Strategy

- September 2025
- Case
The Voice Wars Continues: Alexa vs. Hey Google vs. Siri vs. ChatGPT in 2025

By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah Walker

This case explores the competition between Amazon's Alexa+, Google's Hey Google, Apple's Siri, and OpenAI's voice capabilities. While Amazon was the clear leader in smart speakers, and Google was the leader in deploying voice capabilities on phones, the emergence of generative AI changes the game. Generative AI enables much more capable voice interactions, but at a much higher costs. The questions in the case are: how should Amazon compete with its new Alexa+ service (generative AI)? Should seek to be the leader? How should it price Alexa services, which was historically free? Should it slow-walk the technology rollout until the technology improves?
- September 2025
- Case
The Voice Wars Continues: Alexa vs. Hey Google vs. Siri vs. ChatGPT in 2025

By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah Walker

This case explores the competition between Amazon's Alexa+, Google's Hey Google, Apple's Siri, and OpenAI's voice capabilities. While Amazon was the clear leader in smart speakers, and Google was the leader in deploying voice capabilities on phones, the emergence of generative AI changes the game. Generative AI enables much more capable voice...
- September 2025
- Case
Navigating Hyper Luxury: Chartering the Future of Ferretti Group

By: Juan Alcacer and Lorenzo Lucidi

In April 2025, Alberto Galassi, CEO of Ferretti Group, reflects on the company’s journey from its 2012 bankruptcy to a dual public listing on the Hong Kong and Milan Stock Exchanges and its current position as a global leader in luxury yachting. Ferretti had transformed itself through product innovation, modernized its operations, made strategic acquisitions, and implemented targeted branding. Yet, despite strong financial performance, the company faced strategic choices in a maturing, cyclical, and increasingly competitive industry. With seven distinctive brands, a global manufacturing footprint, and a portfolio of over 50 yacht models, Ferretti had three key strategic options: continue growth via horizontal and vertical M&A; deepen organic growth through innovation and capacity expansion; or expand high-margin ancillary services. Each option presented opportunities and trade-offs for Ferretti’s leadership, who had to consider brand coherence, operational complexity, customer behavior, capital allocation, and economic uncertainty. Set against the backdrop of a dynamic global yacht market shaped by evolving consumer preferences and structural constraints, this case invites students to analyze growth strategies, luxury branding, manufacturing strategy, and the organizational implications of multi-brand portfolio management in a high-end, low-volume industry.
- September 2025
- Case
Navigating Hyper Luxury: Chartering the Future of Ferretti Group

By: Juan Alcacer and Lorenzo Lucidi

In April 2025, Alberto Galassi, CEO of Ferretti Group, reflects on the company’s journey from its 2012 bankruptcy to a dual public listing on the Hong Kong and Milan Stock Exchanges and its current position as a global leader in luxury yachting. Ferretti had transformed itself through product innovation, modernized its operations, made strategic...
- September 2025
- Case
BairesDev: Culture and Growth

By: Raffaella Sadun, Jorge Tamayo and Karina Souza

In February 2025, Nacho de Marco, CEO of BairesDev, the nearshoring tech company founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was planning the company’s next growth phase. After ten years of organic expansion, the COVID-19 pandemic had validated BairesDev’s fully remote model and fueled its rapid scale-up, growing from a 500-person team to a talent pool of 4,000 people across 50 countries. By 2025, the company aimed to double its workforce within five years, but this leap would put its culture to the test. While BairesDev remained committed to attracting the “top 1% talent,” employee engagement metrics were steadily declining. Did the company’s purpose-driven culture need to evolve to support further growth? Moreover, would its remote-only model remain sustainable under a shifting business strategy?
- September 2025
- Case
BairesDev: Culture and Growth

By: Raffaella Sadun, Jorge Tamayo and Karina Souza

In February 2025, Nacho de Marco, CEO of BairesDev, the nearshoring tech company founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was planning the company’s next growth phase. After ten years of organic expansion, the COVID-19 pandemic had validated BairesDev’s fully remote model and fueled its rapid scale-up, growing from a 500-person team to a talent pool of...

About the Unit

The Strategy unit studies firms as competitors in an economic landscape. Key issues include: the development and effectiveness of firm strategy at both a business and corporate level; the analysis of the competitive environment; and the sustainability of strategy over time.

Our research, course development, and teaching draws on multiple disciplines, including economics, sociology, and political science, and focuses on both domestic and global competition. The objective of the work is to generate findings and develop concepts that will help managers improve their strategic decisions while advancing the state of knowledge in the academic study of strategy and related disciplines.

Recent Publications

Keroche (G): A Test of Resilience

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Pippa Tubman Armerding and Maagatha Kalavadakken

September 2025 |
Supplement |
Faculty Research

Supplement to the (A) Case, HBS No. 720-390. This case reviews Keroche Breweries from 2019–2025, a period defined by tax disputes with the Kenya Revenue Authority, a legal case with EABL, the operational effects of COVID-19, new product launches, and its co-founder’s entry into politics. After settling its tax dispute, Keroche initiated a brand relaunch in 2025 to secure its operational future, proceeding with a smaller market share and workforce.

Keywords: Intellectual Property; Business Strategy; Taxation; Health Pandemics; Lawsuits and Litigation; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Business and Government Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Kenya

Citation

Purchase

The Voice Wars Continues: Alexa vs. Hey Google vs. Siri vs. ChatGPT in 2025

By: David B. Yoffie and Sarah Walker

September 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

This case explores the competition between Amazon's Alexa+, Google's Hey Google, Apple's Siri, and OpenAI's voice capabilities. While Amazon was the clear leader in smart speakers, and Google was the leader in deploying voice capabilities on phones, the emergence of generative AI changes the game. Generative AI enables much more capable voice interactions, but at a much higher costs. The questions in the case are: how should Amazon compete with its new Alexa+ service (generative AI)? Should seek to be the leader? How should it price Alexa services, which was historically free? Should it slow-walk the technology rollout until the technology improves?

Keywords: Strategy; Platform; Technology Adoption; Technology Industry

Citation

Educators

Navigating Hyper Luxury: Chartering the Future of Ferretti Group

By: Juan Alcacer and Lorenzo Lucidi

September 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

In April 2025, Alberto Galassi, CEO of Ferretti Group, reflects on the company’s journey from its 2012 bankruptcy to a dual public listing on the Hong Kong and Milan Stock Exchanges and its current position as a global leader in luxury yachting. Ferretti had transformed itself through product innovation, modernized its operations, made strategic acquisitions, and implemented targeted branding. Yet, despite strong financial performance, the company faced strategic choices in a maturing, cyclical, and increasingly competitive industry. With seven distinctive brands, a global manufacturing footprint, and a portfolio of over 50 yacht models, Ferretti had three key strategic options: continue growth via horizontal and vertical M&A; deepen organic growth through innovation and capacity expansion; or expand high-margin ancillary services. Each option presented opportunities and trade-offs for Ferretti’s leadership, who had to consider brand coherence, operational complexity, customer behavior, capital allocation, and economic uncertainty. Set against the backdrop of a dynamic global yacht market shaped by evolving consumer preferences and structural constraints, this case invites students to analyze growth strategies, luxury branding, manufacturing strategy, and the organizational implications of multi-brand portfolio management in a high-end, low-volume industry.

Citation

Educators

Tech Giants on Trial 2025: Antitrust Challenges at Google and Amazon

By: David B. Yoffie and Annika Z. Wei

September 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

This case examines the resurgence of antitrust enforcement in the United States in 2025 through the lens of ongoing litigation against Amazon and Google. With the FTC and DOJ pursuing landmark suits, both companies face questions about their market power, business practices, and the remedies that might reshape digital commerce and advertising. The case details the litigations against Amazon and Google, the status of the proceedings, the rulings to date, and the range of potential remedies. It situates these battles within the broader shift in U.S. competition policy and asks whether, and how, Amazon and Google should respond to mounting legal pressures.

Keywords: Antitrust; Monopolistic Competition; Google; Amazon; Remedies; Department Of Justice; Federal Trade Commission; Technology Adoption; Lawsuits and Litigation; Technology Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

BairesDev: Culture and Growth

By: Raffaella Sadun, Jorge Tamayo and Karina Souza

September 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

In February 2025, Nacho de Marco, CEO of BairesDev, the nearshoring tech company founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was planning the company’s next growth phase. After ten years of organic expansion, the COVID-19 pandemic had validated BairesDev’s fully remote model and fueled its rapid scale-up, growing from a 500-person team to a talent pool of 4,000 people across 50 countries. By 2025, the company aimed to double its workforce within five years, but this leap would put its culture to the test. While BairesDev remained committed to attracting the “top 1% talent,” employee engagement metrics were steadily declining. Did the company’s purpose-driven culture need to evolve to support further growth? Moreover, would its remote-only model remain sustainable under a shifting business strategy?

Citation

Educators

From LLM to Agent? Anthropic’s Next Move, 2025

By: David B. Yoffie, Annika Z. Wei, Mahek Modi, Dhruv Jain and Swapnil Lad

September 2025 |
Case |
Faculty Research

This case examines Anthropic in 2025 as it confronts the industry shift from large language models (LLMs) to autonomous AI agents. Having established itself as a leading LLM developer with its Claude 4 models, Anthropic has a reputation for its safety-first commitment. Dario Amodei, the cofounder and CEO, must decide whether, and how, to expand beyond foundational models into the AI agent industry. The case details Anthropic’s growth, governance model, and product strategy, while situating the company within an intensifying competitive landscape. It highlights the potential paths forward and raises the question of whether Anthropic’s cautious, principle-driven approach will provide a sustainable competitive advantage in the agent era.

Keywords: AI; Generative Ai; Technological Innovation; Strategy; Technology Industry; United States

Citation

Educators

The Founder's Final Act: How to Hand Over Ownership—and Burnish Your Legacy

By: Josh Baron, Ben Francois, Tony Guidotti and Nien-hê Hsieh

September–October 2025 |
Article |
Harvard Business Review

As they approach retirement, company founders face a critical choice: Who will own their business next? That decision will reverberate for years, affecting not only them and their family but all the people whose lives are touched by the company. Though it can cement or undo an entrepreneur’s legacy, many founders postpone or avoid making it. And down the road that can lead to enormous tax consequences, family or employee infighting, and instability that disrupts or destroys the business. This article describes a structured process entrepreneurs can follow to choose the owner who will come after them, drawing on the experiences of the founders of Patagonia, John Lewis, Vanguard, Rolex, and more. The first step is to think about the outcomes they want for themselves, their family, their employees, their business partners, and their community and prioritize them.

Keywords: Management Succession; Ownership; Entrepreneurship; Family Business

You've Got Mail! The Late 19th Century U.S. Postal Service Expansion, Firm Creation, and Firm Performance

By: Astrid Marinoni and Maria P. Roche

September 2025 |
Article |
Management Science

This paper examines the impact of the expansion of the U.S. Postal Service in the late 19th century on firm creation and performance. Utilizing newly digitized archival data on historic business establishments, post office locations, and road networks in California, our study identifies a positive relationship between the expansion of the Postal Service and the emergence of new firms. To address endogeneity concerns, we leverage an unexpected change in the Postal Service route network. Our findings suggest that the Postal Service played a significant role in facilitating firm entry by acting as a carrier of specialized knowledge, rather than as a financial service or mass communication infrastructure. We further reveal that while increased competition from new entrants generally exerted downward pressure on incumbent firms, those relying on specialized knowledge and public technology inputs significantly benefited from local Postal Service access. Taken together, our study underscores the critical role played by the Postal Service in knowledge diffusion and local economic development by enabling the sourcing of specialized knowledge and technologies from other geographies. Overall, our results contribute to a broader understanding of how communication and knowledge dissemination infrastructure can drive entrepreneurship and firm growth, carrying important implications for contemporary discussions on infrastructure development, its potential to stimulate entrepreneurial activity, innovation, and foster local economic communities.