Publications

February 1992 (Revised January 1996)
Supplement

Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (B)

By: David J. Collis

Describes the change in strategy Birds Eye adopted in the 1980s in the face of declining profitability and eroding market share. Updates the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Adoption; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom

November 2012
Teaching Note

Brink's Company: Activists Push for a Spin-off (TN)

By: Suraj Srinivasan

The case this Teaching Note addresses studies the decision of the security services company Brink's Corporation to spin off its home security division from the rest of the company. The decision followed intense pressure on the company by three activist hedge funds that... View Details

Keywords: Activist Investors; Spin-off; Leveraged Recapitalization; Debt; Hedge Funds; Conglomerates; Valuation; Restructuring; Accounting; Business Strategy; Investment Activism; Service Industry

Article

Navigating Talent Hot Spots

By: William R. Kerr

Innovation clusters like San Francisco and Boston have long had an outsize impact on the global economy, and their influence keeps growing. In 2017, for instance, America’s ten largest tech hubs accounted for 58% of U.S. patents. Globally, cities such as Tokyo, Paris,... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Innovation and Invention; Urban Scope; Industry Clusters; Innovation and Management

Register to Read

September 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Salud Digna: Successfully Competing with For-Profit Organizations

By: Allen S. Grossman and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

Hugo Moreno, CEO of Salud Digna, was considering his growth options for the next three years. Would becoming a for-profit with access to greater capital be the best strategy or would this cause the organization to lose its social mission? Salud Digna provided... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Health Testing and Trials; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Health Industry; Mexico

20 Mar 2018
News

Despite The PR Nightmares, People Keep Flying United

Research Summary

Professor Wei-Skillern's research is focused in the field of Social Enterprise. Her research examines the creation of social value in both commercial and nonprofit organizations. In the former stream of research on corporate social responsibility, she has studied... View Details

01 Jun 2016
What Do You Think?

When Business Performance Falters, is Culture Change the Fix?

“ it is not an either/or but a coordinated process.” Art Stewart added, “In my view, culture must now be treated as an integrated strategy and viewed as a core asset for contributing to marketplace value and View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

March 2023
Background Note

A Primer on OKRs

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan (Jason) Ni

The OKR framework is a popular goal-setting and strategy execution tool that uses goal setting through “Objectives” and measuring performance using “Key Results” on a periodic basis to measure and drive performance. The OKR framework has been adopted and practiced at... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Talent and Talent Management; Framework; Corporate Governance; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Systems; Measurement and Metrics; Outcome or Result; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation; Performance Expectations; Performance Productivity; Performance Efficiency

15 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Going Green Makes Good Business Sense

Business leaders must respond to growing concerns about pollution, but both the environment and corporate coffers can be green, says Harvard Business School professor Forest Reinhardt. The key to success may depend on how the challenges... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Case

American Express Interactive

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Follows the protagonist, Sonia Sharpe, as she and her American Express Interactive Team attempt to develop and market an interactive, on-line, corporate travel service in a highly competitive environment. Looks at the possible resources and partnerships a company needs... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Partners and Partnerships; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; Global Strategy; Expansion; Information Technology; Vertical Integration; Financial Services Industry; Travel Industry

June 2024
Module Note

Assets, Resources, and Capabilities

By: David J. Collis

This module note explores why we need to study resources, what resources are, how we know they are valuable, and what a resource-based strategy requires. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy

11 Apr 2013
News

Michael Porter unveils new health and happiness index

June 2007 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Royal DSM N.V.: Information Technology Enabling Business Transformation

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Edward Watson and Mara Vatz

Describes how Royal DSM NV, an $8 billion dollar global corporation, leveraged information technology to enable a major corporate portfolio transformation between 2000 and 2006. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology

Research Summary

Financing Payouts

Despite the obvious interest in payout policy, no paper to date has systematically analyzed how payouts are funded, perhaps because the answer might have appeared just too obvious: payouts are funded with free cash flow — at least over long enough time periods.... View Details

04 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Start to Measure Your E-commerce Success

of treating the topic of e-commerce with awe and confusion, we can now discuss the subject more objectively." What follows is an excerpt from his new book, Implementing E-commerce Strategies: A Guide to Corporate Success after the... View Details

Keywords: by Marc J. Epstein

September 2006 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Patrimonio Hoy: A Financial Perspective

By: Arthur I Segel, Michael Chu and Gustavo A. Herrero

Patrimonio Hoy, a program targeting the housing needs of low-income families launched by CEMEX, a major Mexican corporation and a leading global cement company, has gone from a market research project to a highly visible initiative in 22 cities and has earned public... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Housing; Income; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Emerging Markets; Finance; Mexico

July–August 2024
Article

The Middle Path to Innovation

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Duke Rohlen, Ben Creo and Will Kynes

Too many companies are failing to innovate. One reason, say the authors, is the polarized approach companies take to innovation. At one end of the spectrum, corporate R&D efforts tend to focus on product refreshes and incremental line upgrades that generate modest... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

Register to Read

09 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

A Diagnostic for Disruptive Innovation

a January 2, 2004, article in the Wall Street Journal, large corporations are increasingly unwilling to pay for expensive upgrades to software programs. This indicates that software providers are overserving increasing swaths of the... View Details

Keywords: by Scott D. Anthony, Mark W. Johnson & Matt Eyring

September 2009 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Western Union: Our World, Our Family®

By: Christopher Marquis

In 2006, Western Union spun-off from its former parent, First Data Corporation, and began the process of defining itself as a stand-alone organization. Part of that effort was the creation of a strategic corporate social responsibility program called Our World, Our... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Programs; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Alignment; Value