Publications

January 1988 (Revised May 1988)
Case

General Motors' Asian Alliances

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Describes all of General Motors' major alliances with Asian firms. These include Toyota, Fanuc, Isuzu, Daewoo, Suzuki, Nissan, and Hitachi. Students can discuss the rationale of each alliance, their risks, their management problems, and their likely evolution. Also... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Cost Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Problems and Challenges; Alliances; Risk and Uncertainty; Adoption; Corporate Strategy

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Compilation

Firm Strategy Vignettes

By: Josh Lerner, G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

These three vignettes present various issues around the strategy and management of a private equity firm. In one, a senior partner must decide how to manage an over-extended colleague and how to reduce the risk of the firm's portfolio; in the second, a limited partner... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Business Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Partners and Partnerships

Research Summary

GLOBALIZATION AND STRATEGY

Pankaj Ghemawat is engaged in a substantial stream of work on globalization and strategy. On the research front, this has involved a particular focus on the levels and dynamics of cross-border market integration, location-specificity and persistent sources of... View Details

January 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

General Scanning, Inc. (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Sean McClenaghan and Charles Tillen

General Scanning, Inc. was founded by Jean Montagu and Pierre Brosens, two MIT mechanical engineers with an interest in developing innovative products based on the early application of lasers. They invented proprietary technology for laser beam positioning and scanning... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Entrepreneurship; Management Practices and Processes; Product Development; Strategic Planning; Research and Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Commercialization; Manufacturing Industry

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March 2019 (Revised July 2020)
Case

MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

In August 2017, MoviePass dramatically lowered its subscription price from $50 per month to just $10 for up to one movie per day. The idea was to rapidly scale the business to the point where they could generate incremental revenue streams from related businesses... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry; Growth Strategy; Profit Vs. Growth; Subscription Business; Cash Burn; Data Analytics; Get-big-fast; Buyer Power; Strategy Implementation; Movie Industry; Racing; Entrepreneurship; Market Entry and Exit; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Disruption; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States

March 1991 (Revised January 1996)
Case

The General Mills Board and Strategic Planning

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Examines the General Mills Board of Directors' role in the General Mills joint venture with Nestle S.A. to sell cereals outside of North America. It raises the more general question of the appropriate role for the board of directors in strategy formulation. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Trade; Corporate Governance; Managerial Roles; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; North America

October 1988 (Revised May 1989)
Case

General Electric: Consumer Electronics Group

By: David J. Collis and Nancy Donohue

Highlights the General Electric takeover of RCA and the consolidation of the two companies' consumer electronic groups. Starting first with a history of the television industry in the United States, Europe, and Japan, and then a brief discussion of the main competitors... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Markets; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

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January 2006 (Revised April 2007)
Case

General Electric Healthcare, 2006

By: Tarun Khanna and Elizabeth Raabe

In January 2006, Joe Hogan, head of General Electric (GE) Healthcare Technologies, prepared to step into William Castell's shoes as CEO of GE Healthcare, the world's leading manufacturer of diagnostic imaging equipment. In 2004, former CEO Jeff Immelt acquired Amersham... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Cost vs Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Machinery and Machining; Global Range; Multinational Firms and Management; Product Design; Technological Innovation; Expansion; Value Creation; Business Subsidiaries; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Teaching Interest

General Management: Processes and Action

General Management: Processes and Action (GMPA) focuses on implementation and the way that general managers get things done. Typically, they work through processes—sequences of tasks and activities that unfold over time, like strategic planning,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Communication Strategy; Decision Making; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Management; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Resource Allocation; Business Processes; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Strategic Planning; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Auto Industry; Computer Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Health Industry; Information Industry; Legal Services Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; Retail Industry; Video Game Industry; China; India; United States

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

December 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Executive Decision Making at General Motors

By: David A. Garvin and Lynne Levesque

Describes the evolution of General Motors' strategy, organizational structure, and management processes from its founding to the present day. Focuses on the role of GM's management committee—the senior-decision-making body at the company, now called the Automotive... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Management Teams; Auto Industry

02 Apr 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Making the Move to General Manager

People achieve success in the early years of their career by specializing and becoming functional experts—in essence, they succeed by knowing more and more about less and less, says Benjamin C. Esty, chair of the General Management... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

March 2022
Teaching Note

Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham

By: Katherine Coffman and Olivia Hull

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 921-006, “Inclusive Innovation at Mass General Brigham." This case invites students to explore the individual and structural factors that lead to an under-representation of women in male-dominated domains, and to think critically about... View Details

Keywords: Inclusion; Gender Gap; Gender Inclusivity; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

Nov 07 2022
Testimonial

The General Management Program Impact

11 Jun 2007
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching the Next Generation of Energy Executives

You may think that being an energy executive—especially a manager in a leading oil company—might be the easiest job around. Just flip the production switch, and watch gas prices head toward $4 a gallon. But students enrolled in Harvard Business School professor Forest... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

March 2005
Background Note

Home Video Games: Generation Seven

By: Elie Ofek

Discusses the issues facing firms in the seventh generation of home video game platforms. In particular, Sony and Microsoft plan to launch new game consoles in the 2005 to 2006 time frame. Each firm seems to be following a different strategy. Microsoft wants to launch... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Technological Innovation; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry

January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Supplement

MoviePass: The 'Get Big Fast' Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

In August 2017, MoviePass dramatically lowered its subscription price from $50 per month to just $10 for up to one movie per day. The idea was to rapidly scale the business to the point where they could generate incremental revenue streams form related businesses... View Details