Publications

Ashish Nanda is Senior Lecturer and C. Roland Christensen Distinguished Management Educator at Harvard Business School. From 2018 to 2021, he was course head for the MBA Required Curriculum course in Strategy. Beginning in 2022, he is teaching an MBA Elective... View Details

Michael L. Tushman

Michael Tushman holds degrees from Northeastern University (B.S.E.E.), Cornell University (M.S.), and the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. (Ph.D.). Tushman was on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, from 1976 to 1998 where he was... View Details

James K. Sebenius

JAMES K. (“Jim”) SEBENIUS, is the Gordon Donaldson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he founded the Negotiation unit and teaches advanced... View Details

October 2010 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

By: Sunil Gupta and Kerry Herman

In September 2010, faced with increasing threat from social game companies such as Zynga, Ben Feder, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software. Inc., had to decide the long-term strategy of his video-game company. As a publisher of traditional video games for Xbox 360,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Model; Leadership Style; Marketing; Competitive Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

September 2010
Case

Aaron's: Household Goods for the U.S. Base of the Pyramid

By: Michael Chu and Charles Augustus Smithgall IV

With $2.5 billion system-wide revenues, Aaron's, a major rent-to-own supplier to the U.S. base of the pyramid, continues to grow in the recession, but CEO R.C. Loudermilk, Jr. wonders how long the company can sustain the fast growth rate of its past. Founded in 1955,... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; For-Profit Firms; Renting or Rental; Financial Crisis; Demand and Consumers; Social Enterprise; Income; Goods and Commodities; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; United States

2006
Article

Measuring the Effect of Multimarket Contact on Competition: Evidence from Mergers Following Radio Broadcast Ownership Deregulation

By: Joel Waldfogel and Julie Wulf

This paper examines the effects of multimarket contact on advertising prices in the U.S. radio broadcasting industry. While it is in general difficult to measure the effect of multimarket contact on competition, the 1996 Telecommunications Act substantially relaxed... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Markets; Geographic Location; Advertising; Ownership; Price; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

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Knowledge management has been a high priority for Cognizant Technology Solutions since its inception since its global delivery model requires the global sharing of knowledge. Its first major tool was called the Knowledge Management Appliance but as Web 2.0 tools came... View Details

Program

Women on Boards

Summary Traditionally, the majority of board appointments are made through informal networks that are especially hard for women to break into. Designed specifically for top women executives, this program provides insight into navigating... View Details

2009
Working Paper

Specific Knowledge and Divisional Performance Measurement

By: Michael C. Jensen and William H. Meckling

This paper discusses five common divisional performance measurement methods—cost centers, revenue centers, profit centers, investment centers, and expense centers—providing a theory that explains when each of these methods is likely to be the most efficient. The... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Business Headquarters; Decisions; Cost; Investment; Investment Return; Profit; Revenue; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Managerial Roles; Performance Efficiency; Strategy

SSRN

April 1979 (Revised June 1988)
Case

Chain Saw Industry in 1978

By: Michael E. Porter and David J. Collis

For use on the second day of a two-day sequence on the U.S. chain saw industry. Describes the evolution of the industry since 1974. Illustrates issues in industry evolution, the forces causing evolution, and the strategic issues raised by evolution. The discussion can... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Industry Growth; Manufacturing Industry; United States

January 2020
Supplement

Brexit: A Withdrawal Agreement? — Boris Johnson

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong

The UK was due to leave the EU in March 2019 after a referendum vote in June 2016. Following additional extensions and multiple failed attempts to reach an agreement with Parliament, Theresa May stepped down as Conservative Party leader and was replaced by Boris... View Details

Keywords: Brexit; Government and Politics; International Relations; United Kingdom; European Union

April 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Ariadne Labs: Building Impactful Partnerships

By: Ariel D. Stern and Sarah Mehta

In September 2018, the executive team at Ariadne Labs (Ariadne), a Boston-based organization dedicated to improving health systems through the discovery and implementation of simple tools, faced a number of strategic decisions. Chief among them, the seven-year-old... View Details

Keywords: Health; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Partners and Partnerships; Health Industry; Boston

August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Kmart and ESL Investments (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

A major bankrupt retailer is poised to emerge from Chapter 11. Two activist hedge funds ("vulture investors") will own over 50% of reorganized Kmart's common stock, based on prior investments in Kmart's debt claims, and an infusion of new equity financing. The Chapter... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment; Investment Activism; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Retail Industry; United States

January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Supplement

Uría Menéndez (B)

By: Robert G. Eccles

The Uria Menendez (B) Cas describes the three major strategic options facing the firm. It can be used when the instructor wants to teach the case over two classes. The first class, based on the A case, explores the reason for the the firm's success. The B case... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Law; Success; Strategic Planning; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; Iberian Peninsula

1994
Book

Contrived Competition: Regulation and Deregulation in America

By: Richard H. K. Vietor

This book explains how four major firms--American Airlines, El Paso Natural Gas, AT&T, and Bank America--and their respective managements were challenged by the deregulation of markets starting in the late 1970s. The four stories illustrate the dynamic process of... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States