Publications

January 2019 (Revised February 2024)
Teaching Note

Hubble Contact Lenses: Data Driven Direct-to-Consumer Marketing

By: Ayelet Israeli

Teaching Note for HBS No. 519-011. As its Series A extension round approaches, the founders of Hubble, a subscription-based, social-media fueled, direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand of contact lenses, are reflecting on the marketing strategies that have taken them to a... View Details

Purchase

28 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Architectural Innovation and Dynamic Competition: The Smaller “Footprint” Strategy

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin & Kim B. Clark; Computer

30 Aug 2021
News

One and the Same

that and, of course, all your ideas end up on the whiteboard, along with everyone else’s,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald. “You become the person facilitating the conversation, and you are the one taking... View Details

Keywords: wage gap; COVID; women; equality; leadership

Article

Divide and Conquer: Competing with Free Technology under Network Effects

By: Deishin Lee and Haim Mendelson

We study how a commercial firm competes with a free open source product. The market consists of two customer segments with different preferences and is characterized by positive network effects. The commercial firm makes product and pricing decisions to maximize its... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Product Launch; Network Effects; Open Source Distribution; Adoption; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage

30 Jan 2019
Blog Post

The Life and Role of a CEO

psychological safety, it is important to show through action that you care about feedback by actively seeking and responding to it. In fact, one CEO said “being nice runs the risk of showing that you do not care.” Another CEO said, “you... View Details

01 Jun 2023
News

Alumni and Faculty Books

shepherded a multinational corporation to record earnings. A fascinating and engaging memoir from one of America’s leading female executives, Why Should Guys Have All the Fun? is an inspiring and uplifting... View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

March 9, 2023
Article

Linking Growth and the Frontline

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Jay Galeota and Michael Wong

Most strategies are about growing the business. But about one quarter of companies do not grow at all and, even before the pandemic, only one in eight achieved more than 10% revenue growth annually, according to data from S&P Global regulatory filings. One reason is a... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Competency and Skills

June 2021
Article

Cognition and Emotion in Extreme Political Action: Individual Differences and Dynamic Interactions

By: Leor Zmigrod and Amit Goldenberg

Who is most likely to join and engage in extreme political action? While traditional theories have focused on situational factors or group identity attributes, an emerging science illustrates that tendencies for extreme political action may also be rooted in... View Details

Keywords: Extreme Political Action; Ideology; Political Psychology; Cognition-emotion Interactions; Cognition and Thinking; Emotions; Personal Characteristics

July–August 2020
Article

Sarcasm, Self-Deprecation, and Inside Jokes: A User's Guide to Humor at Work

By: Brad Bitterly and Alison Wood Brooks

Humor is widely considered essential in personal relationships, but in leaders, it’s seen as an ancillary behavior. Though some leaders use humor instinctively, many more could wield it purposefully. Humor helps build interpersonal trust and high-quality work... View Details

Keywords: Managing People; Humor; Leadership; Relationships

March 2018
Supplement

The Rise and Rise (?) of Walmart (B): Kmart Declares Bankruptcy

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case follows up on the competition between Kmart and Walmart as discussed in the A case. It summarizes the companies' positions in the early 2000s, and discusses events between 1990 and Kmart's declaration of bankruptcy in 2002. Walmart grew significantly,... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Walmart; Kmart; Controversy; Strategy; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Competition; Public Opinion; Retail Industry; United States

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October 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Technical Note

Design and Evaluation of Targeted Interventions

By: Eva Ascarza and Ta-Wei (David) Huang

Targeted interventions serve as a pivotal tool in business strategy, streamlining decisions for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness. This note delves into two central facets of such interventions: first, the design of potent decision guidelines, or targeting... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Customer Relationship Management; Analysis; Design; Business Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Educators

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12 May 2015
News

Bill Gates, Andy Grove and Steve Jobs: The Strategies They Shared

July 9, 2019
Article

Common Knowledge, Coordination, and Strategic Mentalizing in Human Social Life

By: Julian De Freitas, Kyle A. Thomas, Peter DiScioli and Steven Pinker

People often coordinate for mutual gain, such as keeping to opposite sides of a stairway, dubbing an object or place with a name, or assembling en masse to protest a regime. Because successful coordination requires complementary choices, these opportunities raise the... View Details

Keywords: Coordination; Common Knowledge; Theory Of Mind; Bystander Effect; Knowledge; Cooperation

Web

Key Concepts - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

patients into paying customers, mergers, analytics, big data, personalized or precision medicine, and population health to name a few. None was successful in improving outcomes View Details

17 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon, Whole Foods Deal a Big Win for Consumers

Source: 400tmax Editor's Note. Online retailing behemoth Amazon announced June 16 that it would acquire upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market in a deal valued at more than $13 billion. Though the company has dabbled with the idea of a brick-and-mortar footprint in... View Details

Keywords: by Jose Alvarez and Len Schlesinger; Retail

2017
Mimeo

Science for Society: Science and Technology Based Social Entrepreneurship

By: Tarun Khanna, Shashank Shah and Kundan Madireddy

This publication is an outcome of the team's research, engagement and interactions with over 25 science and technology-based social enterprises in India. It provides details on the research process, insightful outcomes and innovative impact.
Throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Science-Based Business; Information Technology; Business and Community Relations; India