Publications

September 2007 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Sinopec: Refining its Strategy

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Julia Galef

China's oil industry, with majority ownership vested in the government, had engaged in an "equity oil" strategy for the past few years-acquiring equity interests in oil producing nations including Sudan, Angola, and Iran. Outside critics, however, suggested that the... View Details

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Equity; Foreign Direct Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; State Ownership; Energy Industry; China

July–August 1999
Article

The Right Way to Restructure Conglomerates in Emerging Markets

By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy

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June 2007 (Revised January 2008)
Case

BBC Worldwide: Global Strategy

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In January 2007, John Smith, chief executive officer of BBC Worldwide (BBC WW), the commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), was preparing to meet with his senior managers to discuss BBC WW's global strategy options. BBC WW exploited and exported... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Expansion; Internet; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Great Britain

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (B): Getting Ready to Face IKEA

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in September 2015, when IKEA is about to open its first store in Morocco. It then chronicles the efforts of KITEA CEO Amine Benkirane and his son Othman between 2013 and 2015 to prepare KITEA for IKEA’s entry. After incurring losses for the first time in... View Details

2021
Working Paper

Hunting for Talent: Firm-Driven Labor Market Search in the United States

By: Ines Black, Sharique Hasan and Rembrand Koning

This article analyzes the phenomenon of firm-driven labor market search—or outbound recruiting—where recruiters are increasingly “hunting for talent” rather than passively relying on workers to search for and apply to job vacancies. Our research methodology leverages... View Details

Keywords: Hiring; Referrals; Outbound Recruiting; Labor Markets; Selection and Staffing; Networks; Recruitment; Strategy; United States

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February 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Case

The Marriott-Starwood Merger: Navigating Brand Portfolio Strategy and Brand Architecture

By: Jill Avery, Chekitan S. Dev and Laure Mougeot Stroock

In September 2016, Marriott completed its $13.3 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which added 11 brands to its already robust 19 hotel brand portfolio. Tina Edmundson, Marriott's global brand officer, was charged with making sense of the brand portfolio... View Details

18 Mar 2009
Research & Ideas

Marketing After the Recession

or dramatic is equally unknown. Marketers planning for 2009 and 2010 should bear in mind Peter Drucker's wise advice: "A strategy is a sense of direction around which to... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch; Retail

01 Mar 2010
News

Lords of Strategy

strategy revolution was a way of systematically putting together all the elements that determined their corporate fate, in particular, the three Cs central to any good strategy: the company’s costs,... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

03 Oct 2014
News

The Revival of a Salesman: The Importance of Sales and Strategy to Business

July 1996 (Revised July 2009)
Background Note

Antitrust and Competitive Strategy from the 1990s to 2008 (Condensed)

Describes U.S. antitrust policy, including major judicial decisions and their impact on competitive strategy. Omits information on the history of antitrust policy and on the specific prohibitions of the various acts. View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Policy; Laws and Statutes; Monopoly; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; United States

01 Apr 2000
News

Marketing Muscle

Edwards's role in making Yahoo! one of the most recognized names in the Internet economy taught the industry a lesson in the importance of brand-name recognition. Shunned no longer, marketers are "the new rock stars of the Internet,"... View Details

July 1994
Background Note

Retail Expansion Strategies

By: David E. Bell

Describes issues that should be considered by a retailer who is thinking of expanding the number of stores from one or two to many. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Cognition and Thinking; Expansion; Retail Industry

January–February 2023
Article

External Interfaces and Internal Processes: Market Positioning and Divergent Professionalization Paths in Young Ventures

By: Alicia DeSantola, Ranjay Gulati and Pavel Zhelyazkov

We explore how the initial market positioning of entrepreneurial ventures shapes how they professionalize over time, focusing specifically on the development of functional roles. In contrast to existing literature, which has presumed a uniform march toward... View Details

Keywords: Market Positioning; Professionalization; Scaling; Entrepreneurship; Strategy; Business Startups; Growth and Development; Organizational Structure

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01 Jun 1996
News

Reinventing Marketing

product in terms of its daily cost, and Samuel S. Chun's research into the future of trade promotions. Among the goals of all this work is heightened collaboration among the faculty. "Given the momentous changes going on in View Details

Keywords: Mary Jane Higgins; Illustration by Peter Hoey

01 May 2015
News

A Flood of Picassos Threatens to Water Down the Art Market

25 Apr 2014
News

Making 'human connections' to build business in emerging markets

Catherine Bouvier d'Yvoire (MBA 1982), director of the Global Strategy Advisory of Citi, talks about creating "human connections" with clients in emerging markets. (Published April 2014) View Details

06 Dec 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Doing Business in Emerging Markets

emerging economies? What are the best ways to leverage local resources? How Do I Identify Opportunities In Emerging Markets? Strategy and Execution for Emerging Markets How can... View Details

February 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Case

StockX: The Stock Market of Things

By: Chiara Farronato, John J. Horton, Annelena Lobb and Julia Kelley

Founded in 2015 by Dan Gilbert, Josh Luber, and Greg Schwartz, StockX was an online platform where users could buy and sell unworn luxury and limited-edition sneakers. Sneaker resale prices often fluctuated over time based on supply and demand, creating a robust... View Details

February 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Online Marketing at Big Skinny

By: Benjamin Edelman and Scott Duke Kominers

Describes a wallet maker's application of seven Internet marketing technologies: display ads, algorithmic search, sponsored search, social media, interactive content, online distributors, and A/B testing. Provides concise introductions to the key features of each... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Digital Marketing; Resource Allocation; Marketing Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry