Publications

Web

Cold Calling - Christensen Center for Teaching & Learning

class session Cold calls should not be viewed as punitive. Instructors can frame cold calls as "opportunities to shine" and further encourage this view by balancing challenge and support as the cold call unfolds. Whom View Details

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

Shine, Stern & Partners) and the buyer (MINI USA) and asks them to develop a sales strategy and a buying strategy for advertising services. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 Apr 2024
News

Netflix Enters Its Dan Lin (MBA 1999) Era

Dan Lin arrives at the Netflix's AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER World Premiere held at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on Thursday, February 15, 2024. (Photo By Sthanlee B. Mirador/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images) The Hollywood Reporter recently published a profile of... View Details

December 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Growth Hacking at Bazaart (A)

By: Jeffrey Bussgang and Matthew G. Preble

The four founding members of Bazaart—a young Israeli company whose sole product was its eponymous mobile application (app) which allowed users to create collages from photographs and other images—face an important strategic decision in June 2014. Since its founding... View Details

Keywords: Growth Hacking; Customer Acquisition; Startup Marketing; Startup; Startup Nation; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Customers; Marketing; Social Marketing; Fashion Industry; Technology Industry; Israel

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Less Is More: Will Aldi's Expansion Plans Pay Off in a Crowded U.S. Grocery Market?

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In 2024, the discount grocery retailer Aldi announced bold U.S. expansion plans. Within five years, the German company would increase its store count by 30% to reach 3,200+ stores across the United States and approach becoming the fifth largest grocery retailer in the... View Details

Keywords: Scope; Grocery; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Breaking the Code of Change

Two dramatically different approaches to organizational change are being employed in the world today, according to our observations, research, and experience. We call these... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer & Nitin Nohria

10 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 10, 2018

simultaneously manage the seemingly contradictory dualities of the job: integrating direct decision-making with indirect levers like strategy and culture, balancing internal and external constituencies, proactively pursuing an agenda... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

14 Mar 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 14

Cross-Boundary Teaming for Innovation: Integrating Research on Teams and Knowledge in Organizations By: Edmondson, Amy C., and Jean-François Harvey Abstract—Cross-boundary teaming, within and across organizations, is an increasingly popular View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Dec 2007
Op-Ed

When Your Product Becomes a Commodity

segments. Marketers can focus on providing applications expertise for less price-sensitive customer segments for whom the product is still important. However you approach commoditization, try to innovate at... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

September 2007 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Peter Welz: When a Marquee Prospect Plays Hardball (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

Describes the hardball tactics facing Peter Welz, who seeks to negotiate a make-or-break contract with a vastly larger potential client. Welz's counterpart team is led by Preston Spitzer, a notoriously tough player who fully understands his side's massive advantages in... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Behavior; Conflict and Resolution; Competitive Advantage

Blog

Leading Successful Digital Transformation

For more than ten years, I have studied digital strategy and worked with scores of companies around the world on their digital transformation. I have seen first-hand what works and what doesn't. Here are a few highlights. Why digital... View Details

29 Mar 2022
Book

5 Qualities That Help Companies Thrive for Decades—Even Centuries

approaches to combatting corruption, ranging from flatly refusing to pay bribes to looking for other ways to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2023
News

Wide Horizon

There were three critical events that led John Rodakis (MBA 1997) to form the nonprofit N of One in 2014 and ultimately dedicate his life to surfacing breakthrough autism research. The first occurred on Thanksgiving of 2012. He had driven about four hours with his wife... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; Photos by Sarah Wilson

December 2007 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bertrand Moingeon, Vincent Marie Dessain and Ane Damgaard Jensen

This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Employee Relationship Management; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Social and Collaborative Networks; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; France

Web

Middle East & North Africa - Global

light on how companies are navigating large-scale reskilling efforts and redefining traditional approaches to workforce development in the face of rapid technological change. The event concluded with a... View Details

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Inditex: 2000

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2000, Inditex was one of the largest specialty apparel retailers in the world, with $2.4 billion in sales from 1,080 stores across 33 countries. Zara, Inditex's main brand, produced popular designer items at a fraction of design-house prices and could push an item... View Details

Keywords: Fashion; Fashion Industry; Succession; IPO; Competition; Initial Public Offering; Multinational Firms and Management; Management Succession; Growth and Development Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

10 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: First Look: October 10

Negotiation Strategy: Pattern Recognition Game Harvard Business School Note 908-015 In negotiation, correctly identifying your counterpart's strategy is vital. Only then can you constructively influence their behavior—or adapt... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

Index

By: Jose Alvarez and Julia Kelley

In December 2017, Marc Freed-Finnegan and Jonathan Wall, the co-founders of retail technology company Index, had to discuss the company’s direction as they entered 2018. Five years earlier, Freed-Finnegan and Wall had founded Index after observing the technological... View Details

Keywords: Product Launch; Product Positioning; Sales; Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Retail Industry; Technology Industry