Publications

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September 2000 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Amazon.com: 1994-2000

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Meredith Collura

Enables a thorough analysis of Amazon.com and the company's value proposition, in terms of its business concept, digital business capabilities, and community and shareholder value. Examines the company's complex set of business models and web of business relationships,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Asset Pricing; Capital; Financial Strategy; Technological Innovation; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry

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September 1989 (Revised July 1991)
Case

Caterpillar, Inc.: George Schaefer Takes Charge

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

For over half a century, Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) had been a world leader in the manufacture of earthmoving and construction machinery. In 1982, just months after it recorded the highest sales and profits in its history, CAT experienced its greatest crisis. Demand fell... View Details

Keywords: Machinery and Machining; Crisis Management; Labor Unions; Demand and Consumers; Management Teams; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Business Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Manufacturing Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Industrial Products Industry

01 Aug 2001
News

Cleveland Global Alumni Conference a Sold-Out Success

Growth," followed four tracks of inquiry: managing innovation, information technology and competitive strategy, transforming the enterprise, and entrepreneurship. "Ours is an era of organizational experimentation," observed Professor Gary... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia; Frank Batten (MBA '52); Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

09 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Come Fly with Me: A History of Airline Leadership

Few industries have had the competitive challenges—the literal ups and downs—experienced by the U.S. airline industry since its formation in the 1920s. Consider that its early pioneers had the unenviable task of selling tickets to people... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Air Transportation

04 Jun 2001
Research & Ideas

RealNetworks, CNET, and Judo Strategy

will help make you a winner." Glaser's success story in fending off intense competition from Bill Gates & Co. and turning his seven-year old company into a prime purveyor of streaming video, audio, and music services on the Web... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

01 Mar 2018
News

Case Study: On the Record

enable a competitive advantage, I recommend that the company should focus on establishing its brand. —Ngassam Ngnoumen (MBA 2002) I question whether vinyl is a cool trend or a sustainable product line. Sure, it’s kind of cool. But if it’s... View Details

Keywords: April White

October 2015
Case

Facebook: The First Ten Years

By: Shane Greenstein, Marco Iansiti and Christine Snively

Facebook celebrated its ten year anniversary in February 2014. Over the past decade it has grown into the largest social network in the world with one billion users. After filing an IPO in 2012 at a $104 billion valuation (the third largest IPO in U.S. history), the... View Details

Keywords: Social Networks; Technology; Facebook; Entrepreneurship; Profit; Open Source Distribution; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; Social Media; Information Technology Industry

April 2011
Case

Samsung and Google TV

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Prithvi Raj and Crystal Jean Marrie

This case describes Samsung's decision on how to pursue the growing market opportunity for internet-connected televisions, which enable consumers to access a range of web-based content including basic information (e.g. stock quotes, weather, news headlines, RSS feeds,... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Decision Choices and Conditions; Electronics Industry

December 2010 (Revised October 2021)
Case

Silver Lake

By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth A. Kind

Dave Roux, co-founder and chairman of Silver Lake, a private equity (PE) firm specializing in technology investments, was meeting with the firm's investment committee via video conference to discuss options for Silver Lake's future growth. While the private equity... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Private Equity; Expansion; Global Range; Financial Services Industry

December 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Case

General Mills (A)

By: Raymond V. Gilmartin, Marco Iansiti and Bianca Buccitelli

General Mills is an 80-year-old company that specializes in consumer foods such as cereal, snacks, baking, and dinner products. Although General Mills is, on the whole, a very successful company, they have, in the recent past, had to face challenges as a result the... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Change Management; Cost Management; Problems and Challenges; Inflation and Deflation; Price; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry

June 1991
Background Note

Corporate Advantage: Identifying and Exploiting Resources

By: David J. Collis

Describes the economic theory that was behind the view that resources are central to the creation of value in multibusiness corporations and identifies tests that resources must pass to become part of a firm's "distinctive competence". Describes how those resources can... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Business or Company Management; Resource Allocation; Competitive Strategy; Theory; Value Creation

Web

Club Basketball | MBA

Club Basketball Club Basketball seeks to provide high-quality inter- and intra-collegiate competition to basketball players on campus. Annual Events 3-on-3 Tournament Club Email Address bball@studentclubs.hbs.edu Club Co-Presidents Luke... View Details

Charles H. Revson

Known for his autocratic and direct management style, Revson built Revlon into the second largest cosmetics company in the U.S. Revson's unique talent of grasping the female psyche, bolstered by his fiercely competitive nature, allowed... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

Charles W. Nash

Not wanting to compete with the "Big Three" auto makers in the 1920s, Nash carved out a unique niche for well-designed luxury automobiles at medium prices. This strategy was very successful for Nash Motors as it became one of the few, profitable independent... View Details

Keywords: Automotive & Aerospace

07 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Market Investors Pay More for Resilient Companies

The steep market drop in the early days of the COVID-19 crisis is being used as a laboratory to study the importance of companies investing in stakeholder relations with their employees, suppliers, and customers, and how those investments could be strategic resources... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

08 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Europe Lags in Pharmaceuticals and Biotech

Governmental, academic, and cultural differences are hurting Europe's chances of creating more competitive pharmaceutical and biotech industries—and not much hope is on the horizon, according to a panel of experts at the 2003 HBS European... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology; Health; Pharmaceutical; Technology

Web

Polaroid Films - Edwin H. Land & Polaroid | Harvard Business School

Clubs Faculty & Research Business & Environment Business History Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning Entrepreneurship Faculty & Research Global Healthcare HBS Working Knowledge Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness Leadership... View Details

May 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Supplement

Migros Turkey: Scaling Online Operations

By: Antonio Moreno and Anibha Singh

As Migros, one of Turkey’s largest grocery chains, forays into online groceries, the company faces operational challenges related to inventory management, fulfillment and last mile delivery and strategics questions related to growing in an ecosystem with rapidly... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Management; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey

2008
Article

Market Leadership and Strategic Investments in Innovation: The Adoption of E-Business Capabilities

By: Kristina Steffenson McElheran

This study focuses on whether more-productive firms are more likely to adopt process innovations and why. The empirical context is the adoption of e-business practices among U.S. manufacturing plants in early 2000. Based on detailed data from the U.S. Census of... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Advantage; Technology Adoption; Manufacturing Industry; United States