Publications

May 2010 (Revised June 2012)
Case

From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group

By: Willy Shih and Nancy Hua Dai

As Zuo Zongshen drove the transformation of the Zongshen Industrial Group from an early imitator in the motorcycle business to a company that increasingly focused on innovation as a way to get out of the hyper-competitive commodity business, he continually faced new... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Learning; Investment; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

January 1985
Background Note

Winter Age of the Japanese Steel Industry

By: Kim B. Clark

Describes the situation facing the Japanese steel industry in 1984. Two strategies for coping with the world steel situation are presented: diversification and globalization. The actions of Nippon Steel and Nippon Kokan are used to illustrate these strategies. View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Situation or Environment; Business Strategy; Diversification; Steel Industry; Japan

05 Jun 2019
Blog Post

Exploring the Beauty Industry through an Independent Project

completed an Independent Project under the guidance of a professor. In recent years, the beauty industry has fundamentally changed – incumbents are being disrupted by direct-to-consumer brands, customer data is being used to deliver a... View Details

2010
Working Paper

The New Face of Chinese Industrial Policy: Making Sense of Anti-Dumping Cases in the Petrochemical and Steel Industries

By: Regina Abrami and Yu Zheng

Why have China's petrochemical and steel industries behaved so differently in seeking trade protection through antidumping measures? We argue that the patterning of antidumping actions is best explained in terms of the political economy of economic restructuring in... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Price; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Competition; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry; Chemical Industry; China

May 2024
Article

Production Complementarity and Information Transmission Across Industries

By: Charles M.C. Lee, Terrence Tianshuo Shi, Stephen Teng Sun and Ran Zhang

Economic theory suggests that production complementarity is an important driver of sectoral co-movements and business cycle fluctuations. We operationalize this concept using a measure of production complementarity proximity (COMPL) between any two companies. We show... View Details

Keywords: Financial Markets; Networks; Investment Return; Business Cycles

Read Now

April 1999 (Revised March 2002)
Background Note

Aluminum Industry in 1994, The

After reaching all-time highs in excess of $2,500 per ton in 1988 and 1989, aluminum prices fall dramatically in the early 1990s as the former Soviet Union begins exporting far larger quantities of metal. By the beginning of 1994, the price has hit all-time lows (in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Price; Supply and Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Soviet Union

December 1998
Case

Grupo Industrial Bimbo S.A. (1998)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Srinivas Sunder

A leading Mexican agribusiness firm wants to expand in the United States and other locations. How to do so in a manner that utilizes the strengths of the company? View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Global Strategy; Strength and Weakness; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; Mexico

March 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Bets on Clean Hydrogen

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI), an engineering manufacturer headquartered in Japan, was aiming to scale up its hydrogen production and establish a global hydrogen supply chain. The initiative was in line with Japan's energy strategy, as the country seeks to transition... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Demand and Consumers; Competition; Growth and Development Strategy; Infrastructure; Supply Chain; Manufacturing Industry; Energy Industry

Research Summary

Recent Strategies in the U.S. Grocery Industry

By: Rajiv Lal

Rajiv Lal's work comparing the benefits of EDLP and Hi-Lo strategies in the grocery industry indicates that while EDLP grocery retailers may not be able to benefit from traditional costs savings associated with this strategy, these retailers still benefit from the use... View Details

July–August 1983
Article

End-Game Strategies for Declining Industries

By: Kathryn Rudie Harrigan and M. E. Porter

Many companies are faced with declining product demand beyond their control. A study of the strategies of over 95 companies that confronted declining markets suggests that companies can often be very successful if they analyze all the characteristics that shape... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Business Ventures