- 22 Aug 2006
- First Look
- 08 Aug 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Managing Governments: Unilever in India and Turkey, 1950–1980
first-mover advantage. Unilever took a long-term investment horizon, believing that sooner or later as incomes rose people would want to consume its products. A decentralized management structure gave Unilever flexibility in adjusting to the different environments of developing countries. Localization of management provided a key competitive advantage. Unilever's policy of staying outside party politics meant that it had few enemies. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 28 Jul 2006
- Research & Ideas
Meeting China’s Need for Management Education
doing business in China. Chinese agencies and companies recognize the importance of becoming global players, and they're taking steps to increase China's competitiveness on the international stage. China lacks a tradition of strong business management education but recognizes the need to nurture managerial talent for the future. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Jul 2006
- Research & Ideas
Competition the Cure for Healthcare
Michael Porter is considered by many the world's foremost authority on competition and strategy. He discusses the need for fundamental reform in the way the United States delivers healthcare. Q&A. Key concepts include: American healthcare is broken structurally, rewarding the wrong actions and punishing the patient. Competition correctly placed in healthcare can reduce cost, improve physician performance, and create better results for patients. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Jul 2006
- First Look
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Wintel: Cooperation or Conflict
tend to compete on issues of price. For example, if one sells high (Intel's microprocessors) then another must sell low (Microsoft's software) in order for a product (a PC) to be able to sell at a profit. Complementors should weigh the costs and benefits of encouraging competition in each others' spaces. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Measuring Consumer and Competitive Impact with Elasticity Decompositions
Steenburgh explains why these seemingly contradictory results actually are complementary and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the investment's impact. Key concepts include: Combine the consumer and the competitive points of view for a more complete understanding of the marketing investment's impact. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
What’s Law Got to Do with It: A Systems Approach to Management
Mainstream management theory often ignores the influence of law on the competitive environment and on the resources of the firm. The author attempts to spark greater academic interest in the legal aspects of management by proposing a systems approach to law and management "that explains how law Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jul 2006
- Working Paper Summaries
Why IT Matters in Midsized Firms
What does IT actually contribute to a business? Is IT a commodity like electricity or is it a crucial element of competitive advantage? In a study of over 600 medium-sized global firms to analyze the business benefits that IT can enable, the authors found that IT capability was key to profitable Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 05 Jun 2006
- Research & Ideas
Using Competition to Reform Healthcare
In their new book, HBS Professor Michael Porter and Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg argue that the very structure of U.S. healthcare must be redesigned to create value and effective competition throughout the system. An excerpt from Redefining Health Care: Creating Value-Based Competition on Results. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Apr 2006
- Research & Ideas
The Competitive Advantage of Global Finance
Relatively few multinational companies truly understand or take advantage of international finance. Professor Mihir A. Desai tackles the subject in a new book, International Finance: A Casebook. Here’s a Q&A. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Aug 2005
- What Do You Think?
Is There an “Efficient Market” in CEO Compensation?
There appears to be little or no relationship between the size of American CEO compensation awards and actual corporate performance. Will change come from the increased level of competition among global companies with significantly different approaches to the compensation of senior managers? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Jun 2005
- Research & Ideas
Microsoft vs. Open Source: Who Will Win?
Using formal economic modelling, professors Pankaj Ghemawat and Ramon Casadesus-Masanell consider the competitive dynamics of the software wars between Microsoft and open source. Read our interview. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Jun 2004
- What Do You Think?
How Important are Big Ideas?
A couple new books, including most controversially Does IT Matter? focus on sources of competitive advantage. Are management concepts on their own the best way to compete? And, does it matter that new concepts—and their guru practitioners—seem to come from the U.S.? Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Jun 2004
- Research & Ideas
The Competition of Countries
To be successful in a global world, countries need to build on comparative advantages, says HBS professor Richard H. K. Vietor. But exploiting natural resources isn't the only answer. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 12 Apr 2004
- Research & Ideas
Operations and the Competitive Edge
Many managers expect operations organizations to fulfill only a support role. But an effective operations strategy can give you a competitive advantage. An interview with professor Robert Hayes. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Aug 2003
- Research & Ideas
Why IT Does Matter
HBS professors F. Warren McFarlan and Richard L. Nolan respond to the much-discussed assertion by Nicholas Carr that company investments in IT are less and less likely to produce competitive advantage. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 26 May 2003
- Research & Ideas
What Your Competition is Telling You
Your competitors, closely analyzed, can help you influence your own customers and help grow the market for your products and services. Here’s how. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 May 2003
- Research & Ideas
Expensing Options Won’t Hurt High Tech
Will expensing stock options harm the competitiveness of start-ups? Not likely, say Zvi Bodie, Robert S. Kaplan, and Robert C. Merton in this Harvard Business Review excerpt. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
Rising CEO Pay: What Directors Should Do
Compensation committees are under pressure to keep CEO pay high, even as shareholders and the media agitate for moderation. The solution? Boards of directors need better competitive information and an ear to what shareholders are saying, says Jay Lorsch. Key concepts include: CEO compensation in Closed for comment; 0 Comments.