Publications

The goal of MANAGEMENT: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH, 2nd Edition, is to prepare students for leadership positions in 21st century companies by addressing the many facets involved in answering one key question: How are leaders successfully managing competitive... View Details

May 2022
Case

Maestro Pizza: Coming in Hot!

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Fares Khrais

Maestro Pizza opened its first store in 2013 after its founder, Khalid Al Omran, recognized an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to offer high quality pizza at affordable prices. The business grew rapidly and under the radar at first, but soon enough caught the attention of... View Details

2018
Working Paper

Corporate Sustainability: A Strategy?

By: George Serafeim

We explore the conditions under which firms maintain their competitive advantage through sustainability-based differentiation when faced with imitation pressures by industry peers. We document growing intraindustry convergence on sustainability actions over time for... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Corporate Performance; Industry Analysis; CSR; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Environment; Social Responsibility; Strategy And Execution; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Performance; Corporate Strategy

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October 2013 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Alcoa's Bid for Alcan (A)

By: Paul Healy and Penelope Rossano

In spring 2007, Alcoa CEO Alain Belda was concerned about the company's market position in light of increased competition from developing markets. China's recent entry into the aluminum market was affecting both supply and demand. Furthermore, downstream and upstream... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Strategy; Aluminum; Accounting; Financials; Alcoa; Rio Tinto; Alcan; Metals and Minerals; Competition; Consolidation; Emerging Markets; Acquisition; Financial Statements; Manufacturing Industry; Canada; China; Russia

January 2013 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Mutti S.p.a.

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mary Shelman

Francesco Mutti, owner, CEO, and great-grandson of the founder of Mutti Spa, ran the 113-year old Parma, Italy-based tomato-processing company. Mutti sales grew from €11 million in 1995 to €185 million in 2011, without producing for store brands in a market in which... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Strategy; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Family Business; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Italy

14 Mar 2023
Blog Post

How Inclusive Managers Create Glass-Shattering Organizations

Unless men embrace their role in eliminating gender bias and barriers, organizations and institutions will never leverage the value that women bring to the workplace. “Most positions of power are still held by men,” says Colleen Ammerman,... View Details

October 2018
Article

Competing with Complementors: An Empirical Look at Amazon.com

By: Feng Zhu and Qihong Liu

Platform owners sometimes enter complementors' product spaces to compete against them directly. Prior studies have offered two possible explanations for such entries: platform owners may target the most successful complementors so as to appropriate value from their... View Details

Keywords: Amazon; Complementors; Co-opetition; Entry; Platform-based Markets; Competition; Digital Platforms; Competitive Strategy

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February 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Extricity Inc.

Extricity provides software that triggers and automates information flows between collaborating businesses. Its products interface with the legacy information systems already in use by customers, extract information from them, and send this information over the... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry

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06 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 6, 2008

business model, one that positioned the company simultaneously in the PC industry and the consumer electronics industry. While Apple enjoyed a high market share in digital media players and in online music sales, it remained a niche... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 1998 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Airborne Express

By: Jan W. Rivkin

In the wake of a highly successful quarter, senior managers of Airborne Express, the third largest player in the express mail industry, review the firm's competitive position. Airborne has survived, and recently prospered, in an industry with significant economies of... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Business Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Global Strategy; Rank and Position; Service Industry

Leonard A. Schlesinger is Baker Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School where he serves as Chair of the School’s Practice based faculty and faculty Chair of the MBA Field Global Immersion program. He has served as a member of the HBS faculty from 1978 to... View Details

January 2008
Article

Putting Leadership Back into Strategy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

In recent decades an infusion of economics has lent the study of strategy much needed theory and empirical evidence. Strategy consultants, armed with frameworks and techniques, have stepped forward to help managers analyze their industries and position their companies... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Managerial Roles; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Creativity; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage

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November 2000 (Revised April 2001)
Case

Grupo Beta San Miguel (A)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Hal Hogan

The World Trade Organization and NAFTA are reviewing the sweetener system and governmental sugar programs and their impact on world trade. What position should Jose Pinto take, and how will this affect his company, Mexico, and the global sugar players? View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Government and Politics; System; Competitive Advantage; Management Teams; Mexico

23 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 23

and responding to adverse drug reactions suggests that only government regulators are in a position to integrate case report and statistical analysis. Despite the appeal of fragmented post-market drug safety studies, centralization may be... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How Business Strategy Tamed the “Invisible Hand”

Until the nineteenth century, the scope for applying (imperfectly) competitive thinking to business situations appeared to be limited: Intense competition had emerged in many lines of business, but... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

15 Sep 2016
News

Why the U.S. economy lags: It's the politics, stupid

May 1999 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Executive Health Group

Executive Health Group provides in-depth physical exams. Facing stagnant revenues, CEO William Flatley has to reposition his firm, strengthen the brand franchise, and grow share in an increasingly competitive health care environment. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Competition; Health Care and Treatment; Brands and Branding; Health Industry