c
 


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 This map was prepared by an editor at HBS Publishing, not by a teaching professor. Faculty
at Harvard Business School were not involved in analyzing the textbook or selecting the cases and
articles.
Every case map provides only a partial list of relevant items from HBS Publishing. To explore alternatives,
or to get more information on the cases listed below, visit our web site at www.hbsp.harvard.edu/educators
and use the searching functions.
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$ +, Today's dynamic markets and technologies have called
|

 into question the sustainability of competitive advantage.
Harvard Business Review Article Under pressure to improve productivity, quality, and
)-./ 11/01/1996 speed, managers have embraced tools such as TQM,
 )096608 benchmarking, and reengineering. Dramatic operational

+'18p improvements have resulted, but rarely have these gains
 '
+%N/A translated into sustainable profitability. And gradually, the
tools have taken the place of strategy. As managers push
to improve on all fronts, they move further away from
viable competitive positions. Michael Porter argues that
operational effectiveness, although necessary to superior
performance, is not sufficient, because its techniques are
easy to imitate. In contrast, the essence of strategy is
choosing a unique and valuable position rooted in systems
of activities that are much more difficult to match.
 

+!-12To learn how strategic positioning
enables companies to achieve sustainable competitive
advantage by carrying out unique activities in unique
ways.
c' #33

c32 -
 
 2
 +
 '
+/ After years of success with its vaunted "Direct Model" for
   |

 computer manufacturing, marketing, and distribution, Dell
HBS case Computer Corp. faces efforts by competitors to match its
)-./ 06/06/1999 strategy. This case describes the evolution of the personal
 )0799158 computer industry, Dell's strategy, and efforts by Compaq,

+'31p IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Gateway 2000 to capture the
 '
+%9704476 benefits of Dell's approach. Students are called on to
formulate strategic plans of action for Dell and its various
rivals.  

+!-12Permits an especially detailed
examination of imitation; illustrates how fit among activities
and incompatibilities between competitive positions can
pose particularly high barriers to imitation. To illustrate
competitor analysis, the evolution of industry structure,
and relative cost analysis.

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+
2
3
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c.'
 
3
4
+ The first ten pages of this case are comprised of the
|
 
   company's history, from 1923 to 2001. The Walt years are
HBS case described, as is the company's decline after his death and
)-./ 03/09/2001 its resurgence under Eisner. The last five pages are
 )0701035 devoted to Eisner's strategic challenges in 2001:

+'27p managing synergy, managing the brand, and managing
 '
+%5705495 creativity. Students are asked to think about the keys to
Disney's mid-1980s turnaround, about the proper
boundaries of the firm, and about what Disney's strategy
should be beyond 2001.
* 5  In 2007, Wal-Mart faced challenges to its historically high
David B. Yoffie, Michael Slind growth rate. Lagging same-store sales and setbacks
HBS case overseas led the company to consider strategic shifts.
)-./ 03/01/2007 Wal-Mart was the world's largest retailer, but competition
 )0707517 had become particularly acute as the company expanded

+'12p from rural markets, which it had long dominated, into
 '
+%707570 urban and suburban areas. Covers developments in Wal-
Mart's merchandising strategy and its approach to store
formats; its sometimes controversial human resources
practices; its efforts to improve its image through a public
relations campaign; its aggressive, though occasionally
problematic, move into international markets; and its
leading competitors, especially Target. Exhibits provide
data (current as of February 2007) on Wal-Mart's financial
performance, its stock-price performance, its international
operations, and its store formats, as well as on Target's
financial performance.


c' 62 ) 
+
2
3
 !)

