programs, material... View Details

December 2014
Case

JBS

By: David E. Bell

JBS is a Brazilian protein company that started in beef, but has quickly expanded into pork and chicken, and around the world. The company has many critics who say it has expanded too quickly and that it is overextended financially. The case allows the reader to form... View Details

Keywords: Protein; Beef; Brazil; Prepared Foods; Agribusiness; Agriculture; Expansion; Growth Management; Food; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil

August 2010 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Vitalia Franchise

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Beatriz Munoz-Seca

Cathy Hoffmann has rapidly grown her novel facilities for day care therapy for elders with mild cognitive and physical problems. But she needs to decide whether to franchise or own the next expansion. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Ownership Stake; Franchise Ownership; Expansion; Health Industry; Spain

December 2000 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Rise and Fall of Iridium, The

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Examines the history of Iridium Communications, a provider of mobile satellite services. Discusses the genesis of Iridium's technical design, then follows the venture through various stages of development. Describes Iridium's attempts to build a subscriber base after... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Business Model; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Telecommunications Industry