Publications

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December 2021 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Bed Bath & Beyond: The New Strategy to Drive Shareholder Value

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

At one time, Bed Bath & Beyond was one of the most successful specialty retailers in the United States—its growth and profit margins far exceeded both peer retailers in the home goods market as well as many other discount retailers. But in 2014, its stock price peaked,... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Diversification; Corporate Governance; Leading Change; Performance Evaluation; Valuation; Investment Activism; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Under increased pressure to report environmental impacts, some firms selectively disclose relatively benign impacts, creating an impression of transparency while masking their true performance; other firms’ disclosures, in contrast, are more representative of their... View Details

Web

Published CSV Cases - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

by Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer, and Pamela Sud This case provides a sample of Walmart's social engagement activities and asks students to categorize each as philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, or creating shared value.... View Details

2005
Other Unpublished Work

Corporate Financing Decisions When Investors Take the Path of Least Resistance

By: Malcolm Baker, Joshua Coval and Jeremy Stein

We explore the consequences for corporate financial policy that arise when investors exhibit inertial behavior. One implication of investor inertia is that, all else equal, a firm pursuing a strategy of equity-financed growth will prefer a stock-for-stock merger to... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Behavior; Stocks; Mergers and Acquisitions; Policy; Investment; Financial Institutions; Equity; Corporate Finance

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10 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Corporate Responsibility and the Environment: What is the Right Thing To Do?

very expensive, natural garments; Ben and Jerry's, and so on. But the evidence is very mixed as to how often CSR pays off, or serves the company strategically. Most of the authors did not think that usually happened. Q: Can you tell us more about the difference between... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

May 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

PepsiCo: A View from the Corporate Office

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Describes the three business segments of PepsiCo (beverages, snack foods, and restaurants). It then explores the competitive environment within each segment and the response of PepsiCo's businesses. It seeks to show how PepsiCo CEO, D. Wayne Calloway, in a very... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Change; Governance Controls; Management Style; Organizational Structure; Situation or Environment; Competitive Strategy; Value; Food and Beverage Industry

24 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Link Between Language and Corporate Responsibility

where tendencies towards future thinking may be strong or weak, and tailor their programs effectively. Beyond those findings, however, the implications of future-focused language may have other effects on corporate behavior. "The idea... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Web

Porter Prize Japan - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

at Harvard Business School. Michael Porter was invited to be the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of its newly established Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy (ICS) in 2000. He made... View Details

February 2003 (Revised July 2005)
Case

British Broadcasting Corporation (B): Making it Happen

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Douglas A Raymond

Greg Dyke, the new director general of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), has launched an ambitious change program, called Making It Happen, with the objective of unlocking creativity, building a sense of common purpose, and encouraging collaboration throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Media; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership Development; Competition; Creativity; Relationships; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United Kingdom

Web

Fit Across the Value Chain - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

HBS ISC Strategy Strategy Strategy Explained Business Strategy Creating a Successful Strategy View Details

April 2011 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.: Driving Change Through Internal Communication

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), confronted in 2003 with an urgent need to change how it operated externally, adopted a highly innovative approach to communicating internally. This case, set in 2010, presents an overview of the new, more interactive model of employee... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; India

November 1985
Supplement

Paine Webber (A): Choosing a Corporate Strategy, Supplement

By: Dwight B. Crane and Robert G. Eccles Jr.

Keywords: Corporate Strategy

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March 1995 (Revised March 2001)
Case

The Black & Decker Corporation (A): Power Tools Division

By: Robert J. Dolan

Presents Black & Decker's performance against a Japanese competitor and others in the power tools market. Black & Decker is anxious to regain its market share leadership in particular segments of the market. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Competition; Globalization; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry

22 Feb 2021
Book

Reaching Today's Omnichannel Customer Takes a New Sales Strategy

because sales tasks are determined by a firm’s business strategy and its choices about which customers to focus on. In turn, selling behaviors are affected by your control systems and culture as well as whom and how you hire. Those are... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Article

Strategies and Tactics in NGO-Government Relations: Insights from Slum Housing in Mumbai

By: Ramya Ramanath and Alnoor Ebrahim

Relationships between nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government agencies have been variously described in the nonprofit literature as cooperative, complementary, adversarial, confrontational, or even co-optive. But how do NGO-government relationships emerge... View Details

Keywords: Cooperative Ownership; Housing; Corporate Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Change Management; Business Strategy; Growth and Development; Non-Governmental Organizations; Accommodations Industry; Mumbai

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Web

Thriving with Disabilities: A Panel on Strategies for Recruitment and Career Success

February 2016 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Scaling Well by Doing Good: Motivating Talent at b.good

By: Francesca Gino, Paul Green Jr. and Bradley Staats

Boston-based fast-casual chain b.good was founded on the idea of healthy food, sourced locally, and prepared in-store. The founders had built a value-based business and worked hard to cultivate a sense of family—among employees, customers, and suppliers. In 2015, they... View Details

Keywords: Motivation; Values; Corporate Culture; Growth Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Values and Beliefs; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; New England

June 2013 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Ayala Corporation & the Philippines: Asset Allocation in a Growing Economy (A)

By: Eric Werker, Yasmin Mandviwala, Henry Motte-Munoz and Arthur Wit

While the Philippines are located in the vicinity of many of the "Asian Tigers," its development has followed a unique path. The country suffered for years under a dictatorial political regime and protectionist economic policies. Remittances were the largest source of... View Details

Keywords: Asset Allocation; Assets; Business Conglomerates; Philippines