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Strategy

Strategy

  • Faculty
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Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students
    • June 2025
    • Article

    Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

    By: Ryan Raffaelli, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati and Jan Rivkin

    [Research Summary]: Framing is critical for leaders who must build support for strategic renewal. While research has concentrated on renewal that replaces one set of capabilities with another, we explore a distinctive challenge: how leaders persuade stakeholders to endorse the reprioritization of resources toward a capability set that must coexist with an existing one. Moreover, while research has focused on how leaders build employee support for renewal, we examine how to persuade those overseeing resource allocation. Our study analyzes Director Robert Mueller's 12-year effort at the FBI—after the 9/11 terrorist attacks—to build up counterterrorism capabilities while maintaining existing law enforcement capabilities. We offer a novel distinction between outcome frames and process frames and discuss how each frame, sequenced properly, is relevant to strategic renewal. [Managerial Summary]: This study examines how leaders can build support for strategic renewal when an organization must develop new capabilities while maintaining existing ones. We analyze how FBI Director Robert Mueller, in the wake of 9/11, used strategic communication—or framing—to persuade members of Congress overseeing the FBI's budget to support the development of new counterterrorism capabilities alongside its traditional law enforcement mandate. We highlight two types of frames: outcome frames (focused on what the organization seeks to achieve) and process frames (emphasizing how the organization operates). Our findings reveal that sequencing these types of frames is essential. By using outcome frames to address immediate concerns and shifting to process frames to resolve longer-term tensions, leaders can build stakeholder support for complex resource reprioritization efforts.

    • June 2025
    • Article

    Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

    By: Ryan Raffaelli, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati and Jan Rivkin

    [Research Summary]: Framing is critical for leaders who must build support for strategic renewal. While research has concentrated on renewal that replaces one set of capabilities with another, we explore a distinctive challenge: how leaders persuade stakeholders to endorse the reprioritization of resources toward a capability set that must coexist...

    • Summer 2025
    • Article

    Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships

    By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo

    A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When firms employ long-term membership, they have incentives to prevent their old customers from being poached by competitors, and to price-discriminate with their membership fee and unit price regarding customer purchase behavior. In contrast, with short-term membership, they do not discriminate between new and old customers with their unit price but only with their membership fees. Overall, the number of consumers poached is smaller with long-term memberships, but the equilibrium profits are higher when firms offer short-term memberships. Moreover, short-term membership is a Nash equilibrium.

    • Summer 2025
    • Article

    Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships

    By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo

    A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When firms employ long-term membership, they have incentives to prevent their old...

    • May 2025
    • Case

    Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA

    By: Juan Alcacer and Noor Al Qadhi

    Boutiqaat, a Kuwait-based e-commerce platform, scaled an influencer-driven beauty retail model across MENA and now faces critical strategic choices about offline expansion and globalization. Founded in 2015, Boutiqaat combined social commerce, localized logistics, and private label products to build a differentiated digital platform. Students must evaluate whether Boutiqaat should establish flagship stores to deepen its omnichannel retail footprint or focus on expanding internationally beyond the Gulf and Jordan. The case explores platform strategy, influencer ecosystems, customer experience differentiation, and internationalization challenges in emerging markets. It is ideal for teaching courses in digital strategy, global entrepreneurship, scaling tech ventures, , and platform-based business models.

    • May 2025
    • Case

    Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA

    By: Juan Alcacer and Noor Al Qadhi

    Boutiqaat, a Kuwait-based e-commerce platform, scaled an influencer-driven beauty retail model across MENA and now faces critical strategic choices about offline expansion and globalization. Founded in 2015, Boutiqaat combined social commerce, localized logistics, and private label products to build a differentiated digital platform. Students must...

