STRATEGY

2017
Articles | Books & Chapters | Cases | Core Curriculum
Simulations | Teaching Guides | Video
Harvard Business Publishing serves the finest learning institutions worldwide with
a comprehensive catalog of case studies, journal articles, books, and ELearning
programs, including online courses and simulations. In addition to material from
Harvard Business School and Harvard Business Review, we also offer course
material from these renowned institutions and publications:

ƒƒ ABCC at Nanyang Tech University ƒƒ INSEAD

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ƒƒ Berrett-Koehler Publishers ƒƒ Journal of Information Technology
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ƒƒ Business Expert Press ƒƒ McGraw-Hill
ƒƒ Business Horizons ƒƒ MIT Sloan Management Review
ƒƒ California Management Review ƒƒ North American Case Research Association
ƒƒ CLADEA-BALAS (NACRA)
ƒƒ Columbia Business School ƒƒ Perseus Books
ƒƒ Crimson Group USA ƒƒ Princeton University Press
ƒƒ Darden School of Business ƒƒ Program on Negotiation (PON)
at Harvard Law School
ƒƒ Design Management Institute
ƒƒ Public Education Leadership Project
ƒƒ European School of Management and
Technology (ESMT) ƒƒ Rotman Management Magazine
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ƒƒ IMD (International Institute for Management ƒƒ University of Hong Kong
Development) ƒƒ WDI Publishing at the University of Michigan
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ƒƒ Indian School of Business

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 UPDATED! CORE CURRICULUM
Core Curriculum Readings in Strategy cover the fundamental concepts, theories, and
frameworks that students must study. Authored primarily by faculty at Harvard Business
School, Readings are approximately 20 to 30 pages each, and many include video clips
and Interactive Illustrations. Updates to Core Curriculum include:
ƒƒTest Banks ƒƒOnline Note-Taking
ƒƒTest Builder ƒƒOffline Access
ƒƒMobile Access

The 10 Strategy Readings below are listed in one potential teaching sequence.

Introduction to Strategy INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell ƒƒ L
 ink between Economic Profit of U.S. Industry Groups
#8097 and Porter’s Forces Framework
ƒƒ Porter’s Forces Framework
ƒƒ Positioning within a Three-Dimensional Business Landscape
ƒƒ Southwest Airlines’ Business Model
ƒƒ Types of Competitive Advantage within a Specific Segment

VIDEO
ƒƒ The Six Forces

Industry Analysis INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell ƒƒ Porter’s Forces Framework
#8101 ƒƒ L
 ink between Economic Profit of U.S. Industry Groups
and Porter’s Forces Framework

Competitive Advantage INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS

Pankaj Ghemawat, Jan W. Rivkin ƒƒ Added-Value Concept
#8105 ƒƒ Cost Component Analysis
ƒƒ Division of Value
ƒƒ Irizar’s Value Chain
ƒƒ Relative Cost Analysis
ƒƒ Types of Competitive Advantage within a Specific Segment

“This article is part of a new kind of superior and modern teaching material capable of
engaging students who dedicate little time to its reading as well as students who want
to go really deep.”
— Review on Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site*

 ustaining Competitive Advantage

S INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS
Felix Oberholzer-Gee ƒƒ Platform Network Effects
#8109 ƒƒ Riding the Learning Curve

Competitive and Cooperative INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS

Dynamics ƒƒ Business Models for Boats
Ramon Casadesus-Masanell ƒƒ Reaction Curves in Pricing Strategy
#8131 VIDEOS
ƒƒ An Example of Commitment in the Game Show Golden Balls
ƒƒ Game Theory in the Television Show Numb3rs
ƒƒ M
 utually Assured Destruction in the Film Dr. Strangelove
or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

ÆÆContinues on next page

TN Teaching Note Available *Reviews available to Premium Educators H B S P. H A R VA R D . E D U 1

 Setting Aspirations—Mission, VIDEOS
Vision, and Values ƒƒ Aspirations and Economic Interests
Ramon Casadesus-Masanell ƒƒ Medtronic’s Enduring Mission
#8114 ƒƒ PepsiCo: Performance with Purpose
ƒƒ A Shared Sense of Mission, Part 1
ƒƒ A Shared Sense of Mission, Part 2
ƒƒ Visions Guide Strategy
ƒƒ Walking the Talk

Corporate Strategy FORTHCOMING

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell
#8118

Competing Globally
Juan Alcacer
#8123

Technology Strategy INTERACTIVE ILLUSTRATION

Pai-Ling Yin ƒƒ The Chasm in the Technology Adoption Life Cycle
#8127
VIDEO
ƒƒ Disruptive Innovation

Executing Strategy VIDEOS

J. Bruce Harreld ƒƒ The Balanced Scorecard
#8136 ƒƒ Defending the Core
ƒƒ The Importance of Culture
ƒƒ Transformational Change

ÆÆFind more Core Curriculum Readings at hbsp.harvard.edu/corecurriculumstrategy

CASES
Cases, slices of business life, focus on actual problems and decisions facing a company.
Students are challenged to put themselves in the protagonist’s place and suggest
business strategies, tactics, and solutions.

