Publications

06 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Strategic Intelligence: Adapt or Die

corporate strategy, Wells has learned that the seeds of failure are often planted years before they sprout, and only by overcoming complacency and constantly adapting to the changing competitive environment can companies prosper in the long term. In a new book, View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

Moreover, moral and ethical considerations may decisively influence how the law is applied. As a result, purely technical legal advice is often inadequate. CEOs should be looking for lawyers with wisdom and the courage to push back if... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

2017
Working Paper

Machine Learning Methods for Strategy Research

By: Mike Horia Teodorescu

Numerous applications of machine learning have gained acceptance in the field of strategy and management research only during the last few years. Established uses span such diverse problems as strategic foreign investments, strategic resource allocation, systemic risk... View Details

Keywords: Machine Learning; Natural Language Processing; Classification; Decision Trees; Strategic Decisions; Strategy; Research; Information Technology

SSRN

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Program

Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management

nonprofit management course is presented jointly with the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative. Key Benefits This program delivers the strategic perspectives, practical frameworks, and leadership skills you need to drive high performance... View Details

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Hennes & Mauritz, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2012, Hennes & Maurtiz (H&M) was the second-largest specialty apparel retailer in the world. Sales for fiscal 2012 were $18.1 billion and operating profits were $3.3 billion. H&M operated 2,776 stores, 93% of them outside its home base of Sweden. Over the past... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Strategic Decision Making; Strategy; Supply Chain; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Fashion Industry; Europe; Sweden

January 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Oscar Mayer: Strategic Marketing Planning

By: John A. Quelch

The marketing director of Oscar Mayer faces a series of strategic marketing options regarding established and new products, including budget and capacity allocation decisions. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Decision Rights: Who Gives the Green Light?

How a company decides who is authorized to make what types of decisions can have a profound effect on its business, both in terms of everyday effectiveness and the bottom line. Consider the experience of one global conglomerate that... View Details

Keywords: by Peter Jacobs

November 1989 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision

By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston

Illustrates how ADP's top management uses formal planning and control systems to establish strategic boundaries for its business units. Top management has developed a detailed list of strategic criteria that ADP managers use to evaluate products and business units, as... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Strategic Planning; Management Systems; Accounting; Acquisition

December 2021
Article

Entrepreneurial Learning and Strategic Foresight

By: Aticus Peterson and Andy Wu

We study how learning by experience across projects affects an entrepreneur's strategic foresight. In a quantitative study of 314 entrepreneurs across 722 crowdfunded projects supplemented with a program of qualitative interviews, we counterintuitively find that... View Details

Keywords: Crowdfunding; Experience; Prediction; Timeline; Complexity; Entrepreneurship; Learning; Experience and Expertise; Forecasting and Prediction

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Program

Succeeding as a Strategic CFO

decisions Become a strategic partner to the CEO Discover how to formulate, evaluate, and implement strategic choices that are grounded in financial metrics, but not limited to... View Details

February 2015
Article

Location Choices under Strategic Interactions

By: Juan Alcacer, Cristian Dezso and Minyuan Zhao

The literature on location choices has mostly emphasized the impact of location and firm characteristics. However, most industries with a significant presence of multi-location firms are oligopolistic in nature, which suggests that strategic interaction among firms... View Details

Keywords: Location Strategies; Multinational Strategy; Oligopolistic Competition; Firm Heterogeneity; Geographic Location; Multinational Firms and Management; Balance and Stability; Decision Choices and Conditions; Game Theory

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May 2024
Case

Naked Wines: The Profit vs. Growth Decision

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

Nick Devlin faced a difficult strategic decision in October 2022. As the CEO of a UK-based subscription business connecting wine drinkers in the US, UK, and Australia with winemakers from around the world (which one journalist called the “Netflix of Wine”), he had to... View Details

Program

Strategic Marketing for Driving Growth

Summary Strategic agility and an unyielding focus on growth are essential for the success of any organization, especially when new technologies such as generative AI are profoundly changing how businesses acquire, engage, and retain... View Details

December 2001 (Revised February 2006)
Background Note

An Options-led Approach to Making Strategic Choices

By: Jan W. Rivkin

Summarizes some of the pitfalls of conventional strategic planning processes and proposes an alternative approach to making strategic choices. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Management Practices and Processes; Strategic Planning; Strategy

June 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

High Liner Foods, 2015

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2015, Canadian-based High Liner Foods Ltd was one of North America's largest frozen fish processors with extensive shares of both the food service and retail channels in Canada, the USA and Mexico. With over C$1 billion in revenues, the company had grown four fold... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Strategic Decision Making; Family Business; Commodities; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; North America; Canada

September 2002
Teaching Note

Strategic Planning at NFTE

By: Allen S. Grossman and Daniel F. Curran

Teaching Note for (9-302-002). View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Strategic Planning; Change; Organizational Design; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Partners and Partnerships

2012
Book

Strategic IQ: Creating Smarter Corporations

By: John R. Wells

In today's world, only the smartest survive. The competitive landscape is littered with graves of well-known firms whose revenues, profits and stock prices rose for decades until they suddenly imploded.
In fast-changing business environments, firms must adapt... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Competition; Business Growth and Maturation; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Decision Making; Innovation and Invention

February 1991
Case

Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (B)

By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan

The ARES team formally proposes that Burlington Northern implement the ARES system. The project meets resistance. In light of financial restructuring and high level of debt, executives wonder whether the company can afford ARES. Weak links during the ARES development... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Audits; Restructuring; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Capital Budgeting; Projects; Technology Adoption; Service Industry