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* 5 7
$)
 
-$ + In October 2005, in an auditorium filled to capacity in
Erica Plambeck, Lyn Denend Bentonville, Arkansas, Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's president
Stanford University case and CEO, made the first speech in the history of Wal-Mart
)-./ 04/17/2007 to be broadcast to the company's 1.6 million associates
 )0OIT71 (employees) in all of its 6,000+ stores worldwide and

+'50p shared with its 60,000+ suppliers. Scott announced that
 '
+%OIT71T Wal-Mart was launching a sweeping business
sustainability strategy to dramatically reduce the
company's impact on the global environment and thus
become "the most competitive and innovative company in
the world." He argued that, "Being a good steward of the
environment and being profitable are not mutually
exclusive. They are one and the same." He also
committed Wal-Mart to three aspirational goals: "To be
supplied 100% by renewable energy; to create zero waste;
and to sell products that sustain our resources and the
environment." Against this backdrop, introduces Andrew
Ruben, vice president of corporate strategy and business
sustainability, and Tyler Elm, senior director of the same
group. Ruben and Elm, who were chosen by Scott to lead
the sustainability strategy, recognized that they needed to
keep environmental improvement tightly coupled with
business value and profitability for the strategy to succeed.
Describes Wal-Mart's efforts to accomplish this, focusing
on three of the company's primary focus areas (seafood,
electronics, and textiles) and their effect on the company's
operations, supplier relationships, and results. Also
explores how Wal-Mart is measuring and communicating
its ideas about sustainability to its suppliers, associates,
customers, and the public.  

+!-12To
familiarize students with how Wal-Mart is opening up to
external stakeholders (e.g., environmental nonprofits),
measuring its environmental impacts, and giving its
employees responsibility (as part of their daily work) for
reducing those impacts in such a way that the company
derives profit. To compare and contrast three of Wal-
Mart's focus areas (called sustainable value networks) and
understand the conditions required for this strategy to be
effective (where, why, and how it is working best). To
highlight the fact that 90% of the potential for
environmental improvement exists within Wal-Mart's
supply chain and understand how the company is working
with suppliers to address these opportunities. To assess
how the company is measuring environmental
performance and using the results to communicate with
and motivate associates, suppliers, customers, policy
makers and the public.


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'
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)
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) %<)
 Describes the development of the international strate
 
 organizations of two major competitors in the global c
HBS case electronics industry. The history of both companies is
)-./ 09/21/2001 their changing strategic postures and organizational c
 )0302049 are documented. Particular attention is given to the m

+'19p restructuring each company is forced to undertake as
 '
+%302063 competitive position is eroded. A rewritten version of
case.  

+!-12Illustrates how global com
depends on organizational capability, the difficulty of
deeply embedded administrative heritage, and the lim
both classic "multinational" and "global" models.
3
.;
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+c)) Polycom is a rapidly growing maker of video conferen

|    teleconferencing equipment. Management is attempti
HBS case "natural work groups" as an organizing mechanism, a
)-./ 10/17/2000 into the culture implicit rules that will cause desired be
 )0601073 be self-policing.  

+!-12To explore orga

+'16p forms that might robustly handle continued growth.
 '
+%N/A

%2 
' 3 ' )




8
  In June 2000, Novartis reorganized its pharmaceutica
  |  !"

  form global business units in oncology, transplantatio

HBS case ophthalmology, and mature products. The remaining
)-./ 01/23/2001 products continued to be managed within global funct
 )0101030 R&D and marketing). The new organization created a

+'20p structure and new roles and responsibilities for heads
 '
+%N/A functions, CEOs of new business units, and country m
operating in over 100 countries.  

+!-12
the reasons for Novartis's reorganizing into a new ma
the tensions and challenges the new structure creates
culture and accountability needed to make the new st


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2 
+c3
 Traces the birth and development of 3M Corp., focusi
 
#
$|
%% particular on the origins of its entrepreneurially-based
HBS case innovate. In particular, it highlights the role of CEO W
)-./ 01/03/1995 McKnight in creating a unique set of values, policies,
 )0395016 structures to nurture and develop continuous renewal

+'20p changing environment of the 1980s, however, a new
 '
+%N/A CEOs begin to adopt new policies and change the cu
that helped 3M grow. The trigger issue focuses on wh
changes are required.  

+!-12To show
culturally embedded organizational behavior can beco
sustainable source of competitive advantage and to s
such strong cultures can and should be adjusted to n
and external realities.
c' >c
  
' -
 
 8



+
)
$)) Examines the structural determinants of industry attra
|

 (the Five Forces framework) and the implications of in
HBS note structure for strategy.  

+!-12To introdu
)-./ 12/07/2006 Five Forces framework for analyzing industry structur
 )0707493

+'16p
 '
+%N/A

 2
.c'
-)
2)
, In 2006, a nascent market for music-enabled mobile p
 &
##  | |
  emerging to challenge Apple Computer's dominant po
HBS case digital music industry. Through its iPod line of portabl
)-./ 08/02/2006 music devices and its iTunes Music Store, Apple cont
 )0707419 than half of the market for both music player hardware

+'29p music sales. But the evolving ability to merge those d
 '
+%707548 mobile phones, and to deliver music to mobile handse
streaming, side-loading content from a PC or downloa
wirelessly over the air), created a potentially market-c
opportunity for players in several industries. Examine
players, including Apple; the major wireless service c
as Cingular, Sprint-Nextel, and Verizon Wireless; tech
service vendors, such as RealNetworks and Microsof
virtual network operators, such as Virgin Mobile. Cove
origins of the mobile music business, projections on it
size, its technological building blocks (such as file form
rights management systems, wireless network infrast
handset capacity), and the key dynamics--music deliv
pricing, mobile-PC integration--that characterize mobi
business models.  

+!-12To examine d
convergence, especially the integration of wireless
communications and entertainment.


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27
?

 ?@

 As Levi-Strauss implemented its custom-fitted jeans o
  %'
 " '
 traditional value chain for clothing manufacturing and
Babson College case transformed. This case allows students to explore the
)-./ 12/01/1998 this transformation and the management implications
 )0BAB020 !-12To introduce students to value-chain anal

+'6p the context of management accounting.
 '
+%BAB520

'c'

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)
 Illustrates an industry that is experiencing intensifying
%    ( and regulation. The Chinese fireworks industry thrived
Richard Ivey School of Business/UWO case adopted the "open door policy" in the late 1970s and
)-./ 01/01/1999 up 90% of the world's fireworks export sales. Howeve
 )099M031 from the mid-1990s, safety concerns led governments

+'23p China and abroad to set up stricter regulations. At the
 '
+%899M31 there was rapid growth in the number of small family-
workshops, whose relentless price cutting drove down
margins.  

+!-12To analyze the firewor
industry, estimate the industry's attractiveness, and p
possible ways to improve the industry attractiveness f
individual investor's point of view.
 '"- !
)
 The oil industry, one of the first international business



 
 
! tremendous influence on almost all aspects of busine
Stanford University case economics, and geopolitics throughout the 20th centu
)-./ 11/30/1998 products revolutionized daily life. And the struggles to
 )0IB15 assure access to oil supplies and markets were a ma

+'10p international conflict throughout the century.
 '
+%N/A
c'  )/
 
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 3)

.3 Edmund's began in 1966 as a publisher of new and u
     guides and grew into one of the leading third-party au
HBS case sites of today. This case explores how Edmunds.com
)-./ 08/24/2000 competitive edge using strategic partnerships and alli
 )0701025 well as careful product positioning and strategy imple

+'23p
 '
+%N/A

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+
+7
 Describes the perceptual mapping
")  technique in a non-technical fashion.

!
  The procedure is useful for the
HBS note depiction of the structure of the
)-./ 07/05/1990 market. Discusses alternative
 )0590121 methods, presents examples of each,

+'11p and shows how the maps can be used
 '
+%N/A in marketing decision making.
: c. Describes the history and current
|


 " situation in the retail pharmacy
HBS case industry, including competition from
)-./ 06/10/1999 new merchants and Internet
 )0799141 drugstores. Eckerd, one of the top four

+'23p drug chains, must decide how to
 '
+%N/A position itself for the future.  

+
!-12To support a discussion on
the evolution of competition and
competitive dynamics among rivals
c * 
c

)c:2
. Examines the industry structure and


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5#
c
) competitive strategy of Coca-cola and
 &
## &  ( Pepsi over 100 years of rivalry. New
HBS case challenges of the 21st century
)-./ 01/11/2002 included boosting flagging domestic
 )0391179 cola sales and finding new revenue

+'24p streams. Both firms also began to
 '
+%703403 modify their bottling, pricing, and
brand strategies. They looked to
emerging international markets to fuel
growth and broaden their brand
portfolios to include noncarbonated
beverages like tea, juice, sports
drinks, and bottled water. For over a
century, Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola
had vied for the "throat share" of the
world's beverage market. The most
intense battles of the cola wars were
fought over the $60 billion industry in
the United States, where the average
American consumes 53 gallons of
carbonated soft drinks (CSD) per
year. In a "carefully waged competitive
struggle," from 1975 to 1995 both
Coke and Pepsi had achieved
average annual growth of around 10%
as both U.S. and worldwide CSD
consumption consistently rose. This
cozy situation was threatened in the
late 1990s, however, when U.S. CSD
consumption dropped for two
consecutive years and worldwide
shipments slowed for both Coke and
Pepsi. The case considers whether
Coke's and Pepsi's era of sustained
growth and profitability was coming to
a close or whether this apparent
slowdown was just another blip in the
course of a century of enviable
performance.  

+!-12To
analyze an industry and its competitor
specifically, Coca-cola and Pepsi
during the past 100 years.

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.c $ +!+
= 

 In the early 1990s, Merck faced a series of challenges
c)) significant changes in its competitive and regulatory e
|
 )(  (e.g., growth in power of pharmaceutical buyers like m
HBS case organizations led to price pressures and President Cl
)-./ 03/29/1999 of the entire U.S. health-care industry). The case des
 )0499054 company under its previous CEO, and primarily unde

+'20p Gilmartin, the new CEO. Discusses the strategic, orga
 '
+%N/A cultural, and management challenges that Merck face
Gilmartin's change program from 1994 to 1998, which
at helping Merck address these issues.  

+!-
Students will analyze the environment and Merck's or
and management and evaluate the company's efforts
the organization and its management practices with th
competitive realities.
# c./ $ 

$2 Since Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Co., Ford vehi


 (| 
# been sold and serviced the same way. By the late 19
HBS case began to consider making changes in its sales and se
)-./ 11/22/1989 process. Two developments forced Ford to reconside
 )0690030 processes. First, Ford found through various surveys

+'21p customers had very clear complaints about the way th
 '
+%N/A treated by car dealers. Second, with more rapid techn
transfer among the automakers, product differentiatio
declining. Therefore, the channels of distribution prov
the final potential points of differentiation between aut
This case gives the students all of the conclusions fro
studies Ford had done and asks them to redesign the
service process to address customers' complaints an
point of differentiation for Ford.
$)'<


D(EE Southwest Airlines, the only major U.S. airline to be p
%*
(*
' 1992, makes a decision as to which of two new cities
HBS case to add a new long-haul route. Provides windows into
)-./ 08/01/1993 strategy, operations, marketing, and culture.  


 )0694023 Illustrates how an airline can simultaneously be low-c


+'29p service leader, and profit leader.
 '
+%N/A

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c.55(EE5 Describes Intel's diversification strategy initiated in 19
%
| |
 Craig Barrett. Initially, Barrett's strategy worked well,
HBS case value reached $510 billion in September 2000. Just th
)-./ 07/13/2006 later, however, investor pessimism over a slowing eco
 )0702420 recent problems at Intel resulted in market valuation p

+'11p by more than 55%.  