New Cases
Alphabet Eyes New Frontiers
In 2015, Google restructured into Alphabet, a holding company, to facilitate innovation
among its diverse subsidiaries. But when news reports revealed struggles within Alphabet
companies including the smart thermostat maker Nest, observers wondered whether the
reorganization made sense. Harvard Business School #717418

Amazon.com, Inc.
Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos built Amazon.com into the largest online retailer and
comparison-shopping site in the world, diversifying along the way into cloud computing,
content delivery, and original content creation. As the company engages in a competitive
battle for control of the emerging digital ecosystem, Bezos considers Amazon’s strategy.
TN McGraw-Hill Education #MH0031

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Aura: Designing Strategy and Status in Saudi Arabia
Noura Abdullah launched her Saudi furniture company, Aura, to be a midmarket player.
But after positive press from high-end media outlets, she finds that conversion rates are
up and foot traffic is down. PowerPoint supplement available.
TN Kellogg School of Management #KEL924

Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear! (Abridged)

This case examines IBM Research’s efforts to build the “Watson” supercomputer, which
bested its human challengers in the television game show Jeopardy!
Harvard Business School #616025

Case Flash Forward: Zara: Fast Fashion (2006)

This Case Flash Forward provides an update on Inditex and Zara since they were covered
in the related case study Zara: Fast Fashion. The update covers significant developments,
current executives, key readings, and basic financials. Harvard Business School #8553

chotuKool: “Little Cool,” Big Opportunity

Developed for the approximately 80% of Indians without access to refrigeration,
the chotuKool was an innovative, low-cost refrigerator. The case traces chotuKool’s
development and evolution from an initial product concept to a promising new line of
business that emerged from a process of learning and discovery through market feedback.
Harvard Business School #616020

Competing with a Goliath (HBR Case Study)

Tela, a Peruvian company that uses local, sustainable materials to make fashionable
ponchos, is competing with a large U.S. firm with a global brand. The Tela team must decide
how to best position itself against the U.S. company. This 4-page case covers competitive
strategy, brand management, and social enterprise. Harvard Business Review #R1610X

Etsy: A “B Corp” Start-Up Takes on Amazon

Etsy faces new competition and pressure to allow sales by large-scale manufacturers.
Could the company successfully confront these challenges while maintaining its socially
responsible, “B corporation” ethos? TN Ivey Publishing #W16251

Facebook, Inc.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg hopes to both continue growth in mobile ads and become
dominant in the digital ad space. To do so, Facebook would have to surpass Google in both
display and search ads, despite having limited expertise in display ads.
TN McGraw-Hill Education #MH0030

How IKEA’s Strategy Was Formed

This case describes how IKEA’s distinctive strategy was formed over 30 years. The various
elements of its strategy were created gradually, with the help of many people in addition
to founder Ingvar Kamprad. These elements were ultimately integrated in an
IKEA organizational culture that came much later. TN INSEAD IN1283

The Inexorable Rise of Walmart? 1988-2016

In 2015, Walmart posted the first decline in its history, and 2016 sales were expected to be
flat. Elsewhere, Amazon now had a higher market capitalization, and Alibaba eclipsed the
company in global sales. Was this the end of the 50-plus-year rise of Walmart?
Harvard Business School #716426

TN Teaching Note Available H B S P. H A R VA R D . E D U 3

The Marvel Way: Restoring a Blue Ocean
In 1998, Marvel was bankrupt and struggling to make payroll. A decade later, the business
was acquired by Disney for $4.2 billion while producing the most valuable movie franchise of
all time. This case shows how Marvel pivoted from a red to a blue ocean. TN INSEAD #IN1182

McDonald’s Corporation
By trying to be all things to all people, McDonald’s finds itself in a classic “stuck in the
middle” strategic dilemma. New CEO Steve Easterbrook must find a way to be a strategic
leader willing to make tough decisions yet transform the burger giant into a modern,
progressive company. TN McGraw-Hill Education #MH0037

PayPal in 2015: Reshaping the Financial Services Landscape

The new CEO of PayPal, a digital payments platform, faces several trials, including how to
innovate quickly in a large organization, whether and how to re-create PayPal’s vision, and
how to both partner and compete successfully with new entrants in the market.
TN Stanford University #E572

Recycling at Keurig Green Mountain: A Brewing Problem

Keurig Green Mountain Coffee faces criticism over the billions of plastic, single-serve
“K-Cups” that end up unrecycled in landfills. Its chief sustainability officer must address the
environmental impact and public scrutiny of the company’s signature product.
TN WDI Publishing at the University of Michigan #W04C82

Reinventing Best Buy

In 2016, CEO Hubert Joly was in the 4th year of his “Renew Blue” strategy. It included
committing the company to a multichannel strategy in North America and exiting struggling
international operations. Operating margins had increased as a result, but growth was still
elusive. Harvard Business School #716455

“Great case to depict transition faced by large retailer with lots of locations & growing
online sales demands.”
— Review from the Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site*

Reinventing E-Commerce: Amazon’s Bet on Unmanned Vehicle Delivery

In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced a plan to begin using unmanned drones to
deliver packages to customers within 30 minutes of their order. Yet questions remained.
Could customers embrace this type of delivery service? Would regulators allow it? If
Amazon proceeded, how should it launch the service, and to whom?
TN Kellogg School of Management #KEL911

UFO Moviez—Gentle Disruption

UFO Moviez’s satellite-based technology enables the low-cost, digital delivery of films
to Indian cinemas. In 2015, however, Indian cinemas are mostly digitized, and UFO faces
challenges to growth. Should the company focus on increasing advertising revenue, leverage
its core technology in other areas, or enter the business of film distribution?
TN Harvard Business School #716447

Unilever’s Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan

Unilever’s new global brand VP must revitalize Lifebuoy soap’s sagging market performance
while simultaneously improving the health of 1 billion people worldwide. In this case,
author Christopher A. Bartlett explores the power and limitations of integrating corporate
responsibility with global strategy. TN Harvard Business School #914417

4 S T R AT E G Y • 2 0 1 7 *Reviews available to Premium Educators

Unilever’s New Global Strategy: Competing Through Sustainability
New CEO Paul Polman reinvigorates Unilever by introducing a radically different agenda
that places 3 sustainability goals at the heart of the company’s global strategy. From author
Christopher A. Bartlett. TN Harvard Business School #916414

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

World Wildlife Fund works with governments, businesses, NGOs, and communities in 100
countries to set up conservation programs to preserve natural habitats. This case explores
WWF’s mission, organization, and strategy. Harvard Business School #716468

Popular Cases
Aldi: The Dark Horse Discounter
In 2013, German-based Aldi, the world’s 8th largest retailer, planned to accelerate its U.S.
expansion. Despite its presence with 1,200 stores in 32 states, Aldi was still relatively
unknown in the U.S. Could it compete with Walmart in Walmart’s home market?
TN Harvard Business School #714474

Apple Inc. in 2015

In 2014, Apple Inc. recorded the most profitable quarter of any firm in history, and its market
capitalization soon exceeded $700 billion. This case explores Apple’s successes and the
challenges facing the company in 2015. Students learn about industry analysis, competitive
positioning, and sustaining competitive advantage. TN Harvard Business School #715456

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010

Current challenges for Coke and Pepsi include boosting flagging domestic sales and finding
new revenue streams. Both firms modify their bottling, pricing, and brand strategies. Both
also look to emerging international markets to fuel growth as they broaden brand portfolios
to include noncarbonated beverages such as tea, juice, sports drinks, and bottled water.
TN Harvard Business School #711462

“An excellent case for teaching the VRIO model for achieving competitive advantage.
Provides excellent example of competition within an oligopoly. Recent developments
with PepsiCo make this case particularly relevant.”
— Case review from Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site*

LEGO (A): The Crisis

As this case opens, iconic toymaker LEGO stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Jorgen Vig
Knudstorp, LEGO’s new CEO, must size up changes in the toy industry, learn from the
company’s recent moves, and craft a strategy that will put LEGO back on track.
TN Harvard Business School #713478

Netflix
Netflix is an example of a challenger that disrupted a strong incumbent through a superior
business model. This case can be used to discuss disruptive versus sustaining innovations,
jobs-based segmentation, and managing the strategy development process.
TN Harvard Business School #607138

Patagonia
Already recognized as a worldwide leader in environmentally responsible business, the
outdoor apparel firm Patagonia was considering a radical initiative that would include telling
customers to “buy less and think twice before they purchased a garment.”
TN Harvard Business School #711020

TN Teaching Note Available H B S P. H A R VA R D . E D U 5

The Rise and Fall of Nokia
Once the world leader in wireless handsets, Nokia had ceded that position to Samsung by
2012. This case traces Nokia’s strategies in Europe, the U.S., and emerging markets over
several decades. Harvard Business School #714428

Tesla Motors
In 2013, Tesla Motors was riding a wave of success. It had launched its first truly mass-
produced car to rave reviews; raised first-year production targets; and started taking
orders for its next car, the Model X. Tesla seemed set to become the first U.S. company to
successfully launch a fully electric car. TN Harvard Business School #714413

Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s, one of the most successful grocers in the U.S., achieved success with a
distinctive small-format strategy, as well as a unique culture and approach to human
resources. In 2013, however, Trader Joe’s faced new competitive threats.
TN Harvard Business School #714419

ÆÆFind more cases at hbsp.harvard.edu

MULTIMEDIA CASES
Available online, multimedia cases put students in the center of business dilemmas by
bringing concepts to life with animated charts, audio, and video segments.

BionX
BionX is a startup that creates powered prosthetic devices for people with amputations.
BionX had worked hard to overcome early product problems, but the company still needed
more time—and another $12 million to $15 million—to reach its goals. TN #816702

Marks & Spencer: The Phoenix Rises

Re-creates the attempt by a new team of top executives to restore prosperity to the
venerable U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer. #304034

The Nehemiah Strategy: Bringing It to Boston

Contains both a digital print case and supplemental media that illustrate the challenge of
implementing an affordable housing initiative in Boston. TN #304082

ZARA: Fast Fashion

Spanish retailer Inditex breaks with convention; instead of predicting months ahead what
women will want to wear, its ZARA chain adjusts what it produces and merchandises
based on what is selling now. This multimedia case is a stand-alone version of the related
print case #703497. TN #703416

ÆÆFind more multimedia cases at hbsp.harvard.edu/elearning

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 ARTICLES
Articles from Harvard Business Review and other renowned journals provide up-to-the-
minute ideas from the best business thinkers.

New Articles
Aligning Corporate Learning with Strategy
Too many corporate learning programs focus on the wrong areas. A better approach to
developing a company’s leadership and talent pipeline is to design learning programs that
link to the organization’s priorities. MIT Sloan Management Review #SMR535

Cumulative Advantage
In this “Spotlight” collection of 4 articles, experts provide differing views on the topic of
cumulative advantage. Articles include “Customer Loyalty Is Overrated” by A.G. Lafley and
Roger L. Martin; “Old Habits Die Hard, but They Do Die” by Rita Gunther McGrath; “Habit
Is How We Build the Connection,” an interview with Jorgen Vig Knudstorp; and “A Product
That Lets People Hold On to Their Habits,” an interview with Scott Cook.
Harvard Business Review #R1701B

The Fit Organization: How to Create a Continuous-Improvement Culture

‘Fit’ companies intentionally pursue a course of action that makes them stronger and more
agile over time. The author, a long-time consultant to Toyota and an expert on its lean
system, presents 9 steps to creating a culture of continuous improvement.
Rotman Management Magazine #ROT285

The Future and How to Survive It

Since 1980, global corporate profits have grown at an unprecedented pace, especially for
multinational companies. But this remarkable era is now coming to an end. This article
describes why—and what companies can do to respond to a changing landscape.
Harvard Business Review #R1510B

Globalization: A Cautionary Tale

Risk goes hand in hand with opportunity, yet managers often fail to accurately account for
the risks they will face in global markets. Rotman Management Magazine #ROT302

How Social Networks Create Competitive Advantage: Building Your Reputation

This article examines the role of social networks in corporate reputation and suggests
strategies that executives can take to create competitive advantage within their networks.
IESE-Insight Magazine #IIR148

Knowing When to Reinvent

No business survives over the long term without reinventing itself. But knowing when to
undertake strategic transformation is difficult. This article describes 5 interrelated “fault
lines” that can indicate that it’s time for a company to radically change.
Harvard Business Review #R1512G

Leading in the Age of Super-Transparency

In today’s “super-transparent society,” social media and widely availability data make it
possible to generate causes and controversies almost instantly. Most business leaders have
not yet come to grips with this new reality—and what it means for their organizations.
MIT Sloan Management Review #SMR542

TN Teaching Note Available H B S P. H A R VA R D . E D U 7

Lean Strategy
Startups can see strategy as the enemy of entrepreneurship. But entrepreneurial ventures
need strategies that articulate what their ventures will and will not do. The lean strategy
process integrates the bottom-up approach of startups with the top-down orientation of
strategic management. Harvard Business Review #R1603E

M&A: The One Thing You Need to Get Right

The financial world set a record for mergers and acquisitions in 2015. But research shows
that 70 to 90% of acquisitions turn out to be expensive mistakes. Roger L. Martin has an
explanation for this persistent failure—and offers a way forward.
Harvard Business Review #R1606B

