Publications

February 2003 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan

A young Italian MBA working for a Swiss multinational is sent to India to establish a subsidiary and implement the strategy he prepared at headquarters as a strategic planner. This case focuses on three core strategic decisions he must make as his plan is challenged by... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Decisions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Employees; Management Teams; Strategic Planning; India; Switzerland

October 1994
Case

Kamakura Ironworks Company, Ltd.

Describes cost management techniques in a supplier chain in the Japanese automotive industry. Exposes students to interorganizational cost management systems and explores when cost systems are required and when they can be switched off. Also illustrates supportive... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Cost Management; Supply Chain; Auto Industry; Japan

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2021
Article

Evidence of Decreasing Internet Entropy: The Lack of Redundancy in DNS Resolution by Major Websites and Services

By: Samantha Bates, John Bowers, Shane Greenstein, Jordi Weinstock, Jonathan Zittrain and Yunhan Xu

This paper analyzes the extent to which the Internet’s global domain name resolution (DNS) system has preserved its distributed resilience given the rise of cloud-based hosting and infrastructure. We explore trends in the concentration of the DNS space since at least... View Details

Keywords: Domain Name System; Resilience; Entropy; Internet and the Web; Infrastructure; Performance Effectiveness; Safety; Cybersecurity

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January 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Tough Decisions at Marks and Spencer

By: George Serafeim

In 2007, under the leadership of CEO Stuart Rose, the iconic British retailer Marks and Spencer, with great fanfare, announced its "Plan A" initiative. Based on the five essential pillars of climate change, waste, sustainable materials, fair partnership, and health,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry

November 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Colbún and the Future of Chile's Power

By: Forest Reinhardt and Shon R. Hiatt

This case is about Colbún, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices,... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Chile; Environmental Protection; Energy Generation; Energy Industry; South America; Chile

11 Apr 2016
HBS Seminar

Pian Shu, Harvard Business School

October 2002 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Starbucks and Conservation International

By: James E. Austin and Cate Reavis

Starbucks, the world's leading specialty coffee company, developed a strategic alliance with Conservation International, a major international environmental nonprofit organization. The purpose of the alliance was to promote coffee-growing practices of small farms that... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Production; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Cooperative Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Alliances; Nonprofit Organizations; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

June 1999 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Supermercados Disco: Regional Strategy

The Disco chain of supermarkets has pursued a successful local niche strategy in Argentina to compete with intense competition from multinational chains. Now Disco considers options for expanding its regional strength. View Details

Keywords: Food; Marketing Strategy; Global Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Argentina

March 1991 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Marks and Spencer Ltd. (B)

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

Describes the firm's 1988 expansion into the United States through the acquisition of Brooks Brothers, a specialty up-market men's clothing chain and Kings Super Markets, a high quality New Jersey grocer. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Business Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Globalization; Retail Industry; United States

April 2002
Case

Contingent Workforce Planning at Motorola, Inc.

Details the rationale for and design of a unique organizational response by Motorola to the challenges of contingent staffing at its semiconductor facility in Austin, Texas. The new outsourcing strategy is built on principles of supply chain management and business... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Semiconductor Industry; Texas

23 Oct 2014
News

Harvard in Mexico City

December 2007 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Queensland Sugar Limited

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

Until industry deregulation in 2006, Queensland Sugar ran Australia's single desk marketing system for raw sugar exports. Since deregulation, eight of the ten Queensland sugar millers have elected to continue collective marketing through QSL. However, several millers... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Goods and Commodities; Trade; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Marketing Strategy; Supply Chain; Network Effects; Supply and Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Australia

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Globalization: The Strategy of Differences

Ten years ago, globalization seemed unstoppable. Today, the picture looks very different. Even Coca-Cola, widely seen as a standard-bearer of global business, has had its doubts about an idea it once took... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

2017
Working Paper

International Business and Emerging Markets: A Long-Run Perspective

By: Geoffrey Jones

This working paper explores long-run patterns in the strategies of international business in developing countries. There was a massive wave of Western multinational investment in the developing world during the first wave of globalization before the 1920s. The... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; History; Emerging Markets; Problems and Challenges

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2020
Working Paper

Contract Duration and the Costs of Market Transactions

By: Alexander MacKay

The optimal duration of a supply contract balances the costs of reselecting a supplier against the costs of being matched to an inefficient supplier when the contract lasts too long. I develop a structural model of contract duration that captures this tradeoff and... View Details

Keywords: Vertical Relationships; Transaction Costs; Contract Duration; Identification; Supply Chain; Cost; Contracts; Auctions; Mathematical Methods

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15 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Business IT Innovation is so Difficult

prices is that tremendous cost has been taken out of its supply chain and operations by using IT to keep inventory low but still not stock out." That Walmart is secretive about how it manages to so finely... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

June 2005 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Amazon.com's European Distribution Strategy

By: Janice Hammond and Claire Chiron

Describes how Amazon's distribution system evolved from the company's inception. In 2003, Amazon Europe must decide how to reconfigure its distribution network in light of expected growth, products proliferation, and geographical expansion in Europe. Examines how... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Growth and Development; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Supply and Industry; Distribution; Supply Chain; Risk and Uncertainty; Expansion; Web Services Industry