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- Faculty Publications (84)
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- All HBS Web (123)
- Faculty Publications (84)
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- January 2017 (Revised February 2022)
- Background Note
Assessing and Enhancing Market Attractiveness
This note gives students a systematic and comprehensive framework for analyzing and influencing market attractiveness. It pays explicit attention to value creation, complements, and the dynamics of market attractiveness. It also includes careful sub-frameworks for... View Details
Van den Steen, Eric. "Assessing and Enhancing Market Attractiveness." Harvard Business School Background Note 717-466, January 2017. (Revised February 2022.)
- March 2014
- Technical Note
Performance and Value Analysis
This note introduces the Performance and Value Analysis (PVA) framework, an integrated framework to analyze strategic performance (i.e., performance corrected for temporary and random effects). This framework (quantitatively) decomposes a firm's performance into 3... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Economic Analysis; Sustainable Competitive Advantage; Value Capture; Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competency and Skills; Competition; Value Creation
Van den Steen, Eric. "Performance and Value Analysis." Harvard Business School Technical Note 714-490, March 2014.
- March 2014 (Revised December 2016)
- Teaching Note
Aldi: The Dark Horse Discounter
- March 2014
- Teaching Note
Strategy and the Strategist
- May 2013 (Revised March 2014)
- Case
Strategy and the Strategist
This short case presents a series of brief accounts, observations, and quotations that challenge students to think about the role of the CEO — and of the CEO's (possibly strong) beliefs and convictions — in strategy. It focuses in particular on three issues and their... View Details
Keywords: Belief Systems; Strategic Analysis; Competitive Advantage; Values; Vision; Strategy And Leadership; Strategy; Leadership; Values and Beliefs
Van den Steen, Eric. "Strategy and the Strategist." Harvard Business School Case 713-533, May 2013. (Revised March 2014.)
- August 2017
- Article
A Formal Theory of Strategy
What makes a decision strategic? When is strategy most important? This paper formally studies these questions, starting from a (functional) definition of strategy as “the smallest set of choices to optimally guide (or force) other choices.” The paper shows that this... View Details
Van den Steen, Eric J. "A Formal Theory of Strategy." Management Science 63, no. 8 (August 2017): 2616–2636.
- Article
The Strategy in Competitive Interactions
This paper reviews, discusses, and expands the “core guidance” definition of strategy as “the smallest set of choices to optimally guide (or force) other choices.” It first discusses what this definition contributes to the existing proposed definitions. It then... View Details
Keywords: Strategy Formulation; Strategy Definition; Strategy; Competition; Analysis; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making
Van den Steen, Eric J. "The Strategy in Competitive Interactions." Strategy Science 3, no. 4 (December 2018): 574–591.
- Article
On the Origin of Shared Beliefs (and Corporate Culture)
This article shows how corporate culture, in the sense of shared beliefs and values, originates (often unintentionally) through screening, self-sorting, and manager-directed joint learning. It shows that such culture will be stronger among more important employees and... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Culture; Learning; Values and Beliefs; Employees; Decisions; Power and Influence; Performance; Perspective
Van den Steen, Eric J. "On the Origin of Shared Beliefs (and Corporate Culture)." RAND Journal of Economics 41, no. 4 (Winter 2010): 617–648.
- March 2010
- Article
Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm
This paper develops a theory of the firm in which a firm's centralized asset ownership and low-powered incentives give the manager, as an equilibrium outcome, interpersonal authority over employees (in a world with open disagreement). The paper thus provides... View Details
Keywords: Theory; Assets; Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Governance Controls; Power and Influence; Projects; Perspective; Employees
Van den Steen, Eric J. "Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm." American Economic Review 100, no. 1 (March 2010): 466–490.
- 2007
- Working Paper
Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm
This paper develops a theory of the firm in which a firm's centralized asset ownership and low-powered incentives give a manager 'interpersonal authority' over employees (in a world with differing priors). The paper derives such interpersonal authority as... View Details
Keywords: Governance Controls; Employee Relationship Management; Managerial Roles; Motivation and Incentives; Boundaries; Theory
Van den Steen, Eric J. "Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm." Sloan School of Management Working Paper, No. 4667-07, July 2007. (Available at SSRN.)
- September 2004
- Article
Rational Overoptimism (and Other Biases)
Rational agents with differing priors tend to be overoptimistic about their chances of success. In particular, an agent who tries to choose the action that is most likely to succeed, is more likely to choose an action of which he overestimated, rather than... View Details
Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Decision Choices and Conditions; Performance Expectations; Outcome or Result; Opportunities; Risk and Uncertainty; Failure; Success; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Personal Characteristics; Values and Beliefs; Ethics
Van den Steen, Eric J. "Rational Overoptimism (and Other Biases)." American Economic Review 94, no. 4 (September 2004): 1141–1151.
- 22 Jan 2019
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, January 22, 2019
practical implications to the literature on organizational change, emotions, and language in global organizations. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55473 December 2018 Strategy Science The Strategy in Competitive Interactions By: View Details
Keywords: Dina Gerdeman
- March 2014
- Technical Note
Drivers of Value Capture
This note introduces a framework for analyzing value capture (through bargaining and pricing) and bargaining advantage (or value capture advantage), i.e., a firm's (superior) ability to capture a share from the value it helps create. View Details
Van den Steen, Eric. "Drivers of Value Capture." Harvard Business School Technical Note 714-488, March 2014.
- July 2013
- Technical Note
Competition Simulator Exercise: Questions
In the Competition Simulator Exercise, students explore through trial and error some important economic foundations of competitive strategy and managerial economics. In particular, the simulator lets students explore horizontal differentiation with and without price... View Details
Keywords: Economics Of Strategy; Economics Of Competition; Competition; Economics; Game Theory; Competitive Strategy; Marketing Strategy
Van den Steen, Eric. "Competition Simulator Exercise: Questions." Harvard Business School Technical Note 714-406, July 2013.
- October 2010
- Article
Culture Clash: The Costs and Benefits of Homogeneity
This paper develops an economic theory of the costs and benefits of corporate culture-in the sense of shared beliefs and values in order to study the effects of "culture clash" in mergers and acquisitions. I first use a simple analytical framework to show that shared... View Details
Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Organizational Culture; Economics; Information Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Values and Beliefs; Mergers and Acquisitions; Framework; Satisfaction; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Communication
Van den Steen, Eric. "Culture Clash: The Costs and Benefits of Homogeneity." Management Science 56, no. 10 (October 2010): 1718–1738.
- 19 Feb 2019
- First Look
New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019
https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55632 forthcoming Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Active Choice, Implicit Defaults, and the Incentive to Choose By: Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and... View Details
Keywords: Sean Silverthorne
- March 2014
- Teaching Note
Tesla Motors
In mid-2013, Tesla Motors was riding a wave of success: It had launched its first really mass-produced car—the model S—to rave reviews, had recently raised first-year production targets, and had started taking orders for its next car, the Model X. Tesla seemed to be on... View Details
- July 2013
- Teaching Note
Competition Simulator Exercise
- June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
- Technical Note
Strategic Complements and Substitutes
The framework of strategic complements and substitutes can help companies anticipate competitors' responses. It is particularly helpful in deciding on price- or capacity-commitments (or pre-emption), but it can provide more general guidance for analyzing the potential... View Details
Keywords: Competition; Strategic Substitutes; Strategic Complements; Puppy Dog Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Game Theory; Strategy; Economics
Van den Steen, Eric. "Strategic Complements and Substitutes." Harvard Business School Technical Note 713-542, June 2013. (Revised March 2014.)
- February 2017 (Revised February 2022)
- Background Note
Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage
This note gives students a systematic and comprehensive framework for analyzing and developing competitive advantage. It pays explicit attention to both creating and sustaining advantage and considers both alignment and assets as sources of advantage. View Details
Keywords: Scope; Scale; Competitive Dynamics; Value Proposition; Bargaining Power; Competitive Advantage; Assets; Alignment; Business Strategy; Design
Van den Steen, Eric. "Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage." Harvard Business School Background Note 717-479, February 2017. (Revised February 2022.)