Pipelines, Platforms, and the New Rules of Strategy

Platform businesses require a different approach to strategy than traditional “pipeline”
businesses do. To exploit the power of platforms, the firms’ focus must shift from controlling
resources to orchestrating them and from customer value to ecosystem value.
Harvard Business Review #R1604C

Planned Opportunism
The future is shaped by nonlinear changes and chance events. To prepare their companies,
leaders must recognize the weak signals that herald important changes—and identify the
opportunities they present. Harvard Business Review #R1605C

Products to Platforms: Making the Leap

More and more firms are moving beyond products to become platform providers. After
studying more than 20 companies that have tried to move from products to platforms, the
authors point to 4 practices that can separate winners from losers.
Harvard Business Review #R1604E

The Six Pricing Myths That Kill Profits

Pricing is the most important driver of profits. Pricing is also, surprisingly, the area most
executives overlook when implementing initiatives to increase profits. This is due to
misconceptions about pricing that are ultimately self-defeating.
Business Horizons #BH718

Stop Comparing Management to Sports

The business world is awash in sports metaphors, but good management is not like a
competitive sport—and managing a company as if it is can lead the business astray.
Harvard Business Review Web Article #H02XAI

The Transformative Business Model

A business model that can link a new technology to an emerging market need is the key to
industry transformation. The authors analyzed 40 companies that launched new business
models and found 6 recurring features of success: personalization, a closed-loop process,
asset sharing, usage-based pricing, a collaborative ecosystem, and an agile and adaptive
organization. Harvard Business Review #R1610H

What Is Disruptive Innovation?

In this article, Clayton M. Christensen and his coauthors take a look back at the theory of
disruptive innovation—discussing its utility, correcting some of the misinformation about it,
and describing how the thinking on the subject has evolved.
Harvard Business Review #R1512B

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Popular Articles
Big Data: The Management Revolution
Leaders are increasingly realizing that data-driven decisions tend to be better decisions.
Companies that figure out how to combine domain expertise with data science pull away
from their rivals. But first those companies have to change their decision-making cultures.
Harvard Business Review #R1210C

Blue Ocean Strategy

Cirque du Soleil has increased its revenue 22-fold over the past 10 years by reinventing
the circus concept. Using this example, this article asserts that the best way to generate
opportunity is to create areas of uncontested market space instead of competing in
overcrowded industries. Harvard Business Review #R0410D

Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?

Companies with a clear, concise strategy statement often turn out to be industry stars. This
article provides a practical guide for crafting an effective strategy statement and includes
an in-depth example of how the brokerage firm Edward Jones developed a successful one.
Harvard Business Review #R0804E

Creating Shared Value

Companies can redefine their purpose as creating “shared value”—generating economic
value in a way that also produces value for society by addressing its challenges. The authors
explain that firms can do this in 3 ways: by reconceiving products and markets, redefining
productivity in the value chain, and building supportive industry clusters near their locations.
Harvard Business Review #R1101C

Design Thinking
As innovation extends beyond products to human-centered processes and services, more
companies are moving the design process upstream—and asking designers to create ideas
rather than to simply dress them up. This article offers several intriguing examples of design
thinking at work. Harvard Business Review #R0806E

The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy

This update of Michael Porter’s classic article extends his work of strategy formulation and
includes new sections that demonstrate how to put the 5-forces analysis into practice.
According to Porter, strategy can be viewed as building defenses against competitive
forces or as finding a position in an industry where the forces are weaker, with changes in
the competitive landscape being critical to ongoing strategy formulation.
Harvard Business Review #R0801E

Managing Differences: The Central Challenge of Global Strategy

In this article, Pankaj Ghemawat presents a new framework that encompasses 3 effective
responses to the challenges of globalization. He calls it the AAA Triangle, with the A’s
standing for the 3 distinct types of international strategy: adaptation, aggregation, and
arbitrage. Harvard Business Review #R0703C

Strategies for Two-Sided Markets

Many of the world’s most revolutionary products and services have been those that serve
2-sided markets. These platform products enjoy increasing returns to scale as a result
of what economists call “network effects.” In this article, authors Thomas R. Eisenmann,
Geoffrey Parker, and Marshall W. Van Alstyne advise executives negotiating the challenges
of 2-sided networks. Harvard Business Review #R0610F

TN Teaching Note Available H B S P. H A R VA R D . E D U 9

Transient Advantage
Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage is nearly impossible in today’s high-velocity
business world. Businesses cannot afford to spend months crafting a single long-term
strategy; they need a portfolio of multiple transient advantages that can be built quickly
and abandoned just as rapidly. Harvard Business Review #R1306C

