Publications

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June 1999 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Eckerd Corporation

By: Michael E. Porter and John E. Kelleher

Describes the history and current situation in the retail pharmacy industry, including competition from new merchants and Internet drugstores. Eckerd, one of the top four drug chains, must decide how to position itself for the future. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Alignment; Supply and Industry; Retail Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

July 2005
Case

Harvard Business School and the Making of a New Profession

By: Rakesh Khurana, Tarun Khanna and Daniel Penrice

Since its founding in 1908, Harvard Business School's mission has been to perform a much-needed service for American society by turning business management into a profession. One of the most important factors in the founding of HBS and the nation's other new business... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Mission and Purpose; Alignment; Social Issues; Practice

March 2009 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Executing Strategy

By: J. Bruce Harreld

This is a note to introduce the principles for effectively implementing a new strategy. It emphasizes the interdependence of strategy and execution in developing and sustaining superior competitive performance. Primarily based on the notion that strategy should be a... View Details

Keywords: Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Management Teams

April 2002 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Stephen Brown at John Hancock Financial Services

By: Robin J. Ely

Describes a major organizational transformation process at John Hancock Financial Services in which CEO Stephen Brown takes a series of measured steps to turn the old-line mutual insurance company into a competitive, performance-oriented financial services firm. At the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry

October 2005
Case

Intel Corporation 2005

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

Buoyed by strong recent sales growth but humbled by failed strategic bets and other missteps, Intel in 2005 initiated a major reorganization. Under its new CEO, Paul Otellini, the company shifted toward a "platform" model, inspired by the success of its Centrino... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Alignment; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Semiconductor Industry

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

January 2017 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Navistar International: Competing Against PACCAR

By: Benjamin Esty, Eric Van den Steen and Jeffrey Boyar

In 2013, Navistar was in the midst of a deep crisis, having lost a third of its market share over the previous three years. Bill Kozek, the new president of Navistar North America Truck and Sales division needs to develop his division’s strategy as part of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Alignment; Competitive Advantage; Segmentation; Transportation Industry; Motorcycle Industry

March 2012
Case

Schuberg Philis

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The Dutch professional service firm Schuberg Philis has within a few years grown into a well-known player in the Dutch IT outsourcing market and regularly wins high customer- satisfaction marks. The growing workload and 100% promise to customers have increased the... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Alignment; Information Technology Industry; Netherlands