+!-12To analyze
 '
+%N/A for the drop in market value.
  3-'CF)
 Hambrecht & Quist (H&Q), an investment bank headq

%
(+

% San Francisco, has a very unique culture relative to it
HBS case counterparts. Firm members and even competitors de
)-./ 04/15/1998 culture as entrepreneurial, team-driven, non-bureaucr
 )0898161 change-oriented. H&Q's unique culture has given it a

+'19p competitive advantages, including the ability to attrac
 '
+%801140 staff, the ability to win business among its target grou
emerging growth companies, and the ability to mainta
average SG&A costs. However, competition in the inv
banking industry is intensifying in 1997-98 due to an
unprecedented wave of mega-mergers between inves
and commercial banks. The new combined banking e
able to offer customers a broader array of products an
than H&Q is able to offer, creating a significant amou
for H&Q to sell to, or merge with, another financial ins
Industry analysts believe it is not a question of whethe
of when H&Q will lose its independence. However, H&
management believes that "selling out" would destroy
culture that made the firm successful. What action sh
Case, the CEO and chairman of H&Q, take to balanc
seemingly competing demands of maintaining the firm
and positioning the firm for future growth?
c' E c)

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c.

2 

/ -
c  Summarizes Eli Lilly's history of innovation in its busin

|    describing how the dimensions along which innovatio
HBS case made in the industry have changed. Lilly's innovation
)-./ 02/08/1996 been to pursue ever higher performance products, wh
 )0696077 the industry have pursued more convenient products.

+'16p of the case, Lilly is contemplating offering services, no
 '
+%N/A products, to diabetic patients.  

+!-12M
in courses on managing innovation


c
  
÷

 


 

    


 
/++'2)
 In April 1986, the Ryan brothers announce that their f
    airline Ryanair will soon commence service between
HBS case London. For the first time, Ryanair will face formidable
)-./ 06/12/2000 such as Aer Lingus and British Airways on a major ro
 )0700115 are asked to assess Ryanair's entry and anticipate th

+'8p incumbent carriers.  

+!-12To analyze
 '
+%N/A of competition. Provides cost and revenue figures to a
students to examine the economics of retaliatory prici
business with high fixed costs and low marginal costs
 @) 

Kenneth S. Corts, Debbie Freier Contains four short stories about small firms challeng
HBS case firms. Illustrates some of the ideas that have been ter
)-./ 06/09/2003 strategy." In each case, one can argue that the small
 )09703454 to use the large firm's size and incumbency to constra

+'7p firm and provide an opportunity for the small firm. The
 '
+%N/A vignettes are: (1) Softsoap pioneers the liquid soap m
little competition, at least initially, from the incumbent
manufacturers; (2) Red Bull creates and dominates th
drink market with little early competition from incumbe
companies; (3) U.K. supermarket chains attempt to e
gasoline market but trigger an aggressive price respo
integrated majors; and (4) Freeserve makes large inro
U.K. ISP market against dominant incumbent AOL. E
occurrence demonstrates ideas considered "judo stra
situations in which small competitors exploit the size a
incumbency of a larger firm to find opportunities to ma
against the large firm without effective retaliation or d
as, some authors argue, a small person can throw a l
with judo techniques by using the larger person's weig
inertia against him).  

+!-12Provides a
more abstract conceptual discussion of the principles
strategy.
c!!$"$
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)F): :
 Internet QuickBooks, a successful product with a stro
,   %"

  an 85% share of retail sales, was faced with the chall
HBS case meeting market growth expectations in a mature, slow
)-./ 11/07/2000 segment. Generating recurring revenues by providing
 )0501054 online services that complement the desktop software

+'16p as an attractive solution by QuickBook's managemen
 '
+%N/A had to decide the best way to provide these services-
them in house or acquire them through partnerships.
the company had to evaluate ways to capture value in
QuickBooks brand without damaging it. Teaching pur
in the first-year marketing course to bring out the issu
capturing value.