Publications

April 2022
Case

NIO: A Chinese EV Company's Global Strategy

By: William C. Kirby, Shu Lin and Noah B. Truwit

Founded in November 2014 and based in Shanghai, NIO designed, jointly manufactured, and sold premium “smart” EVs. Its mission was to “shape a joyful lifestyle by offering high-performance smart electric vehicles and being the best user enterprise. At NIO Day 2021,... View Details

Keywords: Electric Vehicles; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Green Technology; Auto Industry; China; Europe; Norway

August 2007
Module Note

Managing Networked Businesses: Platform Evolution Module

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Offers an overview of conceptual content and pedagogical guidance for instructors using a six-session module, "Platform Evolution," from "Managing Networked Businesses" (MNB), a case-based MBA elective course on platform-mediated networks. The module explores the... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Networks; Business or Company Management; Rights; Business Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Multi-Sided Platforms; Market Transactions; Innovation and Invention; Marketing; Competition; Market Entry and Exit

February 2024
Case

Compass Pathways: Pioneering Psychedelic Treatment

By: Tiona Zuzul, Kisha Lashley and Gamze Yucaoglu

This case follows Compass Pathways, a pioneering company developing treatment for depression based on psilocybin, the compound found in ‘magic mushrooms.’ Psilocybin was a federally illegal substance in the U.S., and a “Schedule I” drug, defined as a drug “with no... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Product Launch; Health Testing and Trials; Research and Development; Laws and Statutes; Pharmaceutical Industry; Europe; United States; United Kingdom

12 Mar 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Why BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Is Not a Socialist

innovations and superior service that companies create customer satisfaction and loyalty. That, in turn, leads to increased revenues and ultimately greater profitability—the basis for creating ongoing shareholder value. The key to... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Banking

03 Apr 2019
Book

Fintech's Game-Changing Opportunities for Small Business

United States economy, and how innovation in financial services will reduce the friction and barriers in small-business lending, helping more of them thrive. In our Q&A, Mills, who served as a member of the Obama Cabinet and headed... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Banking; Financial Services

05 Aug 2010
What Do You Think?

What Is Customer Opinion Good For?

I'll throw the finished product back over the wall,' dissolving the wall and finding the best product collaboratively is the way to innovation." Naveen Kashyap commented, "In a business world where the paradigm is collaborative innovation... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Technology

December 2007
Article

China + India: The Power of Two

By: Tarun Khanna

China and India are burying the hatchet after four-plus decades of hostility. A few companies from both nations have been quick to gain competitive advantages by viewing the two as symbiotic. If Western corporations fail to do the same, they will lose their competitive... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Competitive Strategy; Cooperation; China; India

02 May 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Profits and Economic Development

Keywords: by Dan Schwab & Eric Werker

Research Summary

Overview

By: Joshua Lev Krieger

In examining the competitive dynamics of R&D strategy, Josh has become particularly interested in how the introduction of new knowledge generated by rivals impacts the direction of R&D efforts. Understanding how new information alters project portfolio decisions is... View Details

2022
Chapter

The Merits and Limits of China's Modern Universities

By: William C. Kirby

China has a long history of advanced learning, but its modern universities are quite young. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, the establishment of Chinese universities based on international models signaled the end of a millennium of promoting talent through... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Education Industry; China

November 1991 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Taco Bell Corp.

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Roger H. Hallowell

John Martin, Taco Bell CEO, brings the company into line with its competitors through incremental change during the 1980s. In the early 1990s, he adopts breakthrough approaches to improve service levels while reducing prices, providing a distinct competitive advantage.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Food; Competitive Advantage; Innovation and Management; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

August 2024
Case

Cristina Ventura: The Career of a Catalyst

By: Linda A. Hill, Allison J. Wigen and Ruth Page

This multimedia case follows the career of Chief Catalyst Officer for the Lane Crawford Joyce Group (LCJG), Cristina Ventura. After beginning her career in luxury in Europe and Asia, Ventura was recruited in 2011 to open Apple’s flagship stores in Hong Kong and South... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Entrepreneurship; Luxury; Family Business; Personal Development and Career; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; China; Hong Kong

17 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 17, 2007

competitive advantage because trust can increase the gains from trade for firms and their suppliers. In this study, we document a particular type of competitive advantage conferred by trust. Using adoption... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2020
Case

Trust Merchant Bank

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Pippa Tubman Armerding, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Salim Dewji

Trust Merchant Bank (TMB), a leading bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), needs to decide whether to enter the soon-to-be-liberalized insurance industry. Since its founding in 2004, TMB has played a pivotal role in reshaping the DRC banking landscape by... View Details

Keywords: Retail Banking; Financial Services; Financial Inclusion; Turnaround; Fintech; Banks and Banking; Financial Condition; Insurance; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Monopoly; Banking Industry; Insurance Industry; Africa; Congo, Democratic Republic of the

May 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Victory Supermarkets: Expansion Strategy?

By: David E. Bell and Ann Leamon

Jay DiGeronimo, president of a 16-store supermarket chain, is trying to decide the timing and method for expanding his chain. The family-owned company could continue in a maintenance mode, with each family member running one store. It could expand slowly using a new... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Cost vs Benefits; Trade; Investment; Market Entry and Exit; Supply Chain Management; Private Ownership; Competition; Expansion; Retail Industry

19 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 19

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-120.pdf The Contingent Effect of Absorptive Capacity: An Open Innovation Analysis Authors:Andrew A.King and Karim R. Lakhani Abstract Technological advancement and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 1994 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Baxter International: OnCall as Soon as Possible?

Baxter Healthcare is heir to the fabled ASAP ordering system, one of the best-known examples of the use of technology to provide strategic marketing advantage. By 1994, the proprietary ASAP system is well established. Baxter is beginning to launch On-Call EDI, which is... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Health Industry

03 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit

It's been said that "one man's trash is another man's treasure." HBS Assistant Professor Deishin Lee, however, has taken that old adage a step further in her recent working paper Turning Waste into By-Product by showing how it's possible for companies to turn... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing

Other Article

Introduction

By: Stefano Brusoni, Joachim Henkel, Michael G Jacobides, Samina Karim, Alan MacCormack, Phanish Puranam and Melissa Schilling

In 2000, Carliss Baldwin and Kim Clark published Design Rules: The Power of Modularity, a book that introduced new ways of understanding and explaining the architecture of complex systems. This Special Issue of Industrial and Corporate Change celebrates... View Details

Keywords: Complex Systems; Industry Structure; Systems Design; Complexity; Organizational Design; Competitive Strategy; Innovation and Management