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

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Climate Symposium 2024: Confronting Reality, Celebrating Innovation - Blog - Business & Environment

Blog Blog Filter Results Arrow Down Arrow Up Read posts from Author Alumni Author HBS Faculty Author HBS Staff Author Staff Author Students Topics Topics Accelerating Climate Solutions Conference 2023 Alumni Alumni Programs Alumni in Climate Networking Series Business... 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

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March 2015
Article

Business Model Evaluation: Quantifying Walmart's Sources of Advantage

By: Humberto Brea-Solís, Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Emili Grifell-Tatjé

We develop an analytical framework on the basis of the economics of business performance to provide quantitative insight into the link between a firm's business model choices and its profit consequences. The method is applied to Walmart by building a qualitative... View Details

Keywords: Business Models; Quantitative Analysis; Walmart; Production Theory; Business Model; Competitive Advantage; Profit

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February 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Google Inc. (Abridged)

By: Benjamin Edelman and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes Google's history, business model, governance structure, corporate culture, and processes for managing innovation. Reviews Google's recent strategic initiatives and the threats it poses to Yahoo, Microsoft, and others. Asks what Google should do next. One... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Search Technology; Web Services Industry

01 Apr 2002
News

HBS Press Books in Brief

the Harvard Business Review Paperback Series: Harvard Business Review on Customer Relationship Management. This collection of cutting-edge articles will help organizations understand how to build customer loyalty through relationship-building View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Mar 2012
News

Noted & Quoted

education.” —HBS professor emeritus Howard Stevenson, author of Getting to Giving, on the importance of sales strategy in entrepreneurial ventures. (Bloomberg Businessweek online, December 2, 2011) “These are old friends.” —Lawrence... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

October 2011 (Revised May 2015)
Case

The American Repertory Theater

By: Rohit Deshpande, Allen S. Grossman and Ryan Johnson

When Diane Paulus, artistic director and CEO of the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) first started in 2008, she attracted media coverage around an aesthetic that aimed to give the audience more ownership over the theater experience, excited theatergoers by... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Arts; Business Model; Leading Change; Media; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Transforming ASUSTeK: Breaking from the Past

By: Willy C. Shih, Ho Howard Yu and Hung-Chang Chiu

What happens when an original design manufacturer (ODM) firm tries to transform itself into a branded goods seller? The case traces the evolution of ASUSTeK from a motherboard supplier, to an ODM of desktop and notebook PCs, through its split into three companies that... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Disruptive Innovation; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Taiwan

September 2013
Case

PadFone vs. FonePad

By: Willy Shih and Sen Chai

To Jonney Shih, Chairman of ASUSTek Computer, the introduction of Apple's iPad made clear the need to transition his company to a new cloud-computing era. But the company's roots in the manufacture of Windows-powered desktop and notebook PCs bounded the creativity of... View Details

09 Jan 2014
News

Tapping into Opportunity

rigorous, independent mechanism for identifying promising early-stage water-technology companies. She is using what she's learned from the competition to help get companies to invest in providing clean water in impoverished nations. In... View Details

Keywords: Constantine von Hoffman; Business and Environment Initiative; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

July–August 2013
Article

Complementary Goods: Creating, Capturing, and Competing for Value

By: Taylan Yalcin, Elie Ofek, Oded Koenigsberg and Eyal Biyalogorsky

This paper studies the strategic interaction between firms producing strictly complementary products. With strict complements, a consumer derives positive utility only when both products are used together. We show that value-capture and value-creation problems arise... View Details

Keywords: Complementary Goods; Product Development; Royalty Fees; Product Marketing; Competition

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January 1991 (Revised August 1992)
Case

Race to Develop Human Insulin

Describes the race to develop human insulin. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Health Disorders; Pharmaceutical Industry

16 Sep 2015
News

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies

June 1976 (Revised March 1984)
Case

Polaroid-Kodak

By: Norman A. Berg

Describes Kodak's long-awaited challenge to Polaroid in the field of instant photography. Provides technological and company background of both Polaroid and Eastman-Kodak and their respective product lines. Discusses Polaroid's claim that Kodak infringed on 10 Polaroid... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Patents; Competition; Product Development

November 2007 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Iceland: Small fish in a global pond

By: Michael E. Porter and Christian H.M. Ketels

Describes the economic development of Iceland since 1945, focusing in particular on the years since 2000, when Iceland experienced strong growth and Icelandic companies aggressively internationalized. View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Competition; Macroeconomics; Iceland

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