Publications

2013
Working Paper

What Do We Know About Corporate Headquarters? A Review, Integration, and Research Agenda

By: Markus Menz, Sven Kunisch and David J. Collis

During the past five decades, scholars have studied the corporate headquarters (CHQ)—the multidivisional firm's central organizational unit. The purpose of this article is to review the diverse and fragmented literature on the CHQ and to identify the variables of... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Headquarters; Corporate Parent; Corporate Center; Multidivisional Firm; Multibusiness Firm; Multinational Corporation; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Business Divisions; Business Headquarters

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May 2008
Case

Sensors Unlimited: Bringing InGaAs Technology to the Market

By: Willy C. Shih

Sensors Unlimited was a small start-up in short-wavelength infrared imaging. Its learning base came out of Bell Labs, RCA's Sarnoff Lab, and the Rockwell Science Center, and as it built its capabilities and ventured into new application areas, it discovered a “killer... View Details

Keywords: Applied Optics; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Aerospace Industry; Technology Industry

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13 Dec 2021
News

Great Leaders Embody These 4 Principles, According to Best Buy's Former CEO

23 Jan 2014
News

Market Reaction

Keywords: FIELD program; FIELD 2; Retail Trade; Manufacturing; Health, Social Assistance; Arts, Entertainment

January–February 1998
Article

Beyond Strategic Planning to Organization Learning: Lifeblood of the Individualized Corporation

By: C. A. Bartlett and S. Ghoshal

Keywords: Strategy; Planning; Learning; Organizations; Business Ventures

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February 2019
Case

Canibal—Play It Green!

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Joseph B. Fuller, Tonia Labruyere and Elena Corsi

In 2011, Canibal launched a machine that could sort and compress aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and cups. Users could play a jackpot-style game on the machine’s digital display, while disposing of their beverage containers and earning coupons or other rewards. The... View Details

Keywords: Sales Growth; Recycling; Start-up; Scaling; Market Selection; Sales; Marketing; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Segmentation; Product Positioning; Technology Industry; France

October 1997 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Asda (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

In the mid-1980s, Asda was one of the most successful retail companies in the United Kingdom. By 1991, the chain of 200 grocery stores had a lack of direction, a demoralized workforce, declining profits, rising debt, collapsing stock price, and was facing bankruptcy.... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Crisis Management; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom

January 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Hello Heart: The Next Generation of Chronic Disease Management Apps

By: Ariel D. Stern and Danielle Golan

Hello Heart, a hypertension management app debated whether to go deep and cover other heart conditions, or to expand its solution to other chronic conditions. View Details

01 Oct 2001
News

Fourth Annual African-American Alumni Association Conference

"Navigating Success in Volatile Times" will be the theme of this year's HBS African-American Alumni Association (HBSAAA) conference. The fourth annual event, to be held October 5–7 at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, will provide insights into the View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

April 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

General Motors Technical Center India – Powertrain Engineering

By: Willy Shih, William Jurist, Brian McIntosh and Helen Wang

Prabjot Nanua was proud of the growing capabilities of the General Motors Technical Center India Powertrain Engineering group that he oversaw. Since 2003, engineers there had expanded the center's capabilities, developing a reputation within GM for completing... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Business Headquarters; Research and Development; Business Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; India

22 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Name Your Price. Really.

"open fare" system; and Panera Bread runs four nonprofit "Panera Cares" locations with PWYW pricing. Oftentimes, businesses use the strategy as a promotion to get new customers, sometimes... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Consumer Products

14 Jun 2023
News

Investing in Growth Through Uncertainty

01 Mar 2007
News

Porter Ranks Competitiveness

The United States and Germany remain at the top of the latest global Business Competitiveness Index produced by University Professor Michael Porter and two colleagues at the Institute for Strategy and... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

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Courses by Title - Course Catalog

Antonio Moreno Spring 2026 Q4 1.5 Doing Business with China 2035: Navigating Uncertainty General Management William Kirby Spring 2026 Q3 1.5 Driving Profitable Growth Technology & Operations Management, View Details

01 Jun 2000
News

Books

proposes a mindset that will help executives to expand and grow their businesses in the new international economy and describes strategies that come to terms with the realities of globalization and... View Details

February 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Argentina's Financial System: The Case of Banco de Galicia

By: Rafael M. Di Tella, Tarun Khanna, Huw Pill, Alexandra de Royere and Ingrid Vogel

Describes the development of Argentina's financial system after the "Tequila Crisis" that came about as a result of the speculative attack on the Mexican peso's peg to the U.S. dollar in December 1994. Although Argentina's banking system was strengthened overall due to... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Emerging Markets; Macroeconomics; Business Strategy; Banks and Banking; Financial Crisis; Family Business; Acquisition; Banking Industry; Argentina

22 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

The ‘Mother of Fair Trade’ was an Unabashed Price Protectionist

As Harvard Business School professor Laura Phillips Sawyer sifted through historical documents to trace the history of competition policy in the United States, an interesting figure emerged: Edna Gleason, who became known as the “mother... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail; Health; Legal Services

September 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

CARD Group: Mutually Reinforcing Institutions

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, Michael Shih-Ta Chen and Dawn Lau

CARD (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development) is a Philippines-based microfinance organization that began as an NGO and has since expanded into eight related entities providing services to the poor. Under Founding Director Dr. Aristotle Alip's leadership, CARD... View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Philippines

March 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Supplement

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (D)

By: David Collis, Toby Stuart and Troy Smith

In late 2002, global confectionery and beverage maker Cadbury Schweppes needed to decide whether or not to make an acquisition bid for Adams, an underperforming gum company which had been put up for sale by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Examining the decision from a... View Details

Keywords: Food; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy