Publications

07 Jul 2019
HBS Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

initiative. “That requires a lot of reskilling of employees and hard choices, in an uncertain environment, in terms of how to deploy capital.” “This digital transformation creates new jobs, but, more... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

Web

Women, Work, and the “M” Word - Blog: Health Supplement

menopause space. After working for three decades in international development, big tech at Google, government service in the Obama administration, and on the founding team of the healthcare startup Cityblock... View Details

February 2024
Case

Does “Matter” Matter? Amazon and Open Standards in the Smart Home Industry

By: Frank Nagle

In early 2023, the smart home industry stood at a pivotal juncture. The recent launch of “Matter” version 1.0, an ambitious interoperability standard developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), promised to unify a fragmented market plagued by incompatible... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Resource Allocation; Standards; Business Strategy

17 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Advice for the New CEO: Talk to Your Employees Early and Often

Strategy at HEC Paris, and Andrea Prat, a professor of business at Columbia Business School. Why communication takes a dive The researchers analyzed millions of emails and... View Details

Keywords: by Ami Albernaz

August 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

PassAct, Inc.

PassAct is a virtual distributor for high-tech R&D components and products, taking orders from researchers within companies, passing them on to appropriate suppliers, and monitoring fulfillment. Customers order from a Web-based catalog with built-in work-flow... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Wachtell Lipton: Focused Excellence

By: Ashish Nanda and Margaret Cross

For years, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz—a small, New York City law firm—has consistently boasted the highest profits per partner and one of the highest “prestige” ratings among U.S.-based law firms. The firm has remained loyal to a distinctive strategy ever since its... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Law; Mergers and Acquisitions; Legal Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

March 2007
Case

Ascent Media Group (A)

Ascent Media races to adapt to the changes resulting from increasing digitalization of its business, from creative post-production services to warehousing and repurposing of old media content. Raises issues of how technology interacts with creative processes and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technology; Management; Creativity

Find at Harvard

August 2004 (Revised April 2007)
Case

Intel Capital, 2005 (A)

By: David B. Yoffie, Barbara Mack, Adriana Boden and Lee Rand

All companies in a technology-intensive industry must worry about the development of their ecosystems and, in particular, the availability and cost of complementary assets. One strategy for promoting complements is to invest in them directly. Explores Intel's strategy... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Venture Capital; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Investment; Assets; Corporate Finance; Semiconductor Industry; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; United States

24 Aug 2016
Research & Ideas

Can Obamacare Be Saved?

providers to improve services to Americans. Source: gpointstudio In 2015, there was an average of 6.9 plans to choose from in each state. This fell to 6.5 in 2016, and even before Aetna's decision, the... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch and Emily Boudreau; Insurance; Health

July 2012
Case

Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. - The Belle of the Ball

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

In November of 2011 Transatlantic Holdings, Inc., a global property and casualty reinsurance company, announced it had agreed to sell itself to Alleghany Corporation, ending "the most frenzied takeover battle" of 2011, which involved competitors, Warren Buffett's... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Finance; Insurance And Reinsurance; Governance; Insurance; Mergers and Acquisitions; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Bermuda; Switzerland

June 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Microsoft in 2005

By: David B. Yoffie, Darmesh M Mehta and Rudina I Seseri

Focuses on Microsoft's strategy for sustaining competitive advantage in the global software industry. Also, explores Microsoft's history and its current position, as it tries to diversify its product and service revenue streams. View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Business History; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Applications and Software; Globalized Markets and Industries; Information Technology Industry

Web

Rare Disease Day – Small Numbers, Big Challenges… and Big Opportunities - Blog: Health Supplement

been a totally unexpected, but very welcome surprise. Through HCI connections, I have been able to share patient engagement strategies with executives at several NPOs and meet with multiple biotech VCs,... View Details

Web

Getting Things Done: Motivating Yourself and Others - Course Catalog

evaluate and use digital tools and technologies (like AI and personal productivity trackers) to enhance personal productivity View Details

April 2001 (Revised September 2001)
Case

Merloni Elettrodomestici: Building for a New Century

By: Joseph L. Bower

In 2001 a young new CEO has to develop a strategy to move his company beyond the hyper-competitive conditions of Western Europe. A major acquisition in Russia and a new Web-based service business provide interesting new directions. This case traces the development of... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Web; Russia

15 Mar 2021
Blog Post

Be Unapologetically Yourself: Interview with Singer-Songwriter and Banking Strategist Andrea Mendoza

consulting) but Mendoza has embraced the surprise factor and learned to be unapologetically herself. What that looks like is a financial services professional, a strategic leader, View Details

October 2005 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Sapient Corporation (Abridged)

By: Rakesh Khurana and Joel Podolny

Describes the start-up, growth, organizational design, and operations over the first 10 years of a professional services firm. Focuses on the creative use of organizational purpose and values as an integral part of strategy and alignment of organizational activities. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Human Resources; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Operations; Business Processes; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Service Industry

March 2023 (Revised May 2025)
Case

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger and Sascha Mader

Founded in 2010, in just one decade, the Swiss company On had established itself as a main player in global sports footwear and apparel. Based on an unconventional strategy which one of the founders labeled as “obsessively distinct,” On grew its sales with a compound... View Details