Publications

Malcolm Salter has been a member of the Harvard Business School faculty since 1967. His teaching and research focus on issues of corporate strategy, organization, and governance.

In addition to teaching at HBS, he has held faculty positions at the Harvard... View Details

Keywords: retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing; retailing

07 Jul 2019
HBS Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

detailing the scope of Walmart’s operations and current strategies in the case “Walmart’s Workforce of the Future.” Published in April, it offers an overview of the considerable investments the retail giant... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

April 2016 (Revised June 2017)
Teaching Note

Dollar General Bids for Family Dollar

By: Jonas Heese, Paula A. Price and Suraj Srinivasan

In spring 2015, Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling was looking ahead to retiring at year's end but worried about ensuring continued growth for the company he had built since 2008 into a market leader in the U.S. discount retail world. Dollar General operated over 11,500... View Details

Keywords: Dollar General; Family Dollar; Dollar Tree; Antitrust; Board Of Directors; Activist Investors; Federal Trade Commission; Acquisition; Valuation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry

05 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 5

helps explain why platforms offering a restricted number of candidates can coexist alongside those offering a larger number of candidates, while charging higher prices. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-098.pdf View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 19, 2006

Harvard Business School Case 506-054 Takashimaya, the largest department store in Japan, was suffering from declining sales. CEO Koji Suzuki had succeeded in instituting changes to cut costs. However, Suzuki needed to come up with a View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Supplement

Asda (B)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Describes Archie Norman's efforts over a five-year period to turn around the company by regaining financial control, delivering management, creating experimental projects where individuals felt free to innovate, instituting a back-to-roots strategy that put customers... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Customer Relationship Management; Governance Controls; Innovation and Invention; Management; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

July 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Supplement

Zensar: The Future of Vision Communities (B)

By: David A. Garvin and Rachna Tahilyani

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Leadership Style; Employee Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Information Technology; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Business or Company Management; Expansion; Information Technology Industry; India

November 2008 (Revised April 2010)
Case

The Bridgespan Group: Chapter 2

By: Allen S. Grossman, Naomi Greckol-Herlich and Cathy Ross

The Bridgespan Group was launched in 2000 by management consulting group Bain & Company as a nonprofit focused on strategy consulting for nonprofits and philanthropists. Over the next eight years, Bridgespan expanded its services to include executive search, knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Consulting Industry

02 Sep 2015
What Do You Think?

What's Wrong With Amazon’s Low-Retention HR Strategy?

low-retention HR strategy, its customers probably regard it as a highly successful application of that idea. Advocates of a high-retention strategy may wonder why Amazon hasn’t learned something from online View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail; Retail

September 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Metso Paper: Globalization of Finnish Metal Workshops

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Marikka Heikkila and Kalle Lyytinen

Metso Paper, the world's largest producer of paper machines, aims to transform itself into a knowledge- and information-based service and solution provider for the paper industry by aggressively exploiting information technologies. In the fall of 2002, Jorma Hujala, a... View Details

Keywords: Production; Customer Value and Value Chain; Information Technology; Corporate Strategy; Knowledge Management; Machinery and Machining; Expansion; Service Delivery; Manufacturing Industry; Pulp and Paper Industry; Finland

Find at Harvard

December 2013
Case

Clique Pens: The Writing Implements Division of U.S. Home

By: Frank V. Cespedes and James Kindley

The Clique Pens Writing Implements division of U.S. Home is a manufacturer of a full line of pens, pencils, markers, and art supplies. Despite solid sales, division president Elise Ferguson has seen gross margins drop from 42% in 2010 to just over 36% in 2012 as a... View Details

Keywords: Production; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Compensation and Benefits; Sales; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry

03 May 2016
Blog Post

Working With Organizations That Recruit at HBS: An Interview with Renee Pappastratis

Tell us about your role at HBS. As a Recruiting Relations Manager in Career and Professional Development, I engage daily with organizations looking to develop and refine their recruiting strategy at HBS. The industries I work with include... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products / Retail; Consumer Products / Retail

March 2017 (Revised April 2017)
Case

OXXO's Turf War Against Extra (A)

By: Tatiana Sandino, Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Annelena Lobb

In 2006, Mexican convenience store chain OXXO faced a threat from a formidable competitor, the rival convenience chain Extra. OXXO had embarked on an initiative to fortify its corporate culture and operating system, but the threat of Extra raised the question of... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Mexico

01 Apr 2024
In Practice

Navigating the Mood of Customers Weary of Price Hikes

consumers can more flexibly adjust habits. More sophisticated firms take this into account when formulating their strategies and making long-run forecasts. Attention of regulators. The Federal Trade Commission recently released a report... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Retail; Retail

August 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2018, LIU Chang (Angela), chairman of Beijing-based New Hope Liuhe (NHL), was considering the strategy of the firm. With $9 billion in sales and a presence in nearly 20 countries, NHL was China’s largest animal feed producer and a major pork and poultry... View Details