Harvard Business Review on Corporate Strategy (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) [Paperback]

Harvard Business School Press (Compiler)

Book Description

Series: Harvard Business Review Paperback Series | Publication Date: August 25, 1999

For readers who need to stay up-to-date on the new rules and evolving ideas that are shaping today's corporate strategies, this reference is essential. The Harvard Business Review Paperback Series is designed to bring today's managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast-moving world. Here are the landmark ideas that have established the Harvard Business Review as required reading for ambitious businesspeople in organizations around the globe. Articles include: Creating Corporate Advantage by David J. Collis and Cynthia A. Montgomery; Competing on Resources: Strategy in the 1990s by David J. Collis and Cynthia A. Montgomery; Desperately Seeking Synergy by Michael Goold and Andrew Campbell; The End of Corporate Imperialism by C.K. Prahalad and Kenneth Lieberthal; Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World by Stuart L. Hart and Jeffrey F. Rayport; Why Focused Strategies May be Wrong for Emerging Markets by Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu; Competing on Capabilities: The New Rules of Corporate Strategy by George Stalk, Jr., Philip Evans, and Lawrence E. Shulman; and Corporate Strategy: The Quest for Parenting Advantage by Andrew Campbell, Michael Goold, and Marcus Alexander.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Since 1984, Harvard Business School Press has been dedicated to publishing the most contemporary management thinking, written by authors and practitioners who are leading the way. Whether readers are seeking big-picture strategic thinking or tactical problem solving, advice in managing global corporations or for developing personal careers, HBS Press helps fuel the fire of innovative thought. HBS Press has earned a reputation as the springboard of thought for both established and emerging business leaders.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business Press; 1 edition (August 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578511429
• ISBN-13: 978-1578511426
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theories on Strategy backed by real life examples., August 11, 2003

By 

Harinath Thummalapalli (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Corporate Strategy (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) (Paperback)

This is another excellent collection of essays from Harvard Business Review and the topic is Corporate Strategy. 8 essays in a little less than 250 pages address various corporate strategies that can be useful if you are in a similar situation.

These are very interesting theories and it is fascinating to read them with all the real life examples. If you don't enjoy pure strategy, some of the material may feel dull though. This book goes into the guts of what makes for good corporate strategy. It starts out with a chapter on Creating Corporate Advantage where you are exposed to examples of companies that leveraged their multibusiness capabilities extremely well to create a serious corporate advantage (the companies are Tyco International, Sharp, The Newell Company, and Saatchi and Saatchi).

The book then moves on to the strategy in the 1990s with a focus on competing on resources. Five tests are put forward that should help determine if a resource can qualify to be the basis for an effective strategy.

The rest of the book addresses topics such as Synergy, Strategies for a Sustainable World, Emerging Markets, Competing on Capabilities, Parenting Advantage (the kind of businesses a company should own), etc.

Overