Strategy
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- 07 Jul 2022
- HBS Case
How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)
A Brooklyn-based ice cream shop was getting buzz, and Disney was pitching a brand partnership. So how did the business wind up filing for bankruptcy? A case study by Thomas Eisenmann and Lindsay N. Hyde examines the rise and fall—and recent rebound—of Ample Hills Creamery.
- 30 Jun 2022
- HBS Case
Peloton Changed the Exercise Game. Can the Company Push Through the Pain?
When COVID-19 closed gyms, seemingly everyone rushed to order a Peloton bike and claim a spot on the company's signature leader board. And then things quickly went downhill. A case study by Robert Dolan looks at the tough road the exercise equipment maker faces.
- 21 Jun 2022
- HBS Case
Free Isn’t Always Better: How Slack Holds Its Own Against Microsoft Teams
What will it take to win the collaboration app wars: massive scale or a loyal following? A case study by David Yoffie digs into the intense competition between Microsoft Teams and Salesforce's Slack.
- 28 Apr 2022
- Research & Ideas
Can You Buy Creativity in the Gig Economy?
It's possible, but creators need more of a stake. A study by Feng Zhu of 10,000 novels in the Chinese e-book market reveals how tying pay to performance can lead to new ideas.
- 18 Apr 2022
- HBS Case
Dick’s Sporting Goods Followed Its Conscience on Guns—and It Paid Off
After the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Dick's Sporting Goods' CEO declared: "I don't want to be part of the story anymore." Two new case studies by George Riedel go inside the retailer's decision to remove certain firearms from stores and restrict gun sales. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 29 Mar 2022
- Book
5 Qualities That Help Companies Thrive for Decades—Even Centuries
What makes a business resilient, agile, and enduring? Geoffrey Jones and Tarun Khanna analyze some of India's most successful companies and offer lessons for leaders everywhere in their book Leadership to Last. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 19 Oct 2021
- Cold Call Podcast
Should Global Beer Company Molson Coors Dive into the Cannabis Beverages Business?
In March 2019, Molson Coors CEO Mark Hunter considered a request to pull forward $65 million to build a facility in Canada to produce cannabis beverages. This request was not part of the original plan to test the waters with a few products in a small geography to see if there was a viable market opportunity, given that there was no legal market yet. It's this change in direction that gives Hunter pause. Should he approve the request, or push the team back to the original, more conservative plan? Senior Lecturer Derek van Bever and Steve Kaufman discuss balancing exploitation versus exploration inside this global brewing company in the case, "Beyond Beer: Brewing Innovation at Molson Coors." Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Jul 2021
- Op-Ed
For Entrepreneurs, the Benefits of Slowing Down
After several heady months for startups, Jeffrey Bussgang offers radical advice for founders this summer: just chill. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Apr 2021
- Book
A Simple Question That Can Guide Companies to Epic Success
Will that big idea create value? In Better, Simpler Strategy, Felix Oberholzer-Gee shows how even the most innovative companies adhere to one basic principle. He delves further into his framework in a new video. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Apr 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Deregulation, Market Power, and Prices: Evidence from the Electricity Sector
Efforts to deregulate the US electricity sector beginning in the 1990s included market-based prices and restructuring measures to introduce competition. This paper argues that electricity prices increased after deregulation because of the presence of market power.
- 20 Sep 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Updating the Balanced Scorecard for Triple Bottom Line Strategies
Society increasingly expects businesses to help solve problems of environmental degradation, inequality, and poverty. This paper explains how the Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Map should be modified to reflect businesses’ expanded role for society.
- 07 Sep 2020
- Research & Ideas
How to Help Small Businesses Survive COVID's Next Phase
For small businesses that have survived the coronavirus so far, what's next? Karen Mills outlines steps that business owners and government should take immediately. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Sep 2020
- Op-Ed
Why American Health Care Needs Its Own SEC
The United States needs a health care equivalent of the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase transparency and competition, argues Regina Herzlinger. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Aug 2020
- Book
From the Plow to the Pill: How Technology Shapes Our Lives
Many technologies have upended long-held beliefs about love, sex, marriage, and reproduction, says Debora Spar in a new book, Work Mate Marry Love: How Machines Shape Our Human Destiny. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Iterative Coordination and Innovation
Do Agile methodologies promote innovation? Results of a field experiment with Google show that increasing the frequency and goal orientation of stand-up meetings reinforces integration and value but reduces specialization and novelty in outcomes.
- 01 Jun 2020
- What Do You Think?
Will Challenged Amazon Tweak Its Retail Model Post-Pandemic?
James Heskett's readers have little sympathy for Amazon's loss of market share during the pandemic. Has the organization lost its ability to learn? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 21 Apr 2020
- Research & Ideas
7 Successful Battle Strategies to Beat COVID-19
The Agile methodology used to speed complex software development is also helpful for managing decision-making in today's crisis environment, says Euvin Naidoo. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 06 Apr 2020
- Research & Ideas
Where Do Workers Go When the Robots Arrive?
Marco Tabellini and colleagues investigate where workers go after losing their jobs to automation and Chinese imports. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Mar 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Free Riding in Loan Approvals: Evidence From SME Lending in Peru
Using data from a large Peruvian bank trying to expand credit access to small and medium enterprises, this study shows that competing lenders use one another’s loan approvals as an input into their own approval process. Such “free riding” has great impact on market outcomes and might warrant policy intervention.
Cold Call: Corporate Governance and Growth Strategy at Capital SAFI
Jorge Quintanilla Nielsen started the independent asset management firm Capital SAFI in 2007. Now a leader in Bolivia’s closed-end funds industry with a total of $430 million in assets under management, Quintanilla planned to expand into other countries, like Peru and Colombia. He knew that governance would be one of the main aspects potential partners would evaluate. Capital SAFI’s board had evolved over time with the establishment of a governance committee, an assessment process for the board, professional development offerings for board members, tools to manage governance risk, and succession plans for board members and company executives. Would local and foreign investors be impressed by those measures or were additional improvements needed? Professor V. G. Narayanan discusses the importance of corporate governance in his case, “Building the Governance to Take Capital SAFI to the Next Level.”