Competitive Advantage
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- 21 May 2019
- Cold Call Podcast
If the Key to Business Success Is Focus, Why Does Amazon Work?
Sunil Gupta explores the infiltration of Amazon into dozens of industries including web services, grocery, and movie production. What’s the big plan? Is the company spread too thin? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 03 Jan 2019
- Research & Ideas
Everyone Knows Innovation is Essential to Business Success—Except Board Directors
In a recent survey of 5,000 board members, innovation was not ranked high on their list of priorities. What are they not seeing? ask Boris Groysberg and Yo-Jud Cheng. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Aug 2018
- Research & Ideas
Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels
Electronics manufacturers are finding it increasingly difficult to stay ahead of low-cost competitors, says Willy Shih. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 25 Jun 2018
- Research & Ideas
In America, Immigrants Really Do Get the Job Done
Far from being a drain on the US economy, William Kerr’s research finds immigrants are a driver of innovation and entrepreneurship. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 15 Sep 2016
- Research & Ideas
Political Dysfunction Makes America Less Competitive
The American economy is “failing the test of competitiveness," according to a new Harvard Business School study written by Michael E. Porter, Jan W. Rivkin, and Mihir A. Desai. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.
- 02 Oct 2013
- What Do You Think?
Is Leadership an Increasingly Difficult Balancing Act?
Summing Up: Do we long for the days of the conventional authority figure? Jim Heskett sums up this month's column. Closed for comment; 19 Comment(s) posted.
- 06 Feb 2012
- Research & Ideas
Kodak: A Parable of American Competitiveness
When American companies shift pieces of their operations overseas, they run the risk of moving the expertise, innovation, and new growth opportunities just out of their reach as well, explains HBS Professor Willy Shih, who served as president of Eastman Kodak's digital imaging business for several years. Key concepts include: Outsourcing ends up chipping away at America's "industrial commons"—the collective R&D, engineering, and manufacturing capabilities that are crucial to new product development. If the United States wants to keep from slipping any further in its ability to compete on the industrial stage, the government must increase its support of scientific research and collaborate with the business and academic world. Open for comment; 32 Comment(s) posted.
- 08 Aug 2011
- Research & Ideas
The Death of the Global Manager
The "global manager" was a coveted job description sought by many leaders for many years, but times have changed—now we are all global managers, says Harvard Business School professor emeritus Christopher A. Bartlett, coauthor of the classic business book Transnational Management. He reexamines the ever-changing nature of running multinational corporations while confirming that, six editions and 20 years later, some challenges remain the same. Key concepts include: Multinational corporations must pursue three core strategies to build layers of competitive advantage: exploit worldwide operations to build global scale efficiency; develop sensitivity and responsiveness to national differences; and leverage the world for information, knowledge, and expertise. The organizational capability of a company to rapidly develop and diffuse innovation is incredibly important but difficult to cultivate. The term "global manager" is a misnomer—we all operate in a global environment. Closed for comment; 18 Comment(s) posted.
- 16 May 2011
- Research & Ideas
What Loyalty? High-End Customers are First to Flee
Companies offering top-drawer customer service might have a nasty surprise awaiting them when a new competitor comes to town. Their best customers might be the first to defect. Research by Harvard Business School's Ryan W. Buell, Dennis Campbell, and Frances X. Frei. Key concepts include: Companies that offer high levels of customer service can't expect too much loyalty if a new competitor offers even better service. High-end businesses must avoid complacency and continue to proactively increase relative service levels when they're faced with even the potential threat of increased service competition. Even though high-end customers can be fickle, a company that sustains a superior service position in its local market can attract and retain customers who are more valuable over time. Firms rated lower in service quality are more or less immune from the high-end challenger. Closed for comment; 24 Comment(s) posted.
- 28 Mar 2011
- Research & Ideas
Why Manufacturing Matters
After decades of outsourcing, America's ability to innovate and create high-tech products essential for future prosperity is on the decline, argue professors Gary Pisano and Willy Shih. Is it too late to get it back? From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Closed for comment; 44 Comment(s) posted.
- 10 Jan 2008
- Sharpening Your Skills
- 31 Aug 2007
- Working Paper Summaries
Innovation through Global Collaboration: A New Source of Competitive Advantage
Collaboration is becoming a new and important source of competitive advantage. No longer is the creation and pursuit of new ideas the bastion of large, central R&D departments within vertically integrated organizations. Instead, innovations are increasingly brought to the market by networks of firms, selected according to their comparative advantages, and operating in a coordinated manner. This paper reports on a study of the strategies and practices used by firms that achieve greater success in terms of business value in their collaborative innovation efforts. Key concepts include: Consider the strategic role of collaboration, organize effectively for collaboration, and make long-term investments to develop collaborative capabilities. Successful firms found that attention to these 3 critical areas generated new options to create value that competitors could not replicate. Successful firms went beyond simple wage arbitrage, asking global partners to contribute knowledge and skills to projects, with a focus on improving their top line. They redesigned their organizations to increase the effectiveness of these efforts. Managing collaboration the same way a firm handles the outsourcing of production is a flawed approach. Production and innovation are fundamentally different activities and have different objectives. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 19 Jul 2004
- Research & Ideas
Your Customers: Use Them or Lose Them
Companies can differentiate on service profitably, says HBS professor Frances X. Frei. Here's how a new-thinking bank, insurance provider, and software company are using customer power to win. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
- 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 Comment(s) posted.
- 16 Apr 2001
- Research & Ideas
Strategy and the Internet
Don't throw the strategy baby out with the Internet bath water. In this Harvard Business Review article, HBS professor Michael E. Porter urges business planners not to lose focus on strategic development and competitive advantage, but to recognize the Internet for what it is: "an enabling technology." Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.
The Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities
This paper explains the role dynamic capabilities play in competitive advantage, identifies the conditions that make them valuable by establishing their relationship to resources and market positioning, and describes two types and various levels of the phenomenon. Developing such capabilities is desirable, but there are limitations to their effectiveness.