Publications

May 2006 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Codon Devices

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron

In December 2005, 40-year-old John Danner was about to make his first presentation to the board of directors of Codon Devices, a one-year-old biotechnology start-up based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After a month as the company's CEO, Danner was prepared to lay out... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Venture Capital; Intellectual Property; Governing and Advisory Boards; Genetics; Competitive Advantage; Science-Based Business; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Cambridge

Find at Harvard

03 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 3

other forms of competition in strategy and organizations. Next, we organize and review the findings of three ostensibly separate theoretical perspectives that have arisen from game theory, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2007 (Revised September 2009)
Case

CEMEX's Foundations for Sustainability

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Pamela Yatsko and Ryan Raffaelli

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Competitive Strategy; Change Management; Emerging Markets; Construction Industry; Mexico; Egypt; United States

06 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 6

Strategic Management Product Market Strategy By: Menon, Anoop, and Dennis Yao Abstract—Product market strategy is the collection of choices, actions, and activities of a firm that determines how it positions... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Feb 2013
Research & Ideas

Breaking Through a Growth Stall

you—look next for a source of competitive advantage? Second, for entrepreneurs and investors, the article has governance implications. Telling the board that the sales pipeline grew by $X should not qualify as a good answer if the board... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

23 Aug 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Has the Corporate Mission Just Been Disrupted?

state of failure? Michael Porter and Katherine Gehl find a rigged American political system that limits competition and works against the public interest. Green Businesses Are Incredibly Difficult to Make Profitable. Try It AnywayMaking a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Green Technology

05 Jul 2016
First Look

July 5, 2016

avoid approaches that could undermine one another (e.g., economic incentives crowding out intrinsic incentives). Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51300 Notes on Developing a Strategy and Designing a Company... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Cork'd: Building a Social Network for Wine Lovers

Lindsay Ronga and Gary Vaynerchuk are launching Cork'd, an online social network for wine lovers. Despite Gary's status as a celebrity wine connoisseur, the team faces a significant challenge: several other wine social networks are well established and already have... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Product Launch; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

15 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 15

of inter-organizational relationships. In contrast, we build on research emphasizing potential drawbacks to examine how competitive exposure, enabled by powerful intermediaries, can inhibit innovation. We develop the concept of View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

April 1991 (Revised August 1995)
Supplement

Cat Fight in the Pet Food Industry (B)

By: David J. Collis

Describes the contest for the takeover of Anderson Clayton as industry players compete for one of the seven major dog food makers. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Bids and Bidding; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Mar 2019
News

In My Humble Opinion: Easy Rider

structure.” “American company culture...has the ability to unlock a higher level of performance in a climate where employees are used to being in a very rigid, top-down structure.” Competitive advantage: “American company culture—which I... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Transportation Equipment Manufacturing; Manufacturing

December 2018
Case

First Utility Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

At the end of 2017 First Utility Ltd. was the largest of the middle-tier domestic energy suppliers in the United Kingdom, serving 808,000 of the country’s 27 million households with electricity and gas. In Q1 2017 First Utility captured 3% market share. The company had... View Details

Keywords: Rapid Growth Stage; Power/Energy; Energy Efficiency Standards; Energy; Competition; Diversification; Acquisition; Expansion; Growth Management; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

11 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 11, 2009

more or fewer decision-making responsibilities to managers. By simultaneously addressing the choice of both competitive actions and organizational design, the paper makes an attempt at bringing economic theory and management View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Dec 2010
News

Ten Rules for Entrepreneurs

what we’re taught, most entrepreneurs launch businesses in unattractive, static fields and offer no competitive advantage. Clearly, the most successful entrepreneurs combine their deep knowledge of customers’ needs with a commitment to... View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

April 2012
Supplement

Meli Marine, Instructor Supplement (Brief Case)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Sunru Yong

Keywords: Asia; Singapore; Industry Structure; Operations Management; Capacity Analysis; Packaging Cartons ＆Containers; Supply Chain Management; Competitive Strategy; Logistics; Industry Structures; Performance Capacity; Singapore

April 2012
Supplement

Meli Marine, Spreadsheet Supplement (Brief Case)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Sunru Yong

Keywords: Asia; Singapore; Industry Structure; Operations Management; Capacity Analysis; Packaging Cartons ＆Containers; Supply Chain Management; Competitive Strategy; Logistics; Industry Structures; Performance Capacity; Singapore

March 2011
Module Note

Varieties of Capitalism

By: J. Gunnar Trumbull

This module, part of the second year HBS course MITI, introduces a political economy approach to analyzing national economic strategies, with a primary focus on German economic policy. View Details

Keywords: Economy; Markets; Curriculum and Courses; Policy; Competitive Advantage; Goals and Objectives; Geographic Location; Strategy; Germany