Publications

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July 1993 (Revised April 1999)
Case

ABB's Relays Business: Building and Managing a Global Matrix

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the development and management of the relays business area (BA) in ABB's global matrix organization. Focuses on three levels of management--corporate, BA, and operating company. Highlights the roles and responsibilities of individuals at each level as ABB... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Organizational Structure; Managerial Roles; Management Practices and Processes; Employees; Organizational Culture; Success; Manufacturing Industry

07 Apr 2003
What Do You Think?

Should Global Business Initiatives Be Devalued?

an interesting concept of the importance of a "national brand."—Jim Heskett Others, while agreeing with this thesis, were not so sanguine about whether this will happen without greater efforts to influence foreign policy by leaders responsible for View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

20 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Globalization Hasn’t Killed the Manufacturing Cluster

Globalization hasn't made manufacturing clusters obsolete, but the geographically concentrated pockets of industry have to be smart to ensure their survival, according to new research from Harvard Business School. Gary P. Pisano, the... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Manufacturing; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

August 2005 (Revised January 2012)
Case

McKinsey and the Globalization of Consultancy

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Alexis Lefort

Considers McKinsey's strategy during the first stage of the globalization of the management consultancy industry between the 1950s and 1973. Briefly reviews the history of management consulting before considering the factors that led McKinsey to open its first... View Details

Keywords: History; Demand and Consumers; Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Service Operations; Consulting Industry

16 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Has COVID-19 Broken the Global Value Chain?

The coronavirus pandemic has not only disrupted lives and businesses, it has illuminated underlying fragilities in the global value chain (GVC) that drives economies around the world. The smartphone you use many times daily is a product... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

COVID Tested Global Supply Chains. Here’s How They’ve Adapted

Global supply chains took some heat during the COVID-19 pandemic, with consumers waiting months for goods and politicians wringing their hands over trade policy. “Reshoring” is one of the hottest new corporate buzzwords, as many companies... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

January 2009
Article

From Regional Star to Global Leader

By: Nitin Nohria

Yang Jianguo was recently promoted from country manager for China to global head of product development at a staid French perfume maker. He was chosen for his technical smarts and his knowledge of emerging markets—a critical avenue for growth, given that sales in the... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Leadership Development; Management Teams; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Paris

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October 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Siemens AG: Global Development Strategy (A)

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes how Siemens, the German electrical engineering giant, has developed and manages global R&D in its large Information and Communications Networks (ICN) division. In 1994, Siemens opened its Bangalore (India) center, which has now grown into one of its largest... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Research and Development; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Product Development; Telecommunications Industry; Germany; Bangalore

May 2009
Case

Global Health Partner: Obesity Care

By: Michael E. Porter, Zayed Muhammed Yasin and Jennifer F Baron

Global Health Partner (GHP) was founded in 2006 as a privately owned health care provider in Sweden serving both public and private paying patients. In contrast to most providers in the country, GHP organized around specific service lines where it saw the potential to... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Service Delivery; Organizational Structure; Outcome or Result; Quality; Competitive Advantage; Integration; Health Industry; Sweden

January 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Godiva Japan: Think Local, Scale Global

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Esel Cekin and Akiko Kanno

This case tracks Jerome Chouchan’s strategies and execution for a successful turnaround of Godiva Japan’s operations, which were experiencing a decline in sales when he became the managing director of the company in 2010. Through various initiatives and innovations,... View Details

26 Aug 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Built for Global Competition from the Start

details on the challenges that these entrepreneurs took on as they built companies operating in multiple geographies. Eighteen months later, he was ready to launch the new course, which puts an up-to-the-minute spin on an ancient form of... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Education

2004
Chapter

Managing Global Supply Chains

By: Ananth Raman and Noel Watson

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Globalized Markets and Industries

September 2016
Article

Monitoring Global Supply Chains

By: Jodi L. Short, Michael W. Toffel and Andrea R. Hugill

Firms seeking to avoid reputational spillovers that can arise from dangerous, illegal, and unethical behavior at supply chain factories are increasingly relying on private social auditors to provide strategic information about suppliers' conduct. But little is known... View Details

Keywords: Monitoring; Transaction Cost Economics; Industry Self-regulation; Auditing; Codes Of Conduct; Supply Chains; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Supply Chain; Globalization

18 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Economic Clusters Drive Globalization

suggests that economic clusters—usually used to explain development in local economies—have had a much wider impact on world economics than generally recognized. Harvard-Newcomen Fellow Valeria Giacomin calls clusters “the building blocks of the View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Agriculture & Agribusiness

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

The Regional Slice of Your Global Strategy

global product divisions, which, because of the size of the market and Philips's stake in it, are thought to be capable of achieving the requisite geographic focus. In Europe, where Philips is better established, the company has rethought... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

February 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Banca Regional Andino: Facing the Globalization of Microfinance

By: Michael Chu and Jean Hazell

Three leading Latin American microfinance banks join forces to face the new challenges of globalization, competition, and politics while common shareholder ACCION investments considers its options. From an initial project to share costs in the revamping of their IT... View Details

Keywords: History; Microfinance; Competitive Strategy; Globalization; Problems and Challenges; Growth and Development; Bolivia; Ecuador; Peru

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January 2013
Supplement

Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (B)

By: William C. Kirby, Nancy Hua Dai and Erica M. Zendell

Supplements the A Case 308-058. With an almost forty-year history as a business in China, the Wanxiang Group has navigated through the significantly different political and economic changes in China to succeed as a global leader in the auto parts industry, and to... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Global Strategy; Business Conglomerates; Vertical Integration; Goals and Objectives; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; China; United States

March 2007
Supplement

IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Supply Chain; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry