Publications

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

John H. Patterson and the Sales Strategy of the National Cash Register Company, 1884 to 1922

John H. Patterson created an intricate system of management to monitor and train company salesman. He gave them scripts to memorize and assigned them territory to cover. He held conventions and thematic sales contests, and pressured salesmen to rid their regions of... View Details

Keywords: by Walter A. Friedman

January 2019
Supplement

The De Beers Group: Launching GemFair for Artisanal Diamonds

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

In April 2018, the De Beers Group launched a pilot project called GemFair to create a new supply of ethically and environmentally sourced diamonds from artisanal and small-scale mines (ASM) in Sierra Leone. Whether this project would yield a meaningful supply of rough... View Details

Keywords: Diamonds; New Business; Strategy Development; Strategy Execution; Scope; ESG; Supply; Corporate Strategy; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mining Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Sierra Leone; United Kingdom

February 2002
Case

Rafael Development Corporation -- Converting Military Technology to Civilian Technology in Israel

Describes an Israeli joint venture company, created to convert military technology to civilian uses. Also documents the explosive growth of the Israeli high-technology sector in the 1990s. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Commercialization; Technology Industry; Israel

June 2012
Case

Microsoft IT India

By: Willy C. Shih, Margaret Pierson, Alexander Down, William Gustave Jair-Shemuel Jurist, Diego Medicina and Helen Wang

Raj Biyani faced tough challenges managing Microsoft IT India: leading a remote development organization in which key decisions were made in Redmond, and managing an organization that was perceived as less strategic than its sister Microsoft India Development Center... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Development; Cross-functional Management; Foreign Subsidiaries; Strategy Alignment; Organizational Behavior; Indian Software Development; Global Distributed R＆D; Software Industry; Organizational Structure; Research and Development; Operations; Leadership; Globalized Firms and Management; Business Subsidiaries; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Industry; India

1994
Article

Integration and Dynamic Capability: Evidence from Development in Automobiles and Mainframe Computers

By: M. Iansiti and K. B. Clark

Keywords: Integration; Growth and Development; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure

June 2024
Article

Defining Who You Are by Whom You Serve? Strategies for Prosocial–Professional Identity Integration with Clients

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan and Julie Yen

Many professionals want to both achieve professional success and contribute to society. Yet, in some professional contexts, these aims are in tension because serving elite clients is considered the pinnacle of professional success, but professionals themselves may view... View Details

Keywords: Identity; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Behavior; Social Entrepreneurship

Read Now

March 2022
Teaching Note

Sawiris Foundation: Elevating Education in Egypt

By: Brian Trelstad and Alpana Thapar

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-023. Founded in 2001 by the Sawiris family, one of the wealthiest families in Egypt, the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD) invested in human capital and provision of basic social services for the most marginalized... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Development; Human Capital; Equality and Inequality; Education; Business Strategy; Social Enterprise; Social Issues; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Egypt

December 2006 (Revised October 2016)
Case

eClinicalWorks: The Paths to Growth

By: Robert F. Higgins and Mark Rennella

In January 2006, eClinicalWorks (eCW) had an acquisition opportunity that could fundamentally change the way they had done business since the inception of the company in 1999. eClinicalWorks was a privately run business in the healthcare information technology field... View Details

Keywords: Young Companies; Strategic Revelation; Strategy And Execution; Strategy Development; Strategy And Leadership; Financing Strategy; Financing Risk; Financing; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Culture; Financing and Loans; Customer Focus and Relationships; Acquisition; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

September 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Doing Business in Argentina

By: Rawi Abdelal, Amy C. Edmondson, Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Gustavo A. Herrero and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

An imaginary oil company is invited to participate in a potentially lucrative investment in a large oil field just as the Argentine government is taking actions that seem to jeopardize private property rights within its borders. This case highlights the risks and... View Details

Keywords: Business Evaluation; Fieldwork; Emergent Countries; Emerging Market Finance; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Strategy; Argentina

1989
Book

Planning and Power in Iran: Ebtehaj and Economic Development under the Shah

By: Geoffrey Jones

This book provides a biography of Abol Hassan Ebtehaj, who headed Iran's central bank and Plan Organization during the 1940s and 1950s. It provides a wide-ranging survey of the problems of modernization and economic planning in Iran. Ebtehaj was at the center of... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Decision Making; Economics; Central Banking; Policy; Political History; Resignation and Termination; Biography; Books; Surveys; Growth and Development Strategy; Planning; Iran

May 2025 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Netflix Beyond Streaming: Strategies for the Next Era of Entertainment

By: Juan Alcácer and Lorenzo Lucidi

Netflix loses subscribers for the first time in over a decade—can the streaming pioneer reinvent itself before competitors, costs, and churn catch up? In 2022, facing fierce competition and shifting consumer behaviors, Netflix confronts its most critical strategic... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Competition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States; Australia; Brazil; Canada; France; Germany; India; Japan; Mexico; Russia; South Korea; Spain; United Kingdom

2015
Chapter

The Value of Breadth and the Importance of Differences

By: David J. Collis

Honoring Pankaj Ghemawat's receipt of an Academy of Management award, this chapter examines his contribution to the global strategy field. It notes the continuing importance of country differences to international strategy and how geographic scope contributes to... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Pankaj Ghemawat; Multinationals; Globalization; Management; Strategy

March 2021
Article

Increasing the Level of Abstraction as a Strategy for Accelerating the Adoption of Complex Technologies

By: Willy C. Shih

Many new technologies are complex and embody high levels of technical sophistication, and applying them should require significant knowledge and experience. Yet, the rapid adoption and incorporation of these technologies into other innovations seems inconsistent with... View Details

Keywords: Abstraction; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Technological Progress; Diffusion Of Innovation; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Complexity; Information Technology; Strategy

November 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

SANY: Going Global

By: Rajiv Lal, Stefan Lippert, Nancy Hua Dai and Di Deng

April 17, 2012, was a special day for SANY Group and for its founder Liang Wen'gen. Headquartered in Changsha, SANY Group had transformed itself in two decades from a small welding material factory in 1989 to a leading global construction equipment manufacturer with 5... View Details

Keywords: China; Expansion; Business Growth; Heavy Industry; Strategy Development; Globalization; Growth and Development; Emerging Markets; Strategy; Construction Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Asia; China; Europe; Germany; India; North and Central America; South America

January 2019
Supplement

JPMorgan Chase: Invested in Detroit (C)

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Norris

Video Supplement to HBS Case Nos. 918-406 and 918-410.
Beginning in 2014, JPMorgan Chase launched “Invested in Detroit,” a $100 million philanthropic investment in the city over five years. The bank worked with local economic development organizations,... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropic Investment; Banking; Economic Development; Local Economic Development; Workforce Development; Financial Institutions; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Urban Development; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Expansion; Banking Industry; United States; Michigan; Detroit

October 5, 2023
Column

A Smarter Way to Design Business Strategies to Serve the Poor

By: Bhavani Shanker Uppari, Ioanna Popescu, Serguei Netessine and Rowan P. Clarke

Keywords: Poverty Reduction; Technology; Business Model; Strategy; Renewable Energy; Consumer Behavior; Developing Countries and Economies; Poverty; Africa; Rwanda

Read Now

November 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Formlabs: Selling a New 3D Printer

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Olivia Hull and Amram Migdal

Headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, Formlabs manufactures 3D printers used to print everything from prototypes and models to jewelry, dental, and sculpture molds. As Formlabs prepares to ship its latest model, the Form 2, Head of Customer Development and... View Details

01 Jan 1979
Conference Presentation

Developing a Financial Planning Model for An Analytic Review: A Feasibility Study

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques