Publications

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28 Jan 2025
Video

The business leaders leading Europe’s green transition

January 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Tough Decisions at Marks and Spencer

By: George Serafeim

In 2007, under the leadership of CEO Stuart Rose, the iconic British retailer Marks and Spencer, with great fanfare, announced its "Plan A" initiative. Based on the five essential pillars of climate change, waste, sustainable materials, fair partnership, and health,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry

Feng Zhu is the MBA Class of 1958 Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, where he leads the Platform Lab within the Digital, Data, and Design Institute, co-chairs the Harvard Business Analytics Program, and serves as the course head for the... View Details

May 1997 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Intel Corporation: 1968-1997

By: Gary P. Pisano, David J. Collis and Peter K. Botticelli

Traces Intel's history and strategy from 1968 to 1997. Examines the company's decision to exit DRAMS and its entry into microprocessors. Focuses on how the company managed to achieve and sustain its competitive advantage in microprocessors, and the threats it faces in... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Information Infrastructure; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Technology Industry

05 Jul 2012
News

Unilever Wants Short, Soapy Showers and Long-Term Investors

Video

Vimal Shah

Vimal Shah, Co-Founder and Chairman of Kenya-based Bidco Africa, outlines his focus on fast-moving consumer goods, emphasizing the importance of adapting to consumer demands and a growing population, while leveraging technologies such as fintech to support sustainable... View Details

June 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Climate Governance at Linde plc (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Innovation Strategy; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Business and Shareholder Relations; Chemical Industry; United States; Germany; Europe; North America; London

2020
Working Paper

How to Build Enduring Brands in the Digital Age

By: David J. Collis and William Collis

What makes a brand last? It’s a deceptively simple question, but its answer separates sustainable success from eventual obscurity. Almost every company devotes significant resources to defining their brand. But few ask the more important question: how to... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Adaptation; Strategy

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July 1998
Case

Microsoft--1995 (Abridged)

By: Tarun Khanna and David B. Yoffie

Focuses on how Microsoft built one of the world's greatest franchises and poses questions about what, if anything, can stop the company. Teaching purpose: To teach building competitive advantage, the advantages of bundling, and the sustainability of competitive... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Horizontal Integration; Information Technology Industry; Computer Industry

17 Jul 2012
News

Job creation and keeping the United States competitive

Eric J. Van den Steen

Eric Van den Steen is a Professor of Business Administration at HBS, where he teaches strategy. He holds the Roy Little chair, established in honor of the founder of Textron.

Professor Van den Steen's research studies the fundamentals of strategy and... View Details

Peter Tufano

Peter Tufano is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and Senior Advisor to the Harvard Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability. From 2011 to 2021, he served as the Peter Moores Dean at View Details

January 2019 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Jain Irrigation Systems Limited: Continuing a Legacy

By: Forest Reinhardt, Gunnar Trumbull and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

Founded in 1963 by Bhavarlal Jain (Bhau), who believed in “providing solutions for every problem,” Jain Irrigation in 2018 had a global footprint and $1.1 billion in revenue. Bhau had insisted that his business add value to farmers' lives and promote sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; India

19 Mar 2019
News

HBS Professor Explores the Impact Purpose Can Have On Your Organization

August 1999 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Catanese and Vulcan (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Sanjay Pothen

A small CPA firm puts in a new performance measurement system, and profits increase by 350% in less than a year. This case illustrates the reasons for improved profitability as well as the sustainability of levels of growth, the opportunities, and the threats that... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Performance Evaluation; SWOT Analysis; Profit

January 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Digital Transformation at Tata Steel

By: Krishna Palepu, Das Narayandas, Radhika Kak and Rachna Tahilyani

T.V. Narendran, CEO of Tata Steel, India’s oldest steel manufacturing firm, had taken concrete business and cultural transformation steps to future-ready the firm since taking over in 2013. He had deleveraged and instilled financial discipline, acquired new businesses,... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Change Management; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Steel Industry; Asia; India