Publications

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell is the Herman C. Krannert Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He joined HBS in 2000 where he has taught the required MBA Strategy course, an elective course on Competing Business Models, and Ph.D. courses on... View Details

Keywords: apparel; energy; paper; semiconductor; software

March 2022 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Moksha Data: Delivering Insights for Public Service

By: Ashish Nanda and Zack Kurtovich

Moksha Data, a boutique consulting firm specializing in public sector work, started in January 2017 with a handshake between friends and a shared commitment to the principles of egalitarianism, ownership, and collaboration. The Houston-based firm had built momentum... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Professional Service Firm; Strategy Formulation; Data; Data As A Service; Government Contracting; Consulting; Consulting Firms; Consulting Services; Entrepreneurship; Public Sector; Analytics and Data Science; Growth and Development; Strategy; Consulting Industry; Texas

2022
Case

A Sweet Dilemma: Sourcing Palm Oil with Ferrero SpA and Nestlé

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

This case focuses on Ferrero SpA's sustainable palm oil sourcing strategy in light of its acquisition of Nestlé's U.S. confectionery brands, which in many ways does not comply with Ferrero's sustainable sourcing commitments. The case reviews Ferrero's rich family... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Supply Chain; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2023 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Boortmalt: The Master Maltster

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jose B Alvarez, Damien McLoughlin, Lena Duchene and Emer Moloney

By May 2023, Boortmalt was the world’s leading producer of malt, with a production capacity of 3 million tonnes, 15% of global market share, and 27 malting plants across five continents. It had recently acquired a major competitor and had sustained an EBITDA growth of... View Details

June 2014 (Revised March 2016)
Teaching Note

Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Research Summary

Overview

In industries characterized by extreme dynamism, complexity, and uncertainty, formal structure often “falls behind” actual work processes. The nature of work in these environments evolves continuously while formal structure can only do so at specific times in discrete... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Identity; Identity Work; Strategy; Strategic Change; Collaboration; Cross-functional Integration; Cognition; Organizational Evolution; Organizational Alignment; Social Media

23 Jul 2012
News

Companies and Investors Should See More of Each Other

June 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Microsoft in 2005

By: David B. Yoffie, Darmesh M Mehta and Rudina I Seseri

Focuses on Microsoft's strategy for sustaining competitive advantage in the global software industry. Also, explores Microsoft's history and its current position, as it tries to diversify its product and service revenue streams. View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Business History; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Technology Industry

Research Summary

Research Interests

Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability and Capital Markets, Climate Change and Organizational Incentives, National Institutions and Corporate Social Performance, Stakeholder Engagement, Green Strategies, Business Strategy, Strategy... View Details

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Henry Schein: Doing Well by Doing Good?

By: Rebecca Henderson, Raffaella Sadun, Aldo Sesia and Russell Eisenstat

Henry Schein Inc., a distributor of supplies to dentist, physician, and veterinary practices, had sales approaching $9 billion and employed nearly 16,000 people. The company had experienced impressive growth under the leadership of Stanley Bergman and his executive... View Details

January 2015 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Omar Selim: Building a Values-Based Asset Management Firm (A)

By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Shannon Gombos

The sustainable investing market was a recent phenomenon in the first decade of the 21st century. However, an increasing number of investors began to integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in investment decisions. At Barclays Capital, Omar Selim... View Details

19 Apr 2010
News

The Annual Report as Sustainability's Secret Weapon

Eric J. Van den Steen

Eric Van den Steen is a Professor of Business Administration at HBS, where he teaches strategy. He holds the Roy Little chair, established in honor of the founder of Textron.

Professor Van den Steen's research studies the fundamentals of strategy and... View Details

May 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Cisco Systems: Building Leading Internet Capabilities

By: Richard L. Nolan and Christina L. Darwall

Cisco has invested in building a leading IT, Internet-based infrastructure. This case describes Cisco's latest efforts to broaden Internet capabilities in the company from 30% to 60% penetration. The strategy is intended to sustain Cisco's double-digit revenue growth... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry

October 2013
Article

How Firms Respond to Mandatory Information Disclosure

By: Anil R. Doshi, Glen W.S. Dowell and Michael W. Toffel

Mandatory information disclosure regulations seek to create institutional pressure to spur performance improvement. By examining how organizational characteristics moderate establishments' responses to a prominent environmental information disclosure program, we... View Details

Keywords: Information Disclosure; Institutional Theory; Environmental Strategy; Mandatory Disclosure; Environmental Performance; Information; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Performance Improvement; Environmental Sustainability; Manufacturing Industry; United States

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May 1997 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Intel Corporation: 1968-1997

By: Gary P. Pisano, David J. Collis and Peter K. Botticelli

Traces Intel's history and strategy from 1968 to 1997. Examines the company's decision to exit DRAMS and its entry into microprocessors. Focuses on how the company managed to achieve and sustain its competitive advantage in microprocessors, and the threats it faces in... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Information Infrastructure; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Technology Industry