Publications

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January 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Colbún and Chile's Energy Transition

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

In May 2023, Colbún, Chile’s second-largest electricity generator, plans capacity expansions using renewable energy and storage. This strategy supports Chile’s commitment to carbon neutrality (also known as net zero emissions) by 2050. The case delves into the... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Climate Change; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Infrastructure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Business Strategy; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Latin America; South America; Chile

April 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

AI Wars

By: Andy Wu, Matt Higgins, Miaomiao Zhang and Hang Jiang

In February 2024, the world was looking to Google to see what the search giant and long-time putative technical leader in artificial intelligence (AI) would do to compete in the massively hyped technology of generative AI. Over a year ago, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a... View Details

Keywords: AI; Artificial Intelligence; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Competitive Strategy; Technological Innovation

November 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Colbún and the Future of Chile's Power

By: Forest Reinhardt and Shon R. Hiatt

This case is about Colbún, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices,... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Chile; Environmental Protection; Energy Generation; Energy Industry; South America; Chile

May 2010 (Revised June 2012)
Case

From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group

By: Willy Shih and Nancy Hua Dai

As Zuo Zongshen drove the transformation of the Zongshen Industrial Group from an early imitator in the motorcycle business to a company that increasingly focused on innovation as a way to get out of the hyper-competitive commodity business, he continually faced new... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Learning; Investment; Disruptive Innovation; Knowledge Acquisition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Motorcycle Industry; China

November – December 1998
Article

Clusters and the New Economics of Competition

By: Michael E. Porter

This article explains how clusters foster high levels of productivity and innovation and lays out the implications for competitive strategy and economic policy. Economic geography in an era of global competition poses a paradox. In theory, location should no longer be... View Details

Keywords: Economics; United States

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January 1997 (Revised June 1997)
Case

Southwire: Beyond 2000

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Melissa Dailey

Southwire, based in Carrollton, GA, was the leading producer of aluminum and copper rod, wire, and cable for the transmission and distribution of electricity. In one decade, CEO Roy Richards, Jr. grew annual sales from $500 million in 1985 to $1.9 billion in 1995, an... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Growth Management; Competitive Strategy; Global Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

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March 1981 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Corning Glass Works International (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Michael Y. Yoshino

Follows the impact of a change in global strategy on a diversified company's global organization structure. Traces two failed attempts at bringing a business perspective to a geographic organization, and poses the problem of what the international division president... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Framework; Global Strategy; Organizational Structure; Perspective; Power and Influence