Publications

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June 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

The Rise of Circuit City Stores, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In fiscal 2000, Circuit City was at the top of its game. The world's leading consumer electronics retailer had delivered record sales and profits for the first year of the new millennium. It was a fitting moment for Richard Sharpe, the CEO of the last 14 years, to step... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Strategic Planning; Competition; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; North America

14 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Should You Bring Advertising Expertise In-House?

If Mad Men advertising hotshot Don Draper was operating on Madison Avenue today, he would find competition coming from more than just other ad firms. A recent study by Harvard Business School professor emeritus Alvin J. Silk and... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

02 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

The Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers

actually been marked by steady decreases in concentration since World War II. Executives, they write, "need to break free of the biases that lead them to pursue larger and larger cross-border deals. There are better, more profitable View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Fariborz Ghadar

01 Dec 2003
News

Can Manufacturing Keep Its Edge?

base. As a result, they get cost savings, and we get sales.” Welcome to the new reality in U.S. manufacturing, where, more than ever, intense foreign competition is driving product and strategy innovations.... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Manufacturing

November 2024
Case

Demond Martin and WellWithAll

By: Hise Gibson, Archie L. Jones and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

This case study chronicles into the transformative entrepreneurial path of Demond Martin, co-founder and CEO of WellWithAll, a health and wellness startup. Motivated by a pivotal life experience and deep concern for racial health inequities, Martin transitions from a... View Details

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Open Market, Inc.: The E-Commerce Wars

By: James I. Cash Jr., Janis Lee Gogan, Michael Haselkorn and Mani Subramani

Continues the story of Open Market, Inc., a company founded in 1994 to support electronic commerce on the Internet. Despite a very successful initial public offering, the firm had reached a growth plateau, and the management team was considering several strategic... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Product Development; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

29 Oct 2007
HBS Case

Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement

interesting ideas about what constitutes the best marketing strategy for a star athlete. Q: Was there anything in your research that surprised you? A: I am not sure surprised is the right word, but I was certainly impressed when I learned... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Sports

20 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

Moving from Supply Chains to Supply Networks

competitive advantage.EE: How is Managing the Supply Chain: The General Manager's Perspective unique from other supply chain programs offered in recent years? Shapiro: Traditionally, the supply chain has been taught at the level of... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

07 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Market Investors Pay More for Resilient Companies

The steep market drop in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis is being used as a laboratory to study the importance of companies investing in stakeholder relations with their employees, suppliers, and customers, and how those investments could be strategic resources... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

08 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Europe Lags in Pharmaceuticals and Biotech

Governmental, academic, and cultural differences are hurting Europe's chances of creating more competitive pharmaceutical and biotech industries—and not much hope is on the horizon, according to a panel of experts at the 2003 HBS European... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology; Health; Pharmaceutical; Technology

Web

Polaroid Films - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Clubs Faculty & Research Business & Environment Business History Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning Entrepreneurship Faculty & Research Global Healthcare HBS Working Knowledge Institute for Strategy & View Details

March 2012
Article

Does America Really Need Manufacturing?

By: Gary P. Pisano and Willy C. Shih

Too many U.S. companies base decisions about where to locate production largely on narrow financial criteria. They don't consider whether keeping manufacturing at home makes more sense strategically or take into account the impact it might have on their ability to... View Details

Keywords: Production; Geographic Location; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Product Design; Risk Management; Manufacturing Industry; United States

May 2010
Teaching Note

Offering the Right Service in the Right Place: Growing Orthopedics at the Brigham and Women's/Faulkner (BW/F) Hospitals (TN)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

Teaching Note for [108016]. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance Efficiency; Decisions; Competitive Advantage; Service Delivery; Health Industry

September 2000 (Revised October 2002)
Case

National Logistics Management

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Mary Rotelli and Kristin Kohler

National Logistics Management (NLM), a third-party logistics company, is a successful, profitable business that provides a more cost-effective and efficient means to expedite premium freight. With the logistics landscape changing, NLM's market niche is threatened. Can... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business or Company Management; Logistics; Industry Structures; Planning; Service Industry

01 Feb 2001
News

When Last Seen

Resolution of that question seemed to revolve around the mother of all competition and strategy cases, with no small amount of numbers crunching (and re-crunching) thrown in. As he awaited the outcome of the... View Details

26 Oct 2009
Lessons from the Classroom

The New Deal: Negotiauctions

known, unknown, and potential competitors. In February 2010, Subramanian will publish Negotiauctions: New Dealmaking Strategies for a Competitive Marketplace, a book that draws on his experience studying and... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

17 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Advice for the New CEO: Talk to Your Employees Early and Often

Strategy at HEC Paris, and Andrea Prat, a professor of business at Columbia Business School. Why communication takes a dive The researchers analyzed millions of emails and meeting invitations at 102 companies in the United States, Canada,... View Details

Keywords: by Ami Albernaz

November 2009
Case

METRO Cash & Carry in China, 2008

By: Tarun Khanna

In April 2008, the country head for METRO AG's Cash & Carry wholesaling operations is considering the most appropriate model for expansion in China, where METRO has operated stores for small business professionals for eight years. In addition, METRO is actively... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Emerging Markets; Distribution Channels; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Retail Industry; China