Publications

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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

03 Apr 2019
News

Finding Common Ground

the Cicero Group in 2001, working out of his house with a few colleagues. “When I talk to young entrepreneurs today, they always ask about my business plan,” he notes. “I have to laugh. My business plan was... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

01 Aug 2002
News

For Alumni Only: Breakthrough Insights Program Debuts

community are no exception. To give alumni the chance to sample the latest faculty thinking on some of the most pressing business issues of the day, last May the School launched Breakthrough Insights, a new Executive Education program... View Details

Keywords: Laura Singleton

March 2019
Teaching Note

KITEA (A)—(F)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This Teaching Note accompanies the KITEA series of cases, which details how the Moroccan furniture company KITEA prepared for the entry of IKEA into the Moroccan market and describes the outcome of that entry. View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

28 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Are Making a Comeback

While legacy companies like Sears are shuttering their doors, a growing number of online-first companies—from Amazon to Rent the Runway—are opening new storefronts and transforming the shopping experience. Senior Lecturer Jill Avery and Associate Professor Antonio... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint; Retail

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

08 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Who Is the Chief Sustainability Officer?

shows. Innovation: A select number of companies shift to a more advanced innovative stage by integrating sustainability into the core of the business in ways that transform the company. Strategies tend to be... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Manufacturing

February 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Brainlab: Imaging a MedTech Future

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Gregory P. Licholai and Federica Gabrieli

Can Brainlab, a privately held firm, compete with giants like Medtronic and Amazon in delivering the Digital Operating Room of the future? The CEO is pondering solutions for secure exchange of medical information, pricing a new robotic imaging device, and reorganizing... View Details

01 Mar 2019
News

The One That Got Away

online food delivery business based in Denmark. This was our conclusion: “Just Eat seems to only work in Denmark, where business is profitable. Its other half-dozen markets are burning cash. It already has... View Details

April 1983
Article

Assessing Competition in the Market for Corporate Acquisitions

By: R. S. Ruback

Keywords: Competition; Business Ventures; Mergers and Acquisitions

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January 1990 (Revised May 1991)
Case

Hoechst and the German Chemical Industry

Describes the rise of the German chemical industry and the specific country-based factors that contributed to the rise. Focuses on the German firm Hoechst: its history, its position after World War II, and its subsequent internationalization. Set in 1986 when Hoechst... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Competitive Advantage; Acquisition; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States

September 1989 (Revised January 1990)
Case

Vinod Khosla and Sun Microsystems (A)

Describes how Vinod Khosla got Sun Microsystems started, and a critical marketing challenge the company faced at the end of the first year. Objective is to illustrate how bold creative thinking can make or break start-ups. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Business Startups; Innovation and Invention; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry

22 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Recessions Push Some Entrepreneurs to Launch Too Soon

significant financial resources, prerequisites that are hardly conducive to spur-of-the-moment actions. In the forthcoming paper Lowering the Bar? External Conditions, Opportunity Costs, and High-Tech Startup Outcomes, Maria P. Roche, an assistant professor at Harvard... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2007
News

34,000 Pages and Counting

Larson Why do we almost universally regard our college years as among the best of our lives? Pause for a moment to give that some thought. Here’s a hint: The correct answer is not sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll. When Bill McKibben, writer, environmentalist, and... View Details

Keywords: class notes; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

February 1990
Case

Wood Structures, Inc.

Ostensibly a case about employee turnover in a small construction component company, Wood Structures, Inc. is actually a snapshot of the whole company. In particular it addresses issues of leadership, morale, and teamwork (or the lack thereof) in a company dependent on... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Retention; Business Strategy

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February 2022
Case

Launching the Social

By: Tom Eisenmann, Lindsay N. Hyde and Tom Quinn

This case features the same protagonists as Ample Hills Creamery (HBS No. 822-073), and can be used as a continuation of that story.
Ample Hills Creamery started in 2010 as a temporary ice cream pushcart in Brooklyn, New York City. On the strength of inventive... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Small Business; Brands and Branding; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion

November 2018 (Revised February 2019)
Teaching Plan

Gimlet Media: A Podcasting Startup

By: John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

When digital distribution becomes an option for an analog industry, the effects on the incumbents can be devastating. Is podcasting the beginning of the end of radio? Can it do what streaming video did to television and websites did to print? Two former public radio... View Details

Keywords: Platforms And Ecosystems; Startup; Creative Industries; Digital Marketing; Podcasting; Business Startups; Media; Entertainment; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; United States

September 1996
Case

Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision (Abridged)

By: Robert L. Simons

The managing director of one of ADP's divisions must recommend whether to divest, harvest, or grow the division. Recent performance has been excellent and the near-term outlook for profitability is very promising. Despite some strategic concerns, the strong financial... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Success; Performance Expectations; Strategic Planning; Strategy