Publications

Career Coach

Michele Biamonte

Michele (HGSE, Adult Development '05) combines her professional experience in finance, talent management and higher ed admin to help students and alumni optimize their self-assessment, career exploration and personal branding process. She... View Details

Keywords: Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management; Investment Management

November 2010 (Revised May 2014)
Case

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas

By: Benjamin C. Esty and David Lane

This case analyzes Dow Chemical Company's proposed acquisition of Rohm and Haas in 2008. The $18.8 billion acquisition was part of Dow's strategic transformation from a slow-growth, low-margin, and cyclical producer of basic chemicals into a higher-growth,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Crisis; Capital Structure; Financial Condition; Financial Management; Contracts; Lawsuits and Litigation; Risk and Uncertainty; Valuation; Chemical Industry

November 2005 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Beijing Hualian

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

China's fifth largest domestic retailer faced intensifying competition from Wal-Mart and Carrefour with the opening of China's fast-growing retail market in January 2005. In response, Beijing Hualian developed a new "Family Store" format targeted at the nation's... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; China

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Due to network effects and switching costs in platform markets, entrants generally must offer revolutionary functionality. Platform envelopment offers a second entry path: one that does not rely upon Schumpeterian innovation. Examples of successful envelopment... View Details

May 2024
Case

Mission Veterinary Partners

By: Boris Groysberg, Zeeshan Ali and Annelena Lobb

After five successful years, Mission Veterinary Partners (MVP) had to decide on the best way to scale. MVP owned 300 animal hospitals and competed with other consolidators to buy more small veterinary practices. MVP had to distinguish itself as the buyer of choice but... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Competitive Strategy

February 2003 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Yahoo!: Becoming a Competitor in the Career Listings Space (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Nicole Nasser

In late 2001, Yahoo!'s new executive leadership team faces a decision. With online advertising revenues significantly off, the company has decided to explore new strategic businesses, including online recruiting. The team must decide whether to make a bid for... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decisions; Recruitment; Management Teams; Negotiation Deal; Employment Industry

December 2005
Article

Up to Code: Does Your Company's Conduct Meet World-Class Standards?

By: Lynn Paine, Rohit Deshpandé, Joshua D. Margolis and Kim Eric Bettcher

Codes of conduct have long been a feature of corporate life. Today, they are arguably a legal necessity—at least for public companies with a presence in the United States. But the issue goes beyond U.S. legal and regulatory requirements. Sparked by corruption and... View Details

Keywords: Business Ethics; Standards Of Conduct; Globalized Firms and Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance

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April 2006
Article

Competitive Advantage and the Value Network Configuration: Making Decisions at a Swedish Life Insurance Company

By: Øystein D. Fjeldstad and Christian H.M. Ketels

When the Swedish Life Insurers Förenade Liv found themselves in difficulties in a rapidly changing market, their response was to call in the consultants. And one of the consultant's first suggestions was to use the Value Network, not the Value Chain, as a new... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Fluctuation; Networks; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Value; Quality; Decision Making; Market Transactions; Performance Effectiveness; Customers; Insurance Industry; Sweden

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Read Now

Web

Value-Based Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Professor Kaplan teaches how time-driven activity-based costing is used in health care delivery organizations around the world. Length: 28 min. See All Media Videos Key Stakeholders Providers Stay competitive by adopting a strategic... View Details

January 2019
Case

Arrow Electronics—The Apollo Integration

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

Having already made 10 acquisitions of competitors in the last decade, the CEO and Senior Vice President of Arrow are evaluating the acquisition of another small competitor to boost sales, become #1 in a niche market segment, and achieve economies of scale. They are... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Strategic Planning; Growth and Development Strategy; Electronics Industry; United States

23 Nov 2021
Book

What It Takes to Build an Organizational Culture That Wins

track A or track B. Both can produce strategic success. But track A is a successful strategy owing little to an effective culture. The culture itself is characterized by an authoritarian management style... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

01 Nov 2021
What Do You Think?

How Long Does It Take to Improve an Organization’s Culture?

seem to be an obvious performance improvement effort? "An organization’s culture, among other things, touches every functional department ... and is often perceived as critical to its strategic direction." In my research on culture... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Feb 2001
News

What Makes a Good Leader

things can run smoothly for as long as possible. It's often a judgment call." Name: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration Courses she teaches: Managing Change (MBA elective); Leading Change and... View Details

Keywords: Management

Web

Operational Effectiveness vs. Strategy - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Effectivenes... Operational Effectiveness vs. Strategy Too often in today’s companies, managers mistake operational effectiveness with strategy. Both are important. Both help drive superior performance. But View Details

Profile

Rocio Parra

departments and P&Ls, human capital management and higher level strategic decision-making. What did you learn during the job search process? Through the job search process, I learned about the power of... View Details

Keywords: Retail

02 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 2, 2019

is that women’s thin representation at senior levels remains in place. We conclude by highlighting contributions to work-family, workplace inequality, and systems-psychodynamic theory. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55807 forthcoming... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

October 2009
Case

Don Soderquist: Negotiating the Wal-Mart-P&G Relationship (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

This case describes the negotiations and strategic choices of Don Soderquist, who as Chief Operating Officer of Wal-Mart, helped to forge a major partnership with P&G in the 1980s and 1990s. The case chronicles the challenging barriers to success along with several of... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Style; Partners and Partnerships; Leadership; Value Creation; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Retail Industry