Publications

Find at Harvard

Benson P. Shapiro is a well-known authority on marketing strategy and sales management with particular interests in pricing, product line planning, and marketing organization. He is also the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing Emeritus at the Harvard Business... View Details

March 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Supplement

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (C)

By: David Collis, Toby Stuart and Troy Smith

In late 2002, global confectionery and beverage maker Cadbury Schweppes needed to decide whether or not to make an acquisition bid for Adams, an underperforming gum company which had been put up for sale by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Examining the decision from a... View Details

Keywords: Food; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Google Inc. (Abridged)

By: Benjamin Edelman and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes Google's history, business model, governance structure, corporate culture, and processes for managing innovation. Reviews Google's recent strategic initiatives and the threats it poses to Yahoo, Microsoft, and others. Asks what Google should do next. One... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Search Technology; Web Services Industry

November 2013 (Revised August 2023)
Case

'These People are Fiduciaries...'

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Amy W. Schulman

The fiduciary duties of loyalty and care, the corporate opportunity doctrine and the business judgment rule are introduced in the context of three vignettes drawn from decided cases that explore: a classic test of loyalty when one partner elects to take advantage of an... View Details

Keywords: Fiduciaries; Fiduciary Duties; Management Practices and Processes; Ethics; Business Processes

Teaching

Overview

21st Century Energy — Dr Crawford teaches this EC course, which exposes students to business models and management diilemmas, all along the energy value chain — from oil sands and pipelines, to coal and natural gas, hydro and nuclear, wind and solar, to biofuels. The... View Details

Yoonjae Shin

Yoonjae Shin is a PhD student in the Organizational Behavior Unit at the Harvard Business School. His primary interests are labor market, corporate governance, and social inequality. Prior to beginning his PhD, Yoonjae worked in the project team at Seoul National... View Details

Srikant M. Datar

Srikant M. Datar became the eleventh dean of Harvard Business School on 1 January 2021. During his tenure as a faculty member, he served as Senior Associate Dean for University Affairs (including Faculty Chair of the Harvard Innovation Lab), for Research, for... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; airline; automobiles; banking; biotechnology; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; health care; high technology; investment banking industry; management consulting; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals; venture capital industry

October 1976 (Revised February 1987)
Case

Cramer Electronics, Inc.

By: Michael E. Porter

Designed to be the second day of a two-day series on the electronic component distribution industry, following a day spent discussing Note on the Electronic Component Distribution Industry and Raytheon Co.: Diversification. The important teaching themes which this case... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation Strategy; Management Style; Resource Allocation; Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry

April 2022
Supplement

Mastercard Labs (B)

By: Linda A. Hill, Sunil Gupta, Emily Tedards and Julia Kelley

When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, digital technologies were on the rise, and innovation needed to become a strategic imperative at the company. Banga tasked Garry Lyons, who had joined Mastercard through the 2009 acquisition of Orbiscom,... View Details

16 Oct 2019
News

Where ESG Fails

2011
Article

Top Executives Need Feedback: Here's How They Can Get It

By: Robert Steven Kaplan

As executives become more senior, they are less likely to receive constructive feedback on their performance or their strategy. To get it, they should call on their junior colleagues. The problem: subordinates don't want to offend the boss. Therefore, as executives... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Strategy; Networks; Decisions; Management Teams

Find at Harvard

April 2022 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Mastercard Labs (A) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill, Sunil Gupta, Emily Tedards and Julia Kelley

When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, he shifted the company’s competitive focus from card networks to cash itself. Mastercard’s new vision of a “World Beyond Cash” distilled into a three-pronged framework: Grow the core business, Diversify... View Details

October 1988 (Revised May 1990)
Case

Ford Motor Co.: The Product Warranty Program (A)

Raises powerful issues concerning product warranty policy as a strategic marketing variable. Also raises several exciting issues concerning the role of product policy in competitive battles, product line issues, interfunctional coordination issues, and some ethical... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Marketing Strategy; Insurance; Product; Policy; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; United States

09 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 9, 2008

influence the companies being rated. We focus on corporate environmental ratings, the primary purpose of which is to help investors select "socially responsible" and avoid "socially irresponsible" companies. We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2024
Case

Xtalic

By: Joshua Lev Krieger and Jim Matheson

This case study examines the commercialization efforts of Xtalic, a startup founded by MIT scientists based on their discovery of a novel material science method to protect metal substrates. The case focuses on the strategic decisions involved in bringing this... View Details

Keywords: Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Business Startups; Agreements and Arrangements; Science-Based Business; Commercialization

January 2014 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Amgen Inc.: Pursuing Innovation and Imitation? (A)

By: Ian W. Mackenzie

Set in 2009, the (A) case explores whether Amgen, a leading innovator of biotech-based drugs, should enter the emerging business of biosimilars (BS), which are essentially 'me-too' products. There appear to be sound reasons to explore this related diversification:... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

April 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Social Media War 2021: Snap vs. Facebook vs. TikTok

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

This case explores the competitive war between Snap, Facebook, and TikTok in 2021. The strategic focus is on Snapchat: how should it respond to the emergence of TikTok, and how should it compete with the dominant competitor in its space—Facebook. The case examines... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Development; Competitor Analysis; Strategy; Network Effects; Competitive Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Social Media