Publications

May 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Quigley-Simpson & Heppelwhite: The Ad Agency Model in the Age of AI

By: David C. Edelman and James Barnett

In October 2022, Quigley-Simpson & Heppelwhite CEO Carl Fremont considers how the advertising agency will integrate artificial intelligence tools into the business. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Strategy; Advertising Industry; United States

Benjamin Esty is the Roy and Elizabeth Simmons Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Over the years, he has taught a variety of courses ranging from advanced corporate finance and project finance to competitive strategy and leadership. He... View Details

Keywords: banking; asset management; investment banking industry; consumer products; shipping; wine; financial services

July 2013 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation has a horizontal firm structure in an industry that is predominantly organized vertically. While it has been successful in up markets, in the current down market its strategic rationale was being tested. As a capital-intensive... View Details

Keywords: Industry Structures; Organizational Structure; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan

August 2020
Background Note

US Private Equity Firms: ESG and Impact (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Holly Fetter

This Note has two parts. The first part (A) explores how U.S. private equity firms are incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, & Governance) factors and impact objectives into their investment strategies and firm practices. It is based on publicly available... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Financial Services Industry; United States

April 1997 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Europe in 1996

By: Huw Pill and Effie Anagnostopoulos

Describes the process of economic and political integration in Europe in the period since 1945. The main issues discussed are: the common market; the single market; economic and monetary union; EU enlargement encompassing the former centrally planned economies; and EU... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Trade; Macroeconomics; Europe

Find at Harvard

March 2011
Article

The New M&A Playbook

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Richard Alton, Curtis Rising and Andrew Waldeck

Companies spend more than $2 trillion on acquisitions every year, yet the M&A failure rate is between 70% and 90%. Executives can dramatically increase their odds of success, the authors argue, if they understand how to select targets, how much to pay for them, and... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Integration

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18 Jan 2017
Working Paper Summaries

The Ties that Bind: Railroad Gauge Standards, Collusion, and Internal Trade in the 19th Century US

Keywords: by Daniel P. Gross; Rail

Benson P. Shapiro

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

2013
Article

Boston Marathon Bombing Response

By: Dutch Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt

Authors Herman B ‘Dutch’ Leonard and Arnold M Howitt say that 12 to 15 years prior, Boston would not have handled the Marathon bombings as effectively as it did in April 2013 in regard to internal institutional preparedness and ability to integrate effort among... View Details

Keywords: Boston Marathon Bombing; Disaster Response; Emergency Preparedness; Crisis Management; Integration; Boston

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June 2025
Supplement

Full-Funnel Advertising on TikTok: An Experiment

By: Jeremy Yang and Ayelet Israeli

TikTok’s Marketing Science team developed a new type of advertising strategy beyond branding and performance advertising, called full-funnel advertising. Branding ads focused on brand building at the top of the funnel by generating consumer awareness, while performance... View Details

February 2008 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Avaya (A)

Avaya's top management wants to improve demand generation. This requires an improvement in the relationship between Sales and Marketing. This case series (Avaya (A)-(D)) walks the student through each phase of this process. The (A) case begins with background on the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Performance Improvement; Relationships; Sales; Cooperation

08 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Computer Science Principles Every Strategic Leader Needs to Know

and application. Each layer presents distinct business opportunities for establishing strategic differentiation. Companies can leverage their position within layers to grow larger by pursuing strategies for View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

August 2020
Background Note

US Private Equity Firms: ESG and Impact (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Holly Fetter

This is the second part of a two-part note. The first part (A) explores how US private equity firms are incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social, & Governance) factors and impact objectives into their investment strategies and firm practices. It is based on publicly... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Financial Services Industry; United States

07 Aug 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, August 8, 2018

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53835 July–August 2018 Journal of Healthcare Management Using Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing to Model the Costs of Various Process-Improvement Strategies in Acute Pain Management By:... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

November 2004 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Ice-Fili (Abridged)

By: John R. Wells, Pai-Ling Yin and Michael G. Rukstad

Designed as an overview of all aspects of the strategy process: industry analysis, positioning, dynamics and sustainability, and scope issues of corporate strategy, including vertical integration, horizontal diversification, and location issues. Ice-Fili is the largest... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Geographic Location; Competition; Vertical Integration; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

April 2007 (Revised March 2018)
Case

M-TRONICS (A)

By: Joseph L. Bower and Lynda M. Applegate

The new CEO of a small manufacturing firm pursues growth through the launch of Entrepreneurial Subsidiaries. While the firm grows revenues from $600 million to over $2 billion in 10 years, problems surface as the subsidiaries are integrated into the established... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Integration

22 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Iterative Coordination and Innovation

Keywords: by Sourobh Ghosh and Andy Wu

February 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Supplement

Avaya (D): Early Results of the Demand Generation Initiative

Avaya's top management wants to improve demand generation. This requires an improvement in the relationship between Sales and Marketing. This case series (Avaya (A)-(D)) walks the student through each phase of this process. The (A) case begins with background on the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Cooperation; Sales