Publications

28 Nov 2016
News

One Obstacle to Curing Cancer: Patient Data Isn’t Shared

February 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

ICICI (A)

By: Bharat N. Anand, Nitin Nohria and John Pegg

ICICI was the first Indian company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. This case is set in 1998, when the company had to decide whether to enter the retail credit segment of the Indian financial market. Although the retail credit sector presents attractive... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Strategic Planning; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Growth Management; Markets; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; India

March 1993 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Johnson Controls, Automotive Systems Group: The Georgetown, Kentucky Plant

Prior to the 1980s, automakers purchased individual seat components and built the seats alongside their auto assembly lines. This case describes how Johnson Controls, Automotive Systems Group, blossomed when automakers turned to outsourcing the complete seat set. The... View Details

Keywords: Production; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Kentucky

21 Jul 2021
News

Companies That Make People Return to the Office Will Lose Employees

September 28, 2021
Article

12 Questions About Hybrid Work, Answered

By: Tsedal Neeley

As we move into the next phase of the pandemic, companies are grappling with whether and how to bring their employees back into the office after working from home extensively. According to multiple surveys, most people want a mix of in-person and remote work, and some... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Remote Work; Transition; Employees; Job Design and Levels; Organizational Structure

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2007
Working Paper

Why Do Intermediaries Divert Search?

By: Andrei Hagiu and Bruno Jullien

We analyze the incentives to divert search for an information intermediary who enables buyers (consumers) to search affiliated sellers (stores). We identify two original motives for diverting search (i.e. inducing consumers to search more than they would like): i)... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Retail Industry

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13 Oct 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Building a Business in the Context of a Life

out to do something fun for themselves and ended up creating a production that continues to attract a huge following. Kraus uses Blue Man Group as an example of finding your "flow"—experiencing such enjoyment from an activity that you feel time, View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Education

July – August 2008
Article

Should You Invest in the Long Tail?

By: Anita Elberse

The blockbuster strategy is a time-honored approach, particularly in media and entertainment. When space is limited on store shelves and in traditional distribution channels, producers tend to focus on a few likely best sellers, hoping that one or two big hits will... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Distribution Channels; Sales; Marketing Strategy; Online Technology; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Retail Industry

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November 2019
Case

The Genesis Lab at Novartis

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Ranjay Gulati, Patrick J. Healy and Kerry Herman

Novartis' Genesis Labs program, launched in 2016 as part of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR), hosted pitch competitions where teams of NIBR scientists proposed ideas to explore that aimed to revolutionize drug discovery. The goal was to break down... View Details

Keywords: Drug Discovery; Health Care and Treatment; Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Programs; Management

Research Summary

Competing in New Markets

Strategic advisors counsel managers to conduct a thorough competitive analysis emphasizing key points of differentiation. But for new markets, Professor McDonald’s research suggests that reports of the threat posed by similar rivals may be greatly exaggerated, and... View Details

15 Mar 2022
News

How a Ukrainian Economist Is Fighting the Russians

July 2020 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Live Nation and Pharrell Williams

By: Anita Elberse and Kate Christensen

“We’re in business together, and whether we lose a few million dollars or make a few million dollars, let’s do this. If you think you can pull it off, I’m behind you.” Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment... View Details

Keywords: Music; Entertainment; Superstars; Talent; Labor Economics; General Management; Music Entertainment; Media; Talent and Talent Management; Joint Ventures; Marketing; Strategy; Music Industry

March 2011
Case

Cash Flow Productivity at PepsiCo: Communicating Value to Retailers

PepsiCo developed a new metric that better measured the value added by Pepsi products than did gross margin, the traditional metric used by retailers to determine shelf space and promotional activity. The new metric, cash flow productivity, captured the value of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Cash Flow; Measurement and Metrics; Distribution; Performance Productivity; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

31 Dec 2018
News

The year of the last action hero

May 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Tropos Networks

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Elizabeth Kind

As Ron Sege, president and CEO of Tropos Networks, walked through the halls of the firm's offices, he realized that the space they had moved into only about a year ago was already becoming too small. The company, based in Sunnyvale, California, was founded in late 2000... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Wireless Technology; Sunnyvale

Research Summary

Overview

By: Roberto Verganti

Roberto’s research focuses on how to create innovations that are meaningful for people, for society, and for their creators. He explores how leaders and organizations generate radically new visions, and make those visions come real. His studies lie at the intersection... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Design; Strategy; Design Thinking; Innovation; Artificial Intelligence; Design; Technology; Leadership; Innovation Strategy

January 2025
Case

The Vision of Wonder

By: Michael S. Kaufman and Daniella Bertolotti

Serial entrepreneur Marc Lore successfully disrupted three marketplaces—trading cards, diapers (founded Diapers.com and eventually sold to Amazon for more than $500 million) and ecommerce (founded Jet.com competing directly with Amazon and eventually sold to Walmart... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Technology Industry

January 2022
Article

Pushed into a Crowd: Repositioning Costs, Resources, and Competition in the RTE Cereal Industry

By: Young Hou and Dennis Yao

This paper exploits a natural experiment involving self-regulation in the ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereal industry to evaluate the performance impact of product repositioning. It then examines how a product's brand equity value declines with repositioning distance... View Details

Keywords: Positioning; Resources; Brand Equity; Competitive Dynamics; Non-market Strategy; Regulation; Repositioning; Product Positioning; Performance Evaluation; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

June 2016 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Boys & Girls Clubs of America: Driving Impact

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Lisa C. Cox

With $1.8 billion in 2015 revenues, Boys & Girls Club of America had evolved over its 155-year-old history to occupy the lead position in the Youth Development space in the United States. Its new CEO Jim Clark had initiated yet another change process in 2015 to ensure... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Strategy; Planning Process; Transformative Impact; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategic Planning; Change Management; Growth Management