What Is Strategy?
Michael Porter argues that the essence of strategy is choosing a unique and valuable
position rooted in systems of activities that are much more difficult to match than
operational effectiveness alone. Harvard Business Review #96608

“Michael Porter’s insights are applicable to strategy in fields as disparate as military

history, politics, and sports, and are crucial to the understanding of modern business.
Truly timeless ...”
— Review from Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site*

When Marketing Is Strategy

Companies’ upstream activities are being commoditized or outsourced, and downstream
activities are emerging as the main sources of competitive advantage. To compete
effectively, companies must shift their strategy from products to customers.
Harvard Business Review #R1312G

ÆÆFind more articles at hbsp.harvard.edu

BOOKS & CHAPTERS

Many academic titles from Harvard Business Review Press are now available as eBooks.
Each eBook title is available as a PDF and comes with a full-text Educator Copy available
to registered Premium Educators on the HBP for Educators web site.

Books
Beyond Competitive Advantage: How to Solve the Puzzle of Sustaining Growth While
Creating Value
This book addresses key topics in corporate strategy, including acquisitions, investments,
organizational design, financing, and leadership. But instead of presenting these as an array
of à la carte decisions, author Todd Zenger uses the concept of corporate theory to elevate
the task of sustaining value creation into a more coherent set of choices guided by
a synthetic logic. Course syllabus available. Available as an eBook.
Harvard Business Review Press #15030

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the
Competition Irrelevant (Expanded Edition)
In this landmark book, the authors present a systematic approach for capturing blue
oceans—untapped new market spaces ripe for growth. The new expanded edition
includes updated examples, 2 new chapters, and a new preface by the authors.
Available as an eBook. Harvard Business Review Press #13892

10 S T R A T E G Y • 2 0 1 7 *Reviews available to Premium Educators

The Clayton M. Christensen Reader
This book covers the best of Clayton Christensen’s seminal work on disruptive innovation,
all in one place. Articles include “Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave,” “Meeting
the Challenge of Disruptive Change,” “Marketing Malpractice: The Cause and the Cure,”
“Innovation Killers: How Financial Tools Destroy Your Capacity to Do New Things,”
“Reinventing Your Business Model,” and “The New M&A Playbook.” Available as an eBook.
Harvard Business Review Press #15003

Edge Strategy: A New Mindset for Profitable Growth

Substantial opportunities for growth are often hidden in plain sight, at the edge of a
company’s core business. The “Edge Strategy” framework challenges how the boundaries
of a firm’s existing products and services map to its customers’ views of the world—and
then provides 3 different lenses through which managers can see and leverage value:
product edge, journey edge, and enterprise edge. Available as an eBook.
Harvard Business Review Press #15026

HBR Guide to Data Analytics Basics for Managers

This book provides practical tips and advice to help leaders make better decisions using
data. Through a 3-step process, the guide teaches managers how to get the information
they need, study the data, and communicate their findings to others. Available as an eBook.
Harvard Business Review Press #10089

Matchmakers: The New Economics of Multisided Platforms

Many of today’s most dynamic companies are matchmakers that connect one group
of customers with another group of customers. In this book, David Evans and Richard
Schmalensee explain how matchmakers work best in practice, why they do what they
do, and how entrepreneurs can improve their chances for success. Available as an eBook.
Harvard Business Review Press #10028

Strategy That Works: How Winning Companies Close the Strategy-to-Execution Gap
Two-thirds of executives say their organizations don’t have the capabilities to support their
strategy. In Strategy That Works, the authors identify conventional business practices that
unintentionally create a gap between strategy and execution and explain how some of the
world’s best companies consistently leap ahead of their competitors.
Available as an eBook. Harvard Business Review Press #13974

The Three-Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation

The Three-Box Solution is a simple and proven method for allocating the organization’s
energy, time, and resources across “the 3 boxes”: Box 1: The present—Manage the core
business at peak profitability; Box 2: The past—Abandon ideas, practices, and attitudes that
could inhibit innovation; Box 3: The future—Convert breakthrough ideas into new products
and businesses. Available as an eBook. Harvard Business Review Press #15029

Chapters
Introduction to 3-Circle Analysis
The book Grow by Focusing on What Matters explains how to build positioning using a
“3-circle model” that facilitates speed of understanding and action by focusing attention on
the most critical strategy concepts. In this chapter, the authors introduce the basic concepts
and include case examples illustrating the development of effective growth strategy.
From Grow by Focusing on What Matters: Competitive Strategy in 3 Circles,
Business Expert Press #BEP050

TN Teaching Note Available H B S P . H A R V A R D . E D U 11

The Meaning of Value
This chapter explores the value that customers seek and how existing competitors get
credit for the value they create. The authors present 6 basic lessons regarding customer-
value dynamics and competition.
From Grow by Focusing on What Matters: Competitive Strategy in 3 Circles,
Business Expert Press #BEP052

Reconstruct Market Boundaries

This chapter addresses the first principle in Kim and Maurborgne’s strategic model, which
is to identify a strategic path. The authors present the “6 paths framework” to highlight the
basic approaches to remaking market boundaries, such as alternative and complementary
industries. They examine each approach in detail with real-world examples.
From Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the
Competition Irrelevant, Harvard Business Review Press #0023BC

Strategy Is Choice
In this chapter, authors A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin use the story of P&G’s revitalization
of the Oil of Olay brand to introduce their “strategic choice cascade” of 5 questions that
help a company develop a shared understanding of its strategy and the plan to achieve it.
From Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works, Harvard Business Review Press #7106BC

Target Markets and Modes of Entry

This chapter looks at decisions regarding which foreign markets to enter as well as why,
when, and how to enter them. Topics include measuring market attractiveness, the use of
partnerships and alliances, and the issue of timing market entry.
From Fundamental of Global Strategy, Business Expert Press #BEP043

What Is a Business Model?

The chapter offers both qualitative and quantitative steps to consider when creating or
revising a business model. There are 3 discussion activities, based on Netflix, Walmart, and
eBay. There is also an exercise on analyzing a business model matrix from a qualitative and
a quantitative perspective.
From Business Models and Strategic Management: A New Integration,
Business Expert Press #BEP194

ÆÆFind more books and chapters at hbsp.harvard.edu/ebooks

12 S T R A T E G Y • 2 0 1 7 *Reviews available to Premium Educators

 SIMULATIONS
ÆÆOnline simulations present real-world management challenges for students and
encourage classroom interaction and discussion. Results are available immediately for
a comprehensive debrief session. All simulations include a detailed Teaching Note.

Strategic Innovation: Back Bay Battery V2

In this single-player simulation, students play the role of president at a battery company
facing the classic Innovator’s Dilemma. Students must manage R&D investment trade-offs
between a profitable technology and a costly innovation. This updated version features
an updated user experience and enhanced administrative features. Winner of the 2012
International Serious Play Silver Award in Education.
TN Harvard Business Publishing Seat Time: 90 minutes #7015

“The simulation has been a huge success with students, who stayed focused and engaged
for two hours. I have shared the theory with my students for years, but it is the first time
that they got the concepts immediately.”
— Review from Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site*

Strategy Simulation: The Balanced Scorecard

In this multiplayer simulation, students experience the benefits and challenges of using
a scorecard to implement strategic initiatives and monitor firm performance. Students
work together in small teams to choose a strategy for their company, create a strategy
map, develop a balanced scorecard, choose initiatives to implement their strategy, and use
feedback from the balanced scorecard to adjust their implementation approach over time.
At the conclusion of the simulation, each team’s company will be purchased by a private
investor. Ideal for courses in strategy, strategy implementation, and managerial accounting.
TN Harvard Business School Seat Time: 75 minutes #114701

“Students are telling me that they really liked this fast-paced simulation.
The teaching support is very good.”
— Review from Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site*

Strategy Simulation: Competitive Dynamics and Wintel V2

In the updated version of this simulation, students are exposed to the dynamics of
cooperation and competition between 2 different businesses. Playing the role of Microsoft
or Intel, students determine product release schedules and pricing, as well as consider
whether or not to coordinate schedules and frequency of releases. Asymmetries in profit
potential expose students to the multifaceted problems of cooperating and competing
simultaneously. Ideal for courses in strategy and negotiation.
TN Harvard Business School Seat Time: 60 minutes #716801

“Very effective tool in teaching and learning strategy. It enables instructors and students
alike to collaborate and engage in a dynamic learning process.”
— Review from Harvard Business Publishing for Educators web site*

ÆÆFind more Simulations at hbsp.harvard.edu/simulations

TN Teaching Note Available H B S P . H A R V A R D . E D U 13

 ONLINE EXERCISES
An exercise illustrates a fundamental concept in Strategy and can be used to reinforce key
learning objectives in case studies, readings, and simulations. Each exercise is available
entirely online and takes less than 30 minutes for students to complete.

New Venture Exercise: The Food Truck Challenge

In this online exercise, students work in small teams to try to run a successful food truck.
Teams attempt to maximize revenue over several simulated weeks while considering the
trade-offs between analysis, experimentation, and scale. The exercise teaches students
about the value of learning by doing, prototyping, and willingness to fail. It is ideal for
discussions of innovation, product development, design thinking, team learning, lean startup,
marketing, and organizational learning. TN Seat Time: 30 minutes #7201

STRATEGY EXECUTION SERIES

The Strategy Execution series from Professor Robert Simons of Harvard Business School
forms a complete course that teaches the latest techniques for using performance
measurement and control systems to implement strategy. This series of 15 module notes
can be used individually or as a set. Each note is accompanied by a list of recommended
case studies that further illustrate the reading’s key concepts using current, real-life
examples. Module notes include:

ƒƒManaging Organizational Tensions #117101

ƒƒBuilding a Successful Strategy #117102
ƒƒUsing Information for Performance Measurement and Control #117103
ƒƒOrganizing for Performance #117104
ƒƒBuilding a Profit Plan #117105
ƒƒEvaluating Strategic Profit Performance #117106
ƒƒDesigning Asset Allocation Systems #117107
ƒƒLinking Performance to Markets #117108
ƒƒBuilding a Balanced Scorecard #117109
ƒƒUsing the Job Design Optimization Tool to Build Effective Organizations #117110
ƒƒUsing Diagnostic and Interactive Control Systems #117111
ƒƒAligning Performance Goals and Incentives #117112
ƒƒIdentifying Strategic Risk #117113
ƒƒManaging Strategic Risk #117114
ƒƒUsing the Levers of Control to Implement Strategy #117115

The series is accompanied by the new online Job Design Optimization Tool (JDOT),
which can be used to design, or test the design of, any job in any organization.
Find the tool at hbsp.harvard.edu/jdot

ÆÆFind out more at hbsp.harvard.edu/strategyexecution

14 S T R A T E G Y • 2 0 1 7
 TEACHING GUIDES

Case Startup Kit

The Case Startup Kit recommends cases ideal for teaching as a “first case” for aspiring
case teachers, with cases selected for their brevity, ease of use, and teachability. Each
case comes with a Teaching Note. Cases for Strategy include:

ƒƒAlibaba’s Taobao (A) #709456

ƒƒCurled Metal Inc.,—Engineered Products Division #709434
ƒƒFederal Bureau of Investigation, 2009 #710452
ƒƒGucci Group in 2009 #709459
ƒƒMonitor’s Opportunities in India (A) #708482
ƒƒNetflix #607138
ƒƒWalmart Update, 2011 #711546
ƒƒYamato Transport: Valuing and Pricing Network Services (A) #704475

ÆÆFind more Case Startup Kit cases at hbsp.harvard.edu/casestartupkit

Introductory-Level Curriculum Maps

Curriculum maps provide an easy way to find course material for common topics.
Prepared by experienced editors at Harvard Business Publishing, these maps suggest
an array of HBP course materials that include cases, articles, Core Curriculum Readings,
simulations, and other items. Maps are available for both undergraduate and MBA-level
courses in Strategy.

ÆÆFind more curriculum maps at hbsp.harvard.edu/maps

Course Modules
Course Modules offer a road map to the best teaching materials, with recommendations
on how to organize them. Each module suggests 4 to 6 items plus alternate suggestions.
Popular modules in Strategy include:

ƒƒCompetitive Advantage
ƒƒCompetitive Dynamics
ƒƒCorporate Strategy
ƒƒIndustry Analysis

ÆÆFind more Course Modules at hbsp.harvard.edu/coursemodules

TN Teaching Note Available H B S P . H A R V A R D . E D U 15

 HARVARD MANAGEMENTOR®
Delivered entirely online, Harvard ManageMentor® is the leading business reference
from business experts, featuring 44 self-paced modules that address the full spectrum
of management issues. Many modules will also be available in Spanish, Portuguese,
Mandarin, and French. Modules in Strategy include:

ƒƒStrategic Thinking #9043

ƒƒStrategy Execution #9044

ÆÆFind more Harvard ManageMentor modules at hbsp.harvard.edu/hmm

VIDEO SHORTS
These free, short videos are all under 10 minutes long and illustrate a case’s central
learning objective. The streaming video is available to registered Premium Educators
at hbsp.harvard.edu. Cases with Video Shorts include:

ƒƒAcademia Barilla #507001

ƒƒApollo Hospitals—First-World Health Care at Emerging-Market Prices #706440
ƒƒBRAC in 2014 #715414
ƒƒMerloni Elettrodomestici SpA: Building for Profit #300118
ƒƒOld Mutual #701026
ƒƒTanishq: Positioning to Capture the Indian Woman’s Heart #507025

ÆÆFind more cases with Video Shorts at hbsp.harvard.edu/videoshorts

16 S T R A T E G Y • 2 0 1 7
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outside the U.S. and Canada)
techhelp@hbsp.harvard.edu
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