Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,369)
- Faculty Publications (510)
- April 1990 (Revised August 1997)
- Case
Organizational Capabilities and U.S. War Production: The Controlled Materials Plan of World War II
By: Robert D. Cuff and Richard S. Tedlow
A vehicle for the discussion of a very important set of institutional arrangements that helped enable America to mobilize its economy for World War II. View Details
- March 1990 (Revised June 1991)
- Case
IBM Corp.: ""Make It Your Business"" (A)
By: Robert L. Simons
In 1987, IBM changed its strategy in an attempt to become a market-driven company rather than a product-driven company. The case begins with a description of the new strategy and the reasons for the change and then describes the top-down sales planning and quota system... View Details
- March 1990 (Revised November 1999)
- Case
MCI Communications: Planning for the 1990s
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
Concentrates on the evolution of MCI's strategy-setting process following a period of dramatic growth. Opportunistic strategies during MCI's early years have given top managers a dislike of formal strategic planning and a strongly-held belief in top down strategy... View Details
- October 1989 (Revised May 1996)
- Case
Xerox Corp.: Leadership Through Quality (A)
By: Todd D. Jick and Leonard A. Schlesinger
Describes the "Leadership Through Quality" effort undertaken by Xerox in the 1980s. Includes the history of Xerox in the 1970s and its need to make major changes in quality by the 1980s. Most of the remainder of the case details the step-by-step process by which Xerox... View Details
- September 1989 (Revised July 1991)
- Case
Caterpillar, Inc.: George Schaefer Takes Charge
For over half a century, Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) had been a world leader in the manufacture of earthmoving and construction machinery. In 1982, just months after it recorded the highest sales and profits in its history, CAT experienced its greatest crisis. Demand fell... View Details
Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Crisis Management; Labor Unions; Demand and Consumers; Management Teams; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Manufacturing Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Industrial Products Industry
- April 1989 (Revised January 1994)
- Case
Novo Industri
By: Michael E. Porter and Michael J. Enright
Describes the structure of the insulin industry, a treatment for diabetes and Novo's strategy and competitive position in early 1982. The industry is undergoing significant change and Novo must decide how to defend and build its international position. Designed as an... View Details
- August 1988
- Background Note
Close Encounters of the Four Kinds: Managing Customers in a Rapidly Changing Environment
Describes four kinds of selling: 1) transaction, 2) systems, 3) major account management, and 4) strategic account relationships. Explains the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of each. The second half is devoted to a discussion of strategic account relationships... View Details
- May 1985 (Revised March 1993)
- Case
General Electric Co.--1984
By: Francis Aguilar and Richard G. Hamermesh
Describes the first four years of Jack Welch's tenure as CEO of the General Electric Co. Deals with the ways Welch has tried to change GE's strategy and planning activities and his attempts to make the company more entrepreneurial. View Details
- January 1985 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Conex do Brasil
By: Christopher A. Bartlett and John Young
Describes interactions between Brazilian local, Latin American regional, and USA headquarters staff during the three years after establishing a manufacturing subsidiary in Sao Paulo. In a highly protected national environment, a market entry plan is developed to meet... View Details
- September 1983 (Revised February 1989)
- Background Note
The Oil Tanker Shipping Industry in 1983
Describes the international oil tanker shipping industry both historically and in 1983. Designed to provide a vehicle for practicing industry analysis in a volatile commodity business, and for formulating strategy in such an environment. Also can be used to examine... View Details
- June 1983 (Revised April 1991)
- Case
Dominion Engineering Works
Dominion Engineering Works faces important strategic decisions about whether to continue its focused strategy of selling newsprint machines to the Canadian paper industry or whether recent changes in industry conditions and the emergence of three global competitors... View Details
- March 1983 (Revised January 1984)
- Case
Merloni Group
The general manager of the recently-established French subsidiary of an Italian appliance company is in conflict with headquarters about unexpectedly poor financial performance. Headquarters management believes it should be able to exert more control over the... View Details
- February 1978
- Case
Sierra Log Homes, Inc. (A)
Describes the history and evolution of the log home manufacturing industry, a rapidly growing embryonic industry capitalizing on the back-to-basics lifestyle changes in the United States. Focuses on one of the leading firms in the industry, but allows a discussion of... View Details
- October 1976 (Revised February 1987)
- Case
Cramer Electronics, Inc.
Designed to be the second day of a two-day series on the electronic component distribution industry, following a day spent discussing Note on the Electronic Component Distribution Industry and Raytheon Co.: Diversification. The important teaching themes which this case... View Details
- Research Summary
Competing business models
Building on the literatures on competitive positioning and the theory of industrial organization, my work seeks to tackle previously unaddressed questions by studying situations where firms compete in dissimilar ways. Some examples of these questions include:View Details
- Research Summary
Developing Organizational Capabilities to Compete
By: Michael Beer
Michael Beer’s current research focuses on the question of what makes an Effective Organization. Based on his extensive research and practice about this question Beer has identified six highly interrelated core capabilities:
- Capacity of the... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Digital Marketing Strategy
By: John A. Deighton
When the tools of marketing change, strategies change too. The focus of this course is on firms trying to navigate the transition from offline to online market-making and strategy development. Our concern is primarily with corporations that have products and... View Details
- Forthcoming
- Article
Does Communicating Measurable Diversity Goals Attract or Repel Historically Marginalized Job Applicants? Evidence from the Lab and Field
By: Erika L. Kirgios, Ike Silver and Edward H. Chang
Many organizations struggle to attract a demographically diverse workforce. How does adding a measurable goal to a public diversity commitment—for example, “We care about diversity” versus “We care about diversity and plan to hire at least one woman or racial minority... View Details
- Research Summary
Energy, IT, real estate, and sustainability
Professor Henderson’s current research focuses on the energy, information technology, and real estate sectors and the challenges firms encounter as they attempt to act in more sustainable ways. This work is an outgrowth of her decade-long examination of the... View Details