Publications

November 1993 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Sunrise Medical, Inc.'s Wheelchair Products

Sunrise's CEO must decide whether to intervene in a decision by a division, Guardian Products, to introduce a new lightweight standard wheelchair. Guardian wants to introduce the wheelchair to complement its line of commodity crutches, walkers, and other patient aids.... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Business Divisions; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Product Marketing; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

February 2017 (Revised February 2022)
Background Note

Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

By: Eric Van den Steen

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

February 2018
Case

Stealing Time: America's Disruption of the Swiss Watch Industry

By: Eric Van den Steen and Aaron Stark

After years of growth, the Swiss watch industry faced an existential crisis. Exports to the U.S., their primary market, had dropped by more than two thirds over the past five years. Swiss watches were being disrupted by high-quality and affordable American products.... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Disruption; Change Management; United States; Switzerland

April 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Teaching Note

Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar

By: Jonas Heese, Paula A. Price and Suraj Srinivasan

In spring 2015, Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling was looking ahead to retiring at year's end but worried about ensuring continued growth for the company he had built since 2008 into a market leader in the U.S. discount retail world. Dollar General operated over 11,500... View Details

Keywords: Dollar General; Family Dollar; Dollar Tree; Antitrust; Board Of Directors; Activist Investors; Federal Trade Commission; Acquisition; Valuation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry

January 1996 (Revised April 1997)
Case

Deutsche Allgemeinversicherung

Describes the application of statistical process control in a service industry. In this case, Annette Kluck must decide how to adopt manufacturing-based principles to a service process ranging from customer account setup to legal services. View Details

Keywords: Quality; Analysis; Service Operations; Business Strategy; Service Industry

February 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Staples.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Joanna M. Jacobson and Gillian Morris

Staples.com, the online unit of the U.S. office supplies retailing chain Staples, faces a range of strategic and organizational issues as it accelerates its growth. Should it pursue only existing Staples customers or consumers who do not shop in Staples stores? How... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Business Units; Business Model; Growth and Development; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Strategy; Service Industry; United States

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Stuart Gilson

Harvard Business School professor Stuart Gilson fielded some questions regarding his new book in an email interview with HBS Working Knowledge editor Sean SilverthorneSilverthorne: When should a company consider a major restructuring? Are... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 Mar 2017
News

Alumni New Venture Competition Finalists Named

allows businesses to design and order industrial equipment online. Alumnus: Etienne Lacroix, MBA 2011 Region: Canada These teams will make their final pitches to a panel of judges on April 25 and a winner and crowd favorite will be picked... View Details

Profile

Annora Wang

many countries: Australia, Burma, Thailand, South Africa, Croatia, China. What position have you accepted and, ultimately, what kind of impact would you like to make? I’m working with Walt Disney, in its Corporate Strategy and View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media

October 2022
Supplement

Framebridge (A): Pitch Deck Supplement

By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani

Early pitch deck. This document is a supplement to Framebridge (A): Reimagining Custom Framing 723-352. View Details

Keywords: Startup; Robotics; Framing; Retail; Business Startups; Business Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Consumer Products Industry; United States; District of Columbia; Kentucky

02 Feb 2015
Research & Ideas

Disruptors Sell What Customers Want and Let Competitors Sell What They Don’t

Despite this upheaval, it seemed some businesses were immune to the digital onslaught—companies whose products and services couldn't be easily turned into 1's and 0's and put online. "A television set can't be digitized. A telephone can't... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 Jun 2015
News

Ink

Book Review: Learning from Bill, Andy, and Steve The tuxedoed trio looking out from the cover of Harvard Business School Professor David B. Yoffie’s new book on strategy can be seen as the modern-day Mount... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; Apple; Microsoft; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Computer Systems Design and Related Services; Professional Services

June 2024
Supplement

Zeswitz Music (A)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.
Abstract: In July of 2013, Randy Shayler (HBS, 2012) acquired Zeswitz Music, a musical instrument rental company based in Reading,... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Acquisition; Revenue; Marketing; Music Industry; Retail Industry; Pennsylvania

May 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Supplement

Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves (B)

By: Youngme Moon

This (B) case was written as a follow-up to the original case, “Uber: Changing the Way the World Moves” (HBS No. 316-101). It describes a slew of controversial incidents besetting the company in early 2017. View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Competitive Strategy; Transportation; Problems and Challenges; United States

01 Dec 2007
News

Rediscovering America

in the 21st century. The current “no child left behind” approach is inadequate because it puts the burden on the child and the teacher, but it doesn’t do anything to improve the school’s environment and its ability to deliver services. If you look at it from a View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

October 2022
Supplement

Beam Dental (A): Pitch Deck Supplement 2

By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani

Early pitch deck (two of two). This case is a supplement to Beam Dental (A) 723-355. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Strategy; Entrepreneurship; United States; Kentucky; Ohio