Publications

October 1994
Background Note

Note on the Confrontation Strategy

Because of the emergence of the lean enterprise (a Japanese innovation), the nature of competition has changed. Competitive advantages are virtually impossible to sustain; instead of avoiding competition through creating sustainable competitive advantage, companies... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy

Find at Harvard

August 2023
Case

BYD, China, and Global Electric Vehicle Rivalry

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Max Hancock

In 2023, BYD, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker, surpassed Tesla to become the world's best-selling EV brand. BYD began selling mobile phone batteries in 1995, acquired a license to sell vehicles in 2002, and spent two decades building its EV brand, growing its... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Vertical Integration; Market Participation; Environmental Sustainability; Auto Industry; Electronics Industry; China; Europe; United States; Japan; South Korea

Eric Van den Steen is a Professor of Business Administration at HBS, where he teaches strategy. He holds the Roy Little chair, established in honor of the founder of Textron.

Professor Van den Steen's research studies the fundamentals of strategy and... View Details

25 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why IT Does Matter

Harvard Business Review editor-at-large, Nicholas G. Carr, ignited a firestorm in the opinion piece "Why IT Doesn't Matter" published in the May 2003 issue of HBR. Carr's argument wasn't exactly that IT doesn't matter, but rather that it has become a... View Details

Keywords: by F. Warren McFarlan & Richard L. Nolan

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry is the first serious attempt to trace the history of the $330 billion global beauty industry and its large collection of fascinating entrepreneurs through countries including France, the United States, Japan, and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

June 2005 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Samsung Electronics

By: Jordan I. Siegel and James Jinho Chang

When is it possible to create a dual advantage of being both low cost and differentiated? In this case, students assess whether Samsung Electronics has been able to achieve such a dual advantage, and if so, how this was possible. Moreover, Samsung Electronics'... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Electronics Industry; China; South Korea

Jan W. Rivkin is a Professor in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. In the past, he has served as Faculty Chair of the MBA Program, Senior Associate Dean for Research, and head of the Strategy Unit. His research, course development, and teaching focus on... View Details

Keywords: airline; computer; internet; music; transportation

March 2002 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry

Examines the competitive challenges facing Robert Mondavi as the wine industry begins to consolidate globally. Mondavi faces challenges from foreign competitors entering the U.S. market as well as diversified global alcoholic beverage companies entering the wine... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Competitive Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

February 2011 (Revised March 2021)
Case

Hindustan Unilever's 'Pureit' Water Purifier

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Mona Sinha

The case asks students to formulate a strategy to respond to various competitive threats to its Pureit Water purifier, launched in 2008, targeted at millions of low-income Indian consumers who did not have access to safe drinking water. The case describes in detail the... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Development; Social Enterprise; Competitive Strategy; India

April 2019
Case

Walmart Update, 2019

By: David B. Yoffie and Daniel Fisher

In 2019 Walmart was still the world's largest company, with over $500 billion in annual revenue and operations around the world. Although it had mostly vanquished its rival discount retailers in the U.S., it was struggling to find the right growth strategy. Facing a... View Details

Keywords: E-Commerce Strategy; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Range; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; E-commerce; Retail Industry

04 Apr 2016
HBS Seminar

Ariel Stern, Harvard Business School

July 2020 (Revised November 2020)
Case

Pricing at Netflix

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Oded Koenigsberg and Amy Klopfenstein

Since its launch in 1998 as “the Amazon.com of DVDs,” Netflix had evolved from a DVD rental company to a video streaming platform and producer of original films and television shows. As the company matured, it regularly increased prices and adjusted its product... View Details

August 1992
Case

Otis Pacific Asia Operations (A): National Challenges

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Describes the elevator market and Otis's competitive position in four markets: Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, and Japan. The student is asked to evaluate the strategic and competitive challenges in each market, especially in light of strong Japanese competition across the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Network Effects; Problems and Challenges; Global Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Service Delivery; Competitive Advantage; Competition; Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; India; Japan; Malaysia; Hong Kong

14 Sep 2017
News

Harvard Business School dissects the problems with U.S. politics

January 2002 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in the Twenty-First Century

By: David B. Yoffie and Yusi Wang

Examines the industry structure and competitive strategy of Coca-cola and Pepsi over 100 years of rivalry. New challenges of the 21st century included boosting flagging domestic cola sales and finding new revenue streams. Both firms also began to modify their bottling,... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development; Brands and Branding; Emerging Markets; Industry Structures; Performance; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

13 Apr 2021
News

How Inclusive Managers Create Glass-Shattering Organizations

Leemore S. Dafny

Leemore Dafny is the Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Business Administration and the Mary Ellen Jay and Jeffrey Jay Fellow at the Harvard Business School, and Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dafny is an applied microeconomist whose... View Details

Keywords: health care

2021
Book

Better, Simpler Strategy: A Value-Based Guide to Exceptional Performance

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

In nearly every business segment and corner of the world economy, the most successful companies dramatically outperform their rivals. What is their secret? In Better, Simpler Strategy, Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee shows how these... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Strategic Planning; Value; Analysis; Competitive Advantage; Performance Effectiveness