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

Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati and Jan Rivkin
  • June 2025 |
  • Article |
  • Strategic Management Journal
[Research Summary]: Framing is critical for leaders who must build support for strategic renewal. While research has concentrated on renewal that replaces one set of capabilities with another, we explore a distinctive challenge: how leaders persuade stakeholders to endorse the reprioritization of resources toward a capability set that must coexist with an existing one. Moreover, while research has focused on how leaders build employee support for renewal, we examine how to persuade those overseeing resource allocation. Our study analyzes Director Robert Mueller's 12-year effort at the FBI—after the 9/11 terrorist attacks—to build up counterterrorism capabilities while maintaining existing law enforcement capabilities. We offer a novel distinction between outcome frames and process frames and discuss how each frame, sequenced properly, is relevant to strategic renewal. [Managerial Summary]: This study examines how leaders can build support for strategic renewal when an organization must develop new capabilities while maintaining existing ones. We analyze how FBI Director Robert Mueller, in the wake of 9/11, used strategic communication—or framing—to persuade members of Congress overseeing the FBI's budget to support the development of new counterterrorism capabilities alongside its traditional law enforcement mandate. We highlight two types of frames: outcome frames (focused on what the organization seeks to achieve) and process frames (emphasizing how the organization operates). Our findings reveal that sequencing these types of frames is essential. By using outcome frames to address immediate concerns and shifting to process frames to resolve longer-term tensions, leaders can build stakeholder support for complex resource reprioritization efforts.
Keywords: Framing; Stakeholder Management; Capabilities; Transformation; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Resource Allocation; Government and Politics; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Public Administration Industry
Citation
Read Now
Related
Raffaelli, Ryan, Tiona Zuzul, Ranjay Gulati, and Jan Rivkin. "Outcome and Process Frames: Strategic Renewal and Capability Reprioritization at the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Strategic Management Journal 46, no. 6 (June 2025): 1325–1362. (Lead article.)

Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships

By: Cristian Chica, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas and Jorge Tamayo
  • Summer 2025 |
  • Article |
  • Journal of Economics & Management Strategy
A competitive two-period membership (subscription) market is analyzed. Two symmetric firms charge a “membership” fee that allows consumers to buy products or services at a given unit price for both periods. Firms can choose between long- or short-term memberships. When firms employ long-term membership, they have incentives to prevent their old customers from being poached by competitors, and to price-discriminate with their membership fee and unit price regarding customer purchase behavior. In contrast, with short-term membership, they do not discriminate between new and old customers with their unit price but only with their membership fees. Overall, the number of consumers poached is smaller with long-term memberships, but the equilibrium profits are higher when firms offer short-term memberships. Moreover, short-term membership is a Nash equilibrium.
Keywords: Competitive Price Discrimination; Membership; Dynamic Competition; Competition; Price; Consumer Behavior; Business Model
Citation
Purchase
Related
Chica, Cristian, Julian Jimenez-Cardenas, and Jorge Tamayo. "Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships." Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 34, no. 2 (Summer 2025): 525–556.

Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA

By: Juan Alcacer and Noor Al Qadhi
  • May 2025 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Boutiqaat, a Kuwait-based e-commerce platform, scaled an influencer-driven beauty retail model across MENA and now faces critical strategic choices about offline expansion and globalization. Founded in 2015, Boutiqaat combined social commerce, localized logistics, and private label products to build a differentiated digital platform. Students must evaluate whether Boutiqaat should establish flagship stores to deepen its omnichannel retail footprint or focus on expanding internationally beyond the Gulf and Jordan. The case explores platform strategy, influencer ecosystems, customer experience differentiation, and internationalization challenges in emerging markets. It is ideal for teaching courses in digital strategy, global entrepreneurship, scaling tech ventures, , and platform-based business models.
Keywords: Emerging Markets; Digital Strategy; Growth and Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia; Middle East; North Africa
Citation
Related
Alcacer, Juan, and Noor Al Qadhi. "Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 725-463, May 2025.

Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA

By: Juan Alcacer and Noor Al Qadhi
  • May 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Boutiqaat, a Kuwait-based e-commerce platform, scaled an influencer-driven beauty retail model across MENA and now faces critical strategic choices about offline expansion and globalization. Founded in 2015, Boutiqaat combined social commerce, localized logistics, and private label products to build a differentiated digital platform. Students must evaluate whether Boutiqaat should establish flagship stores to deepen its omnichannel retail footprint or focus on expanding internationally beyond the Gulf and Jordan. The case explores platform strategy, influencer ecosystems, customer experience differentiation, and internationalization challenges in emerging markets. It is ideal for teaching courses in digital strategy, global entrepreneurship, scaling tech ventures, , and platform-based business models.
Keywords: Emerging Markets; Digital Strategy; Growth and Development; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia; Middle East; North Africa
Citation
Educators
Related
Alcacer, Juan, and Noor Al Qadhi. "Boutiqaat: Influencing Retail in MENA." Harvard Business School Case 725-462, May 2025.

On (B): The Cyclon Spins On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader and Karen Elterman
  • May 2025 |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
A follow-up to the On case (723-430), this short case explores how the performance athletic shoe company On expanded its Cyclon subscription and recycling program through 2024, adding two new shoe models to the subscription and a one-time-purchase recyclable T-shirt.
Keywords: Business Model; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Distribution Channels; Environmental Sustainability; Innovation and Invention; Marketing Strategy; Product Design; Product Development; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; Sports Industry; China; Europe; Germany; Japan; Switzerland; United States
Citation
Purchase
Related
Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, and Karen Elterman. "On (B): The Cyclon Spins On." Harvard Business School Supplement 725-475, May 2025.

From oneworld to a New World? LATAM’s High-Stakes Alliance Dilemma

By: Juan Alcacer and Valentina Tarzijan
  • May 2025 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
As global alliances evolve and regulatory barriers mount, LATAM Airlines must reassess the strategic logic of partnerships. In 2019, Delta Air Lines proposed a $1.9 billion investment and deeper cooperation via a Joint Business Agreement, prompting LATAM to evaluate exiting oneworld and its long-standing collaboration with American Airlines. The case examines the strategic, operational, and regulatory complexities of alliance switching in the airline industry. Students explore trade-offs between governance models (joint ventures vs. alliances), alliance membership vs. independence, and the risks and benefits of minority equity partnerships. The case provides an in-depth setting to apply competitive strategy, partner selection, and global integration frameworks.
Keywords: Latin America; North America
Citation
Related
Alcacer, Juan, and Valentina Tarzijan. "From oneworld to a New World? LATAM’s High-Stakes Alliance Dilemma." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 725-454, May 2025.

From oneworld to a New World? LATAM’s High-Stakes Alliance Dilemma

By: Juan Alcacer and Valentina Tarzijan
  • May 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
As global alliances evolve and regulatory barriers mount, LATAM Airlines must reassess the strategic logic of partnerships. In 2019, Delta Air Lines proposed a $1.9 billion investment and deeper cooperation via a Joint Business Agreement, prompting LATAM to evaluate exiting oneworld and its long-standing collaboration with American Airlines. The case examines the strategic, operational, and regulatory complexities of alliance switching in the airline industry. Students explore trade-offs between governance models (joint ventures vs. alliances), alliance membership vs. independence, and the risks and benefits of minority equity partnerships. The case provides an in-depth setting to apply competitive strategy, partner selection, and global integration frameworks.
Keywords: Aviation; Airlines; Transportation; Latin America; North America
Citation
Educators
Related
Alcacer, Juan, and Valentina Tarzijan. "From oneworld to a New World? LATAM’s High-Stakes Alliance Dilemma." Harvard Business School Case 725-453, May 2025.

BlackRock (A): Selling the Systems?

By: Jan Rivkin
  • May 2025 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 717-484 and 717-404.
Citation
Purchase
Related
Rivkin, Jan. "BlackRock (A): Selling the Systems?" Harvard Business School Teaching Note 725-459, May 2025.
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Harvard Business Publishing

    • February 21, 2025
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Harvard Business School seeks candidates in all fields for full time positions. Candidates with outstanding records in PhD or DBA programs are encouraged to apply.
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Contact Information

Strategy Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
Strategy@hbs.edu

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