Publications

June 2015 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Qualcomm Inc., 2009-2015

By: David B. Yoffie

In the years after 2009, Qualcomm navigated the wireless industry's transition from 3G to 4G, retaining its technological leadership and experiencing dramatic growth in revenue and profit. In March 2014, Qualcomm appointed a new CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, who had to... View Details

Keywords: Communication Technologies; Technology; Wireless Technologies; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Strategy; Communication Technology; Competitive Strategy; Change Management; Electronics Industry; Telecommunications Industry; California

20 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How Independent Bookstores Have Thrived in Spite of Amazon.com

bookstores—which already faced competition from superstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. Indeed, between 1995 and 2000, the number of independent bookstores in the United States plummeted 43 percent, according to the American... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel (with video by Amelia Kunhardt); Retail

2010
Working Paper

Local R&D Strategies and Multi-location Firms: The Role of Internal Linkages

By: Juan Alcacer and Minyuan Zhao

This study looks at the role of firms' internal linkages in highly competitive technology clusters, where much of the world's R&D takes place. The leading players in these clusters are multi-location firms that organize and integrate knowledge across sites worldwide.... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Industry Clusters; Research and Development; Competitive Advantage; Semiconductor Industry

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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

January 2001
Case

Accrue Software, Inc.

In 2000, Accrue is one of three survivors of the initial consolidation of the Web traffic analysis software industry. However, entry from CRM software providers and consultants, as well as ASPs offering Web analysis services, has introduced new threats to Accrue. Newly... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Competitive Advantage; Software; Web Services Industry

December 1980 (Revised February 1998)
Case

McDonald's Corp. (Condensed)

By: W. Earl Sasser and David C. Rikert

Describes the operating system of McDonald's, the world's most successful fast food chain. The case does not have a decision focus; it is designed for use with Burger King Corp. Students are asked to compare the operating systems of these two fast food hamburger... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry

21 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Common Strategy Mistakes

"Michael Porter didn't get to be a giant in the field of competition and strategy by hunting small game." Joan Magretta begins her new book on Harvard Business School's Michael Porter's work by noting that, from the start of his... View Details

Keywords: by Joan Magretta

Research Summary

Competing in New Markets

Strategic advisors counsel managers to conduct a thorough competitive analysis emphasizing key points of differentiation. But for new markets, Professor McDonald’s research suggests that reports of the threat posed by similar rivals may be greatly exaggerated, and... View Details

November–December 2010
Article

A Method for Defining Value in Healthcare Using Cancer Care as a Model

By: Thomas W. Feeley, Heidi Albright, Ronald Walters and Thomas W. Burke

Value-based healthcare delivery is being discussed in a variety of healthcare forums. This concept is of great importance in the reform of the US healthcare delivery system. Defining and applying the principles of value-based competition in healthcare delivery models... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Cancer Care In The U.S.; Healthcare; Health; Management; Measurement and Metrics; Health Industry; North and Central America

2009
Working Paper

Strategic Interactions in Two-Sided Market Oligopolies

By: Emmanuel Farhi and Andrei Hagiu

Strategic interactions between two-sided platforms depend not only on whether their decision variables are strategic complements or substitutes as for one-sided firms, but also -and crucially so- on whether or not the platforms subsidize one side of the market in... View Details

Keywords: Two-Sided Markets; Strategic Complements; Strategic Substitutes; Cost; Investment; Profit; One-Sided Platforms; Two-Sided Platforms; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Competitive Advantage

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February 2024
Article

Pricing Power in Advertising Markets: Theory and Evidence

By: Matthew Gentzkow, Jesse M. Shapiro, Frank Yang and Ali Yurukoglu

Existing theories of media competition imply that advertisers will pay a lower price in equilibrium to reach consumers who multi-home across competing outlets. We generalize, extend, and test this prediction. We find that television outlets whose viewers watch more... View Details

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Advertising; Residency; Social Media; Price; Media; Age

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August 2008
Case

Thoma Bravo - Citect Corporation Take-Private

In 2006, Citect Corporation, a publicly traded Australian software company, was the target of a takeover battle between a financial sponsor and a strategic buyer. Thoma Bravo, the U.S.-based private equity firm, had to decide on its acquisition strategy in the face of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Investment; Negotiation Deal; Privatization; Valuation; Australia

20 Oct 2010
Op-Ed

Export Competitiveness: Reversing the Logic

given point in time. While the general principles apply across all countries, the key barriers for growth differ dramatically depending on the local circumstances. The competitiveness framework provides an analytical way to identify these... View Details

Keywords: by Christian Ketels

January 2008
Article

Mastering the Management System

By: Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton

Companies have always found it hard to balance pressing operational concerns with long-term strategic priorities. The tension is critical: World-class processes won't lead to success without the right strategic direction, and the best strategy in the world will get... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Systems; Operations; Performance Improvement; Strategy

October 1990 (Revised March 1993)
Background Note

Note on Cable Television Regulation

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Examines the evolution of the U.S. cable television industry since its inception in the early 1950s. Particular emphasis is given to the roles played by technology, consumer demand, and regulation at both the local and federal level. Designed to facilitate a conceptual... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Demand and Consumers; Government Legislation; Business Growth and Maturation; Monopoly; Television Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

February 2014
Article

Learning by Supplying

By: Juan Alcacer and Joanne Oxley

Learning processes lie at the heart of our understanding of how firms build capabilities to generate and sustain competitive advantage: learning by doing, learning by exporting, learning from competitors, users, and alliance partners. In this paper we focus attention... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Organizations; Learning

November 2014
Teaching Note

American Airlines in 2011

By: Willy Shih

The American Airlines in 2011 case set was developed to provide a setting for the comparative analysis of two very different business models in the U.S. domestic airline industry—the network carrier and the low cost carrier (LCC). These models offer very different... View Details

Keywords: American Airlines; Network Carrier; Low-cost Carrier; LCC; Air Transportation; Business Model; Restructuring; Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Transportation Industry; United States