Publications

June 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Background Note

Processes of Strategy Definition and Implementation, The

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Jeremy Dann

Strategy definition is not a short, discrete process. Rather, outside influences (market, political, technological, etc.) and the company's own resource allocation process continually reshape an organization's strategy. View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Strategic Planning; Situation or Environment; Strategy

Research Summary

corporate strategy, international strategy, strategy process

By: David J. Collis

David Collis' research is primarily concerned with how companies create value across markets, whether those markets are different businesses (corporate strategy), or different countries (international strategy). Additionally, he is interested in how... View Details

2006
Chapter

An Opportunity-Based Strategy Process for Innovation

By: D. Quinn Mills

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Opportunities; Management Practices and Processes

Article

Lean Strategy

By: David Collis

Strategy and entrepreneurship are often seen as polar opposites. Yet the two desperately need each other: strategy without entrepreneurship is central planning; entrepreneurship without strategy leads to chaos. The two approaches can be reconciled through the Lean... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Implementation; Strategy Alignment; Strategy; Entrepreneurship

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2000
Working Paper

The Process of Strategy Development and Implementation

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Tara Donovan

Article

Strategy Making as Iterated Processes of Resource Allocation

By: Joseph L. Bower and Tomo Noda

Keywords: Strategy; Resource Allocation

June 1984 (Revised July 1985)
Background Note

The Marketing Process

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Describes and explains the marketing process and its six phases: implementation, programming, allocating and budgeting, analysis and research, marketing planning, strategy formulation, and monitoring and auditing. View Details

Keywords: Marketing

2017
Working Paper

Machine Learning Methods for Strategy Research

By: Mike Horia Teodorescu

Numerous applications of machine learning have gained acceptance in the field of strategy and management research only during the last few years. Established uses span such diverse problems as strategic foreign investments, strategic resource allocation, systemic risk... View Details

Keywords: Machine Learning; Natural Language Processing; Classification; Decision Trees; Strategic Decisions; Strategy; Research; Information Technology

SSRN

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September 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 3: Using Information for Performance Measurement and Control

By: Robert Simons

This module reading explains how managers use information to control critical business processes and outcomes. The analysis begins by illustrating how managers use information to communicate goals and track performance. Then the focus turns to the choices that managers... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Organization Process; Feedback Model; Innovation; Uses Of Information; Big Data; Benchmarking; Decision Making; Information; Performance Evaluation; Analytics and Data Science

October 1990 (Revised November 1992)
Case

Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (A)

By: Clayton M. Christensen

A small ceramics company started by a group of MIT professors struggles with some basic technology strategy issues. A plan to take "one commercializable step" at a time in order to get a foothold in the market goes awry because of incompatibility between the company's... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Technology; Problems and Challenges; Market Entry and Exit; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Research and Development; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Cambridge

Teaching Interest

General Management: Processes and Action

General Management: Processes and Action (GMPA) focuses on implementation and the way that general managers get things done. Typically, they work through processes—sequences of tasks and activities that unfold over time, like strategic planning,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Communication Strategy; Decision Making; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Management; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Resource Allocation; Business Processes; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Strategic Planning; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Auto Industry; Computer Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Financial Services Industry; Health Industry; Information Industry; Legal Services Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; Retail Industry; Video Game Industry; China; India; United States

2024
Working Paper

Categorical Processing in a Complex World

By: Marco Sammon, Thomas Graeber and Christopher Roth

In real-world news environments, quantitative information is rarely presented in isolation; it is characterized through qualitative comparisons with various reference levels. Company earnings, for example, are commonly compared to analyst forecasts, previous earnings,... View Details

Keywords: Announcements; Cognition and Thinking; Communication Strategy

December 1991 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Eli Lilly and Co.: Manufacturing Process Technology Strategy--1991

By: Gary P. Pisano, Steven C. Wheelwright and Jonathan West

Outlines the evolution of Lilly's corporate manufacturing strategy over the past decade. The corporate vice president of manufacturing must decide on the next phase of Lilly's strategy for the early 1990s, as well as to what extent and what role process development... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Structures; Product Development; Production; Research and Development; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

December 2009 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Woolf Farming and Processing

By: David E. Bell, Laura Winig and Mary Louise Shelman

Woolf Farming Company, a privately owned family farming business in California's Central Valley, found its business threatened by a lack of water, brought on by a combination of drought, poor quality well water and unavailability of surface water due to federally... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Resource Allocation; Quality; Business and Government Relations; Decision Choices and Conditions; Infrastructure; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California

September 2000
Background Note

Professional Services Module Four: Managing the Organization Through Processes

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda and Scot H. Landry

Focuses on how the internal processes connect strategy with implementation. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Business Processes

December 2013
Course Overview Note

Digital Marketing Strategy

By: Thales Teixeira

Digital Marketing Strategy is the process by which firms employ, either partially or exclusively, digital tools, techniques, and tactics to create value for customers. View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Brands And Branding; Marketing

November 2016 (Revised March 2018)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 9: Building a Balanced Scorecard

By: Robert Simons

This module reading explains how to construct a strategy map and build a balanced scorecard. Using an internal value chain model, the module illustrates how a balanced scorecard can support and enable customer management, innovation, operations, and post-sale service... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Performance Measurement; Strategy Map; Business Goals; Customer Measures; Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Business Model

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 14: Managing Strategic Risk

By: Robert Simons

This module reading provides an overview of the business conduct boundaries, strategic boundaries, and internal control systems used to manage risk. Boundary systems—linked to clear, enforceable sanctions—are essential whenever demanding performance goals are set and... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Boundary Systems; Innovation; Internal Controls; Fraud; Human Behavior; Staff Experts; Strategy; Risk Management; Behavior; Governance Controls; Management Practices and Processes; Boundaries; Employees; Business Strategy; Innovation and Invention

November 2004 (Revised March 2007)
Case

10 Uncommon Values®: Optimizing the Stock-Selection Process

By: Paul M. Healy and Boris Groysberg

In 2003, Steve Hash, research director at Lehman Brothers, prepared to initiate the firm's "Ten Uncommon Values" stock-picking process for the year. An investment committee had to pick the 10 best stocks from about 100 stock ideas presented by the firm's analysts. The... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Investment; Financial Strategy; Decision Making; Groups and Teams; Financial Services Industry; United States