Publications

October 2014
Article

Hidden Structure: Using Network Methods to Map System Architecture

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin, Alan MacCormack and John Rusnak

In this paper, we describe an operational methodology for characterizing the architecture of complex technical systems and demonstrate its application to a large sample of software releases. Our methodology is based upon directed network graphs, which allows us to... View Details

Keywords: Architecture; Modularity; Dominant Designs; Complexity; Product Design; Software

2022
Working Paper

How Foundations Think: The Ford Foundation as a Dominating Institution in the Field of American Business Schools

By: Rakesh Khurana, Kenneth C. Kimura and Marion Fourcade

01 Jan 1991
Conference Presentation

Understanding the Social Relations of Dominance and Oppression: What It Takes to Build Alliances in Organizations

By: R. Ely

Keywords: Relationships; Alliances; Organizations

Article

Incorporating Insights about Intergroup Power and Dominance to Help Increase Harmony and Equality between Groups in Conflict

By: Nour Kteily and Kaylene J. McClanahan

June 2014
Article

Mastering the Intermediaries: Strategies for Dealing with the Likes of Google, Amazon, and Kayak

By: Benjamin Edelman

Many companies depend on powerful platforms which distinctively influence buyers' purchasing. (Consider, Google, Amazon, and myriad others in their respective spheres.) I consider implications of these platforms' market power, then suggest strategies to help companies... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Market Power; Dominance; Advertising Campaigns; Marketing Channels; Agreements and Arrangements; Competitive Strategy; Negotiation; Transportation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

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September 2013
Article

Status Boundary Enforcement and the Categorization of Black-White Biracials

By: Arnold K. Ho, Jim Sidanius, Amy J.C. Cuddy and Mahzarin R. Banaji

Individuals who qualify equally for membership in more than one racial group are not judged as belonging equally to both of their parent groups, but instead are seen as belonging more to their lower status parent group. Why? The present paper begins to establish the... View Details

Keywords: Hypodescent; Social Dominance Orientation; Intergroup Threat; Hierarchy Maintenance; Equality and Inequality; Race; Rank and Position; Attitudes; Identity

2021
Working Paper

Not Feeling Safe in a Diversity Climate? The Role of Social Dominance Orientation for Interpersonal Outcomes of Diversity Climate Perceptions

By: Lumumba Babushe Seegars, Patricia Faison Hewlin and Sung Soo Kim

Article

Democratizing Work: Redistributing Power in Organizations for a Democratic and Sustainable Future

By: Julie Battilana, Julie Yen, Isabelle Ferreras and Lakshmi Ramarajan

Environmental destruction and social inequalities are increasingly urgent challenges. How can corporations, which have played a key role in creating and reproducing these problems, be part of the solution? In this paper, we advance that a shift to more democratic forms... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Citizenship; Corporate Social Responsibility; CSP; CSR; Domination; Industrial Relations; Power; Resistance; Work; Corporate Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governance; Power and Influence; Environmental Management; Social Issues

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November 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Paytm: A Payments Journey in India

By: Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, Amram Migdal and Kanika Jain

Paytm was an Indian financial technology company. Since its launch in 2010, it had built a dominant payments system in India, comprising mobile wallets, offline payments via QR codes, and a payments bank that offered no-frills banking. However, in 2016, the Indian... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Situation or Environment; Business Ventures; Business Model; Banks and Banking; Business Strategy; Competition; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; South Asia; India

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922

John H. Patterson created an intricate system of management to monitor and train company salesman. He gave them scripts to memorize and assigned them territory to cover. He held conventions and thematic sales contests, and pressured salesmen to rid their regions of... View Details

Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman

June 2003
Case

Rise and Fall (?) of Palm Computing in Handheld Operating Systems,The

Describes the evolution of the handheld operating system market. Describes the rise to dominance of Palm's operating system and the significant challenge to that dominance posed by Microsoft's Windows CE. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Network Effects; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry

07 Aug 2013
What Do You Think?

Is There Still a Role for Judgment in Decision-Making?

respondents to this month's column is that judgment has a dominant role to play in some decisions while it is an element in all decisions. That assumes, of course, that we can arrive at some agreement about what the term means. Seena... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 1998 (Revised October 2001)
Case

SADAFCO

SADAFCO has long enjoyed a dominant position in the milk and ice cream markets in Saudi Arabia. In the mid-1990s, this dominance was under threat as Nestle, Unilever, and Mars all entered the ice cream market. The case outlines the Saudi Arabian ice cream wars. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Food; Multinational Firms and Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Saudi Arabia

April 1987 (Revised April 1992)
Background Note

Games of Strategy: An Introduction

An introduction to the formal analysis of strategic situations. Ideas of game trees, backwards induction, and dominated strategies are introduced. The methods of backwards induction to find optimal strategies is related to the method of successive eliminations of... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Game Theory

June 2015
Article

Does Google Leverage Market Power Through Tying and Bundling?

By: Benjamin Edelman

I examine Google's pattern and practice of tying to leverage its dominance into new sectors. In particular, I show how Google used these tactics to enter numerous markets, to compel usage of its services, and often to dominate competing offerings. I explore the... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Antitrust; Google; Tying; Bundling; Competitive Strategy; Search Technology; Law; Information Technology Industry; Advertising Industry

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July 2003 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service

By: Youngme Moon and John Quelch

Starbucks, the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, must respond to recent market research indicating that the company is not meeting customer expectations in terms of service. To increase customer satisfaction, the company is debating a plan that would... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Recruitment; Marketing Strategy; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Planning; Food and Beverage Industry

13 Jun 2012
HBS Case

HBS Cases: A Startup Takes On the Credit Ratings Giants

overview of the bond ratings industry, including its history, its major players, who uses ratings, and how they are used. The case concerns the strategic options facing a new entrant hoping to exploit the potential crack in the dominance... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Banking; Financial Services

November 2002 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Intel Corporation: 1968-2003

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, David B. Yoffie and Sasha Mattu

Describes three stages in Intel's history: the initial success and then collapse in DRAMs and EPROMs, its transition to and dominance in microprocessors, and its move to become the main supplier of the building blocks for the Internet economy. Allows a rich discussion... View Details

Keywords: History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry