Strategy Development - Publications - Faculty & Research

March 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Governing OpenAI (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan and Will Hurwitz

In late November 2023, OpenAI’s new board of directors took stock of the situation. The company, which sought to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI)—computer systems with capabilities exceeding human abilities—was looking to regain its footing after a chaotic... View Details

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April 2006 (Revised September 2009)
Case

BYD Company, Ltd.

By: Robert S. Huckman and Alan D. MacCormack

Considers whether BYD Co., Ltd., the largest Chinese maker of rechargeable batteries, should enter the Chinese automobile industry by acquiring Qinchuan Auto, a state-owned car manufacturer. Set just after BYD's initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Labor; Production; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Auto Industry; Battery Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China

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March 1981 (Revised July 1985)
Case

Dunfey Hotels Corp.

Describes the marketing planning process adopted by the corporate headquarters of a chain of 22 diverse hotels. Raises the question of whether it is possible to standardize the planning process so that individually tailored marketing strategies are developed for each... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Accommodations Industry

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March–April 2024
Article

How Fast Should Your Company Really Grow?

By: Gary P. Pisano

Growth—in revenues and profits—is the yardstick by which the competitive fitness and health of organizations is measured. Consistent profitable growth is thus a near universal goal for leaders—and an elusive one.

To achieve that goal, companies need a growth... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture

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February 1992 (Revised January 2002)
Case

BMW: The 7-Series Project (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Explores BMW's decision about how to manufacture prototype vehicles. Historically, BMW's prototypes were handcrafted by highly skilled artisans in the company's shop. A proposal has been made to alter the process so that prototypes are made in a way that can better... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Research and Development; Design; Production; Strategy; Quality; Decision Making; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Germany

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Teaching Interest

Overview

I currently teach an Elective Course on Capitalism and the State, and recently developed a module for the Required Curriculum on the Social Purpose of the Firm. Earlier I developed Managing International Trade and Investment, and have also taught BGIE and Strategy in... View Details

31 Mar 2009
News

Professor Michael Porter Hosts Mayor of Jerusalem at Harvard Business School

26 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way to Go to Market

Business School marketing professor V. Kasturi "Kash" Rangan in his new book, Transforming Your Go-to-Market Strategy. The auto industry, he says, is a stark example of why go-to-market strategies need high-level attention and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

27 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Hard Work Isn't Enough: How to Find Your Edge

people in a memorable, engaging way that gives them a pleasant feeling,” Huang says. “You can’t be boring because people won’t hear you.” The most delightful interactions are improvisational, so it’s OK to develop high-level plans for... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

2010 - 2010
Conference Presentation

Teams at the Top: Revisiting the Structure and Effects of Strategic Work in Top Management

By: James R. Dillon

This paper examines the usage and effects of small work groups by top management in the course of guiding an organization's strategy process. Reviewing evidence from research literatures on strategy process, strategic leadership, and small groups, I propose that a... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Strategy; Leadership; Practice; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

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Land reforms have been critical to the development of Chinese capitalism over the last several decades, yet land in China remains publicly owned. This book explores the political logic of reforms to land ownership and control, accounting for how land development... View Details

Guillermo Murchison

Keywords: Shipping and Logistics

26 Sep 2023
Book

Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

excitement and the growing enthusiasm, at times even the frenzy, about these new phenomena, on the grounds of the pressing demands on managers to deal with the new reality and on academics to understand these phenomena. “Existing strategy... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology

30 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Should Retailers Match Their Own Prices Online and in Stores?

to lose money if they grant price discounts in-store to inquiring customers—although some will do so to appease an angry customer or through a sense of fairness. In some cases, however, self-matching is the best strategy to earn higher... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

February 2011 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Hindustan Unilever's 'Pureit' Water Purifier

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Mona Sinha

The case asks students to formulate a strategy to respond to various competitive threats to its Pureit Water purifier, launched in 2008, targeted at millions of low-income Indian consumers who did not have access to safe drinking water. The case describes in detail the... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Social Enterprise; Competitive Strategy; India

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January 1987 (Revised March 1989)
Background Note

Note on the U.S. Soft Drink Industry in 1986

Demonstrates how knowing the "money mechanics" of the business is essential in developing a successful strategy among industry participants. Deals with the structural attractiveness of the industry from the concentrate producer and bottler perspectives and examines the... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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Professor Montgomery's research centers on strategy and corporate governance. Of particular interest are the unique roles leaders play in developing and implementing strategy; the means organizations use to create value across multiple lines of business; and issues... View Details

Forest L. Reinhardt

Forest L. Reinhardt is the John D. Black Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and HBS’s Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Promotions and Tenure.

Professor Reinhardt is interested in the relationships between market and nonmarket... View Details

Keywords: agribusiness; agriculture; beverage; biotechnology; chemical; energy; federal government; food; food processing; forest products; nonprofit industry; oil ＆ gas; paper; petroleum; tourism; transportation

April 2015 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Steve Jobs: Leader Strategist

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and David B. Yoffie

Strategically, Steve Jobs got it brilliantly right some times and terribly wrong other times. This case examines Jobs' development as a leader strategist over the course of his entire career. The successes and failures of Apple, NeXT, and Pixar are used to probe the... View Details

Keywords: Strategist; Steve Jobs; Apple; Leadership; Competitive Advantage; Personal Development and Career; Strategy

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