Publications

October 2006
Case

Lean at Wipro Technologies

Wipro Technologies, a rapidly growing software services firm based in India, decided to use principles from the Toyota Production System (also known as lean) to fundamentally change their operating model. Looks at why Wipro chose to use lean and how they went about... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Operations; Information Technology Industry; India

12 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 12

negotiating strategy and tactics of incorporating two less well-studied factors beyond etiquette and deeper cultural characteristics: 3) systematic cross-border differences in decision making, governance, and 4) the broader economic and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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; Consumer Products

06 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness

When American companies move pieces of their operations overseas—often because manufacturing and labor costs are much cheaper—they run the risk of moving the expertise, innovation, and new growth opportunities just out of their reach as... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Manufacturing

July 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Background Note

Staging Two-Sided Platforms

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Andrei Hagiu

Firms that aspire to develop two-sided platforms face a formidable challenge. Prospective users on each side will not invest in the platform until they are confident there will be enough users on the other side. Traditional strategies for dealing with this... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Risk Management; Two-Sided Platforms; Supply Chain; Strategy; Retail Industry

Article

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and the Market for Digital Information Goods

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Andres Hervas-Drane

We study competitive interaction between two alternative models of digital content distribution over the Internet: peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing and centralized client-server distribution. We present microfoundations for a stylized model of p2p file sharing where all... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Distribution; Internet and the Web; Information Infrastructure; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Strategy; Profit; Price; Performance Efficiency

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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

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

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Web

Class Profile - Doctoral

Undergraduate Majors* Accounting Applied Mathematics Biology Business Computer Science Decision Sciences Economics Engineering Finance Government History Information Systems Law Mathematics Operations Philosophy Physics Psychology... View Details

January 1993 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Medtronic, Inc.

In 1991, Bill George, CEO of Medtronic, the world's largest manufacturer of pacemakers, was evaluating his strategic options in light of the changing economic environment. In the United States, Europe, and Japan, governments were considering regulatory changes to... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Policy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

September 2023
Technical Note

Free and Open Source Software and Hardware

By: Frank Nagle

This technical note surveys the concepts of free and open source software and hardware. It introduces the concepts in general, providing a brief history of their development and numerous examples of how companies employ them in practice. Further, it identifies various... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Patents; Information Technology; Business Model; Open Source Distribution; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry

August 2014
Case

Rent the Runway (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Brent Goldfarb and David A. Kirsch

Two months after a successful launch In November 2009, the cofounders of Rent the Runway (RTR), a website that rented designer dresses, are debating whether to grow their startup at a measured pace and focus on improving operational effectiveness, or raise a new round... View Details

Keywords: Lean Startup; Electronic Commerce; Fashion; Expansion; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; E-commerce; Fashion Industry

December 2008 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores in 2003 (Abridged Version)

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Business Growth and Maturation; Competitive Advantage; Labor Unions; Operations; Global Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Gender; Retail Industry; United States

April 1995
Case

Toy Game, The

Companies sometimes issue rebate coupons entitling the holder to a certain amount off the price of their products. This case explores the effects of rebate coupons on the game between two companies that operate in a market where there is very little underlying customer... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy

Program

Audit Committees in a New Era of Governance

contribution. You will acquire the frameworks to align corporate strategy with financial reporting—and help your company operate more effectively in today's rigorous market and regulatory environment. You... View Details

October 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Red Flag Software Co.

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Tarun Khanna, David Lane and Elizabeth Raabe

In 2005, just five years after its formal launch, Beijing-based Red Flag Software was the world's second-largest distributor of the Linux operating system and was expecting its first annual profit. On a unit basis, Red Flag led the world in desktops (PCs) shipped with... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Technology Industry; Distribution Industry; Beijing; United States

May 1987 (Revised June 1987)
Background Note

Note on Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II)

By: David A. Garvin

Describes Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), a production technique designed to couple business and financial plans with manufacturing plans. It is an important tool for aligning manufacturing with a company's overall strategy and goals. Describes MRPII,... View Details

Keywords: Design; Finance; Surveys; Goals and Objectives; Resource Allocation; Production; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Business Strategy