Publications

Many blockbuster products and services that have redefined the global business landscape are built around platforms that tie together two distinct groups of users in a network. Examples include credit cards that link consumers and merchants; operating systems that... View Details

April 2002
Background Note

Local Institutions and Global Strategy

By: Tarun Khanna

Explores how location affects a firm's strategy and identifies the different ways location affects industry structure, choice of a firm's position, and the sustainability of that position. The intellectual foundations lie in an appreciation of institutional economics.... View Details

Keywords: Global Range; Global Strategy; Product Positioning; Market Transactions; Industry Structures; Negotiation Deal; Organizational Design; Outcome or Result; Strategic Planning

October 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

US Office Products (A)

Growth by acquisition (rolling up or consolidating an industry) results in questions about integrating operations, corporate form, financial structure, and management for this company. View Details

Keywords: Integration; Business or Company Management; Acquisition

01 Mar 2010
News

Lords of Strategy

original Hendersonianism: “In this new environment, the essence of strategy is not the structure of a company’s position in products and markets, but the dynamics of its behaviors. The goal is to identify... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

April 2009
Journal Article

Perspectives on the Productivity Dilemma

By: Paul S. Adler, Mary Benner, David James Brunner, John Paul MacDuffie, Emi Osono, Bradley R. Staats, Hirotaka Takeuchi, Michael Tushman and Sidney G. Winter

For more than a century, operations researchers have recognized that organizations can increase efficiency by adhering strictly to proven process templates, thereby rendering operations more stable and predictable. For several decades, researchers have also recognized... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Adaptation

March 2001
Article

Strategy and the Internet

By: M. E. Porter

Many of the pioneers of Internet business, both dot-coms and established companies, have competed in ways that violate nearly every precept of good strategy. Rather than focus on profits, they have chased customers indiscriminately through discounting, channel... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Online Technology

November 2003 (Revised December 2007)
Supplement

Circle Gastroenterology Products (B)

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and James Weber

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Marketing Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

February 2005 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Haier's U.S. Refrigerator Strategy

By: Pankaj Ghemawat, Thomas M. Hout and Jordan I. Siegel

Haier, the first Chinese consumer durable brand in the United States, succeeded in the compact refrigerator, freezer, and air conditioner markets and then built a U.S. factory to enter the full-size market. Issues include the value of a local entrepreneur to the Asian... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; China; United States

We analyze the optimal strategy of a high-quality incumbent that faces a low-quality ad-sponsored competitor. In addition to competing through adjustments of tactical variables such as price or the number of ads a product carries, we allow the incumbent to... View Details

September 2017 (Revised February 2018)
Case

Becton Dickinson: Global Health Strategy

By: Mark R. Kramer and Sarah Mehta

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) was a medical technology firm headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, with 43,000 employees and 2016 revenues of $12.5 billion. For several years, the company had pursued developing products that created shared value, defined as... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Creating Shared Value; Odon Device; Medical Technology; Value Creation; Values and Beliefs; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Testing and Trials; Emerging Markets; Social Issues; Competitive Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Africa; Asia; Middle East

January 2008
Article

The Value of a Broader Product Portfolio

By: Bharat Anand

The mantra "Every product must stand on its own bottom line" may no longer be the one to chant. Nowadays, broadening your portfolio can increase both your chances of a big win and the benefit your other products can get from a hit's popularity. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Product Development; Expansion; Value Creation

25 Apr 2005
Research & Ideas

New Learning at American Home Products

pharmaceutical companies, American Home Products was first in sales and twenty-eighth in expenditures for R&D. Licensing strategy had been successful because the company could count on the existing nexus... View Details

Keywords: by Alfred D. Chandler Jr.; Chemical; Health; Manufacturing; Pharmaceutical

2014
Working Paper

Product to Platform Transitions: Organizational Identity Implications

By: Elizabeth J. Altman and Mary Tripsas

Organizations are increasingly recognizing that value they once derived from offering standalone products can be significantly enhanced if they transition to platform-based businesses that harness the innovative capabilities of complementors. While the competitive... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change; Organizational Identity; Ecosystems; Complementors; Managing Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multi-Sided Platforms; Innovation and Management; Organizational Culture

SSRN

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2003
Article

Closing the Loop: Product Take-back Requirements and their Strategic Implications

By: Michael W. Toffel

In Asia, Europe, and North America, regulators are seeking to reduce waste disposal and develop recycling markets by requiring manufacturers to manage the end-of-life disposition of products they produce. Such policies attempt to "close the loop" for products ranging... View Details

Keywords: Wastes and Waste Processing; Energy Conservation; Product Development; Strategy; Policy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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Article

Repositioning and Cost-Cutting: The Impact of Competition on Platform Strategies

By: Robert Seamans and Feng Zhu

Organizational structures are increasingly complex. In particular, more firms today operate as multi-sided platforms. In this paper, we study how platform firms use repositioning and cost-cutting in response to competition, elucidate external and internal factors that... View Details

Keywords: Platform Strategy; Repositioning; Cost-cutting; Intra-firm Learning; Multi-Sided Platforms; Cost Management; Product Positioning; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Knowledge Acquisition; Journalism and News Industry

March 1996
Case

New Product Development at Canon: The Contact Sensor Project

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Partington

Canon is one of the leading innovators in the world. This case describes the processes by which Canon manages the flow of ideas from basic science to new products, and how it harnesses product innovation to a strategy of diversification. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Strategic Planning; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Diversification; Success; Consumer Products Industry

March 2025
Case

Skylight: Hit Product or Scalable Company?

By: Rembrand Koning, Christina Wallace and Jeff Huizinga

Skylight, originally a digital frame startup aimed at connecting dispersed families, expanded with a second product—Calendar—to help families manage schedules. Despite significant potential, Calendar struggled with persistent technical issues and poor customer... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Software; Hardware; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Customer Satisfaction; Resource Allocation; Product Launch; Business Strategy; Expansion

September 1983 (Revised December 1985)
Case

Dunkin' Donuts (C): Growth Strategy

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Dunkin' Donuts franchises and operates retail donut shops for take-home and in-shop consumption. Looks at three growth alternatives: 1) More shops (owned or franchised); 2) A broader product line; and 3) More advertising. Raises important issues related to franchise... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Logistics; Franchise Ownership; Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry