Publications

16 Aug 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers

Steenburgh of HBS and Jill Avery (HBS DBA'07) of Simmons School of Management. We asked Steenburgh to explain how practitioners can use the toolkits in their businesses. Sarah Jane Gilbert: Can you describe the marketing analysis... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

August 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 2: Building a Successful Strategy

By: Robert Simons

This module reading describes the basics of building a successful strategy. Topics in this module include a discussion of the distinction between corporate and business strategy; how to conduct a SWOT analysis of market dynamics and internal capabilities; the use of... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Business Strategy; Five Forces; Distinctive Capabilities; Emergent Strategy; Mission Statements; Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Competitive Advantage

November 2000 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Ventro: Builder of B2B Businesses

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Meredith Collura

Enables a thorough analysis of Ventro (formerly known as Chemdex), which builds and operates multiple B2B marketplace companies. Examines Ventro's business model and strategy as well as the company's operating, technical, and management expertise. Part of the... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Management; Business or Company Management; SWOT Analysis; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry

04 Sep 2013
What Do You Think?

How Relevant is Long-Range Strategic Planning?

planning concepts such as SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis, the "five forces," growth share matrices, five-year plans, and an emphasis on core competencies of the firm may lead to competitive... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

July 1984 (Revised September 1986)
Case

CML Group, Inc.: Going Public (A)

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a series of decisions confronting Charles Leighton, co-founder and chairman of the CML Group. CML is a successful participant in the leisure time industry with two lines of business: specialty retailing and recreational consumer products. The key issues in... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Going Public; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Cost vs Benefits; SWOT Analysis; Investment Banking; Financing and Loans; Planning; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry

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09 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 9

run as a public utility. The Panamanian government, in contrast, has run the Canal as a for-profit corporation, increasing safety and decreasing costs along the way. Maurer and Yu's nuanced analysis of the contribution of the United... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2007
Case

Kristen's Cookie Company (A) (Abridged)

By: Roger E. Bohn and Janice H. Hammond

The student is starting his or her own business, baking make-to-order cookies. Basic times of each operation are laid out and the student is asked to determine the consequences for the operating system. Serves as an exercise and review of concepts such as capacity,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; SWOT Analysis; Operations; Outcome or Result; Performance Capacity

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How Business Strategy Tamed the “Invisible Hand”

devised, which paved the way for the use of quantitative analysis in formal strategic planning. In 1944, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern published their classic work, The Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. This work essentially... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

05 May 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Denial Endemic to Management?

the T (threats) and W (weaknesses) in SWOT analyses (Thomas Stephens, Jr.). Looking over the suggestions, I'm struck by the fact that they include behavioral, structural, and even mechanical remedies. They raise questions about how... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

16 Apr 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

Chris Christensen: Legend of the Classroom

and an inspiration for the next generation of strategy scholars. Its direct impact on practice could be seen subsequently in the work of The Boston Consulting Group and other firms that employed what became known as the SWOT View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg; Education

August 2008
Teaching Note

Opportunity Assessment (TN)

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Shirley Spence

Teaching Note for [808043], [808105], and [808106]. View Details

Keywords: SWOT Analysis

February 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Background Note

Changing Physician Behavior

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer

A review of strategies to change physician behavior including feedback, profiling, consensus-based guidelines, care paths, and computer systems. Discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each observation. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; SWOT Analysis; Behavior; Strategy; Health Industry

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August 1999 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Catanese and Vulcan (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Sanjay Pothen

A small CPA firm puts in a new performance measurement system, and profits increase by 350% in less than a year. This case illustrates the reasons for improved profitability as well as the sustainability of levels of growth, the opportunities, and the threats that... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Performance Evaluation; SWOT Analysis; Profit

August 2001
Case

Aurora Health Care: Finding "a Better Way"

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Kevin M. Dwyer

The largest hospital system in Wisconsin is trying to respond to new threats from nontraditional care providers. This case presents the hospital's dilemma as it tries to create change from within. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry

November 1991 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Oak Industries Inc.

By: William A. Sahlman and Burton C. Hurlock

Describes Bill Antle's proposed restructuring plans for Oak Industries, a company composed of nine divisions which seem to be experiencing operating difficulties. During the last ten years the company has been involved in a number of acquisitions and divestitures, as... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business or Company Management; Operations; SWOT Analysis; Organizational Structure; Restructuring; Financial Management; Acquisition; Financial Markets

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September 1992
Case

Star Cablevision Group (A): Harvesting in a Bull Market

By: William A. Sahlman

First case in a series of six cases that follow the experience of a cable television company as it adjusts to the rapid rise and precipitous decline of the stock market in the late 1980s. In this case Don Jones, the company's founder and owner, sees the rise in public... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Finance; Financial Markets; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Wealth; Business Cycles; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

June 1987 (Revised August 1988)
Case

American Bank

By: Robert S. Kaplan

American Bank is developing a new system to compute product costs. The deregulated, more competitive environment for commercial banks has created both problems and opportunities for banking operations. In order to price existing products and assess the desirability of... View Details

Keywords: System; Consolidation; Commercial Banking; SWOT Analysis; Fair Value Accounting; Cost Management; Price; Banking Industry; North and Central America; United States

June 2011 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Patagonia Sur: For-Profit Land Conservation in Chile

By: Arthur I Segel, Nicolas Ibanez and Jay Verjee

Warren Adams founded Patagonia Sur in 2007 as one of the world's first for-profit land conservation businesses. His goal was to purchase over 100,000 acres of land in southern Chile and to run a variety of sustainable businesses to generate annual returns for... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Environmental Sustainability; Profit; Investment; For-Profit Firms; Entrepreneurship; Investment Return; Revenue; Risk and Uncertainty; Capital; SWOT Analysis; Real Estate Industry; Chile