Strategic Positioning - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Oct 2021
Blog Post

Crafting a Nontraditional Path to Venture Capital and Private Equity with Morgan Sheil (MBA 2021)

As a teenager, Morgan Sheil (MBA 2021) developed a keen interest in the environment and climate change. That sustained interest, along with her drive to make a positive impact on the world, led Sheil across various geographies,... View Details

09 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 9, 2008

lower bound of 2 and an upper bound of m, thus leaving a large gap. They conjectured that their upper bound is tight but were unable to prove it. Despite many attempts that yield positive results for several special cases, the conjecture... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Rakesh Khurana

Rakesh Khurana is the Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development at the Harvard Business School. He is also Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, co-Master of Cabot House at Harvard College, and the Danoff Dean of Harvard College.

Professor... View Details

Keywords: executive search

Web

Value-Based Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Professor Kaplan teaches how time-driven activity-based costing is used in health care delivery organizations around the world. Length: 28 min. See All Media Videos Key Stakeholders Providers Stay competitive by adopting a strategic... View Details

30 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

Why Anger Makes a Wrongly Accused Person Look Guilty

opposite to others—that you’re hiding something.” If the accusation comes over email, she adds, it might be a good practice to take a break so you can respond once you’ve calmed down. On the flip side, if you are a manager and are in a View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

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Accounting & Management - Faculty & Research

trade-offs—that can define how a board functions, governs, and delivers strategic value. That’s the premise of "Critical Choices in Designing a Board," a chapter for the newly released Public Company Series: Board Structure and... View Details

Program

Making Corporate Boards More Effective

resilience, strategic direction, executive compensation, and regulatory compliance. At the same time, you will learn how to work more effectively with fellow directors and company management to strengthen governance, manage unexpected... View Details

Web

Strategy - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

business. Yet until the 1980s, terms like strategic positioning and competitive advantage were absent from the corporate lexicon. Even today, many leaders and managers fail to grasp the fundamental concepts... View Details

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (C): A Surprise Delay

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

This case describes the delay of IKEA’s store opening in Morocco in 2015. After Sweden ordered an internal review of its position on the independence of Western Sahara, a territory Morocco regarded as part of its own, the Moroccan government declared that IKEA did not... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

Citation

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November 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Dilyana Karadzhova

a-connect was started in 2002 by three former McKinsey partners who wanted to develop an alternative business model consulting firm, which they have positioned as a high-end staffing company. The company has been very successful, growing to revenues of CHF 30 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Initial Public Offering; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketplace Matching; Expansion; Consulting Industry

Citation

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14 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 14

characterized by some boundary conditions (Study 6). We discuss the theoretical contribution of this work to research on moral regulation and ethical behavior. "CEO Relational Leadership and Strategic Decision Quality in Top... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

14 Feb 2018
Blog Post

Meet HBS Leadership Fellows: Verdell Walker, Sesame Workshop

the strategic planning and venture capital team. I also support the work of the International Social Impact group, which produces early education content through mass media and targeted initiatives to address the needs of children from... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

11 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

The First 90 Hours: What New CEOs Should—and Shouldn't—Do to Set the Right Tone

and the way unexpected crises can emerge rapidly, leaders must move faster and display more strategic agility than ever before. Much of Watkins’ advice about how company officials should assume a leadership post still holds true. It’s... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

Web

Strategy - Faculty & Research

Television, 2025 By: David B. Yoffie , Julie Cruz and Samari Gilbert June 2025 Article Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation By: Ryan Raffaelli , Tiona Zuzul ,... View Details

Web

Managing the Future of Work

million followers and launched two successful brands. As McKnight prepared to expand her brand into new stores, she faced strategic decisions on sustaining growth and adapting to an evolving social media landscape. Chime Solutions By:... View Details

12 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 12, 2019

emergent machine of the sovereign state. Yet such strategic interaction rarely yielded a decisive victory for either the secular state or for religion. By tracing how state-builders engaged religious institutions, elites, and attachments,... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

January 2008
Article

Putting Leadership Back into Strategy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

In recent decades an infusion of economics has lent the study of strategy much needed theory and empirical evidence. Strategy consultants, armed with frameworks and techniques, have stepped forward to help managers analyze their industries and position their companies... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Managerial Roles; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Creativity; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage

Citation

Find at Harvard

01 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 1, 2007

profit-maximizing firm, such as Apple, that offers content available at positive prices. We characterize the size of the p2p network as a function of the firm's pricing strategy, and show that the firm may be better off setting high... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2008 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Lincoln Financial Group (A)

Lincoln Financial Group (LFG) reorganizes its business in order to improve customer intimacy. However, to implement the strategy, they need to effect significant changes in the skills of their salespeople. This case series straddles human resource management, corporate... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Customer Relationship Management; Training; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Evaluation; Sales; Corporate Strategy

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November 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Microsoft Xbox: Changing the Game?

By: Andrei Hagiu

In September 1999, the Microsoft Xbox team was wondering which strategic choices would give it the best chance against the upcoming Sony PlayStation 2. Initially called "Project Midway" within Microsoft, the console project was intended to counter the perceived threat... View Details