Publications

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Technical Note

Strategic Complements and Substitutes

By: Eric Van den Steen

The framework of strategic complements and substitutes can help companies anticipate competitors' responses. It is particularly helpful in deciding on price- or capacity-commitments (or pre-emption), but it can provide more general guidance for analyzing the potential... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Strategic Substitutes; Strategic Complements; Puppy Dog Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Game Theory; Strategy; Economics

14 Aug 2009
News

Something for the weekend

Web

Finance Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

the Ieke van den Burg Prize for Research on Systemic Risk awarded by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) for “Liquidity Transformation in Asset Management: Evidence from... View Details

January 2019 (Revised March 2021)
Case

SoundCloud: Subscription Streaming?

By: Ashish Nanda, Eric Van den Steen, Andy Wu, Jeffrey Boyar and Bonnie Bennett Slater

Established in 2007, SoundCloud already boasted the second largest number of active music listeners among all streaming services and was recognized as the go-to platform for new artists by early 2014. Yet, its founders were questioning the robustness of the firm’s... View Details

21 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 21

712-022 An abstract is unavailable at this time. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/712022-PDF-ENG Akamai's Edge (A) Eric Van den SteenHarvard Business... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Supplement

Tesla in 2024: Holding on to the EV Lead?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Eric J. Van den Steen

2001
Chapter

Human Capital and Corporate Governance

By: Eric J. Van den Steen and John Roberts

Keywords: Human Capital; Corporate Governance

30 Oct 2012
First Look

First Look: October 30

protocols. In the new model, stroke care would be delivered across facilities in an integrated fashion, with a single hyper-acute facility designed for the care of the most acute and severe cases. Purchase this case:http://hbr.org/search/712496-PDF-ENG View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

Birds of a Feather...Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy

By: Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen

Does culture eat strategy for breakfast? This paper investigates the interactions among corporate culture, norms, and strategy, in order to better understand this issue and related questions. It first shows, through microfoundations, how the forces that drive toward... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Norms; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Values and Beliefs

February 2010
Article

Managing Know-How

By: Deishin Lee and Eric J. Van den Steen

We study how firms can use a knowledge management system to optimally leverage employee-generated know-how. In particular, we consider the following practical strategic questions for the manager of a knowledge-intensive firm: should her firm develop a formal knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Change; Employees; Information; Knowledge Management; Outcome or Result; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; System; Value

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2019
Working Paper

Birds of a Feather ... Enforce Social Norms? Interactions Among Culture, Norms, and Strategy

By: Hongyi Li and Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper analyzes how shared beliefs and preferences (or values) cause the emergence of social norms; why people may enforce norms that go against their own beliefs and preferences/values; and how this may cause a disconnect to develop between the... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Norms; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Strategy

SSRN

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21 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 21

the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-002.pdf Culture Clash: The Costs and Benefits of Homogeneity Author:Eric Van den Steen Abstract This paper develops an economic... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2019
Chapter

Irreversibility

By: Pankaj Ghemawat and Eric J. Van den Steen

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March 2018 (Revised September 2020)
Background Note

Short Note on Game Theory

By: Eric Van den Steen and Dennis Yao

This note provides a very concise (2 page) introduction to game theory. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Interaction; Commitment; Game Theory; Competitive Strategy

Article

Why Do Firms Have 'Purpose'? The Firm's Role as a Carrier of Identity and Reputation

By: Rebecca Henderson and Eric Van den Steen

Why do so many firms publicly espouse a "purpose" beyond simple profit maximization? And why do so many managers and employees appear to care deeply about this purpose and to believe that it is critically important? In this paper we argue that the conventional answers... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Identity; Reputation

July 2009
Teaching Note

Microsoft's Search (TN)

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Eric J. Van den Steen

Teaching Note for [709461]. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Digital Marketing; Internet and the Web; Strategy; Markets; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

January 2009
Case

Microsoft's Search

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Eric J. Van den Steen

In 2008, executives at Microsoft must decide how to compete against Google in the market for Internet search and advertising. The case describes how Microsoft has responded to a set of competitive threats in the past, how Google has gained a dominant position in... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Competitive Strategy; Internet and the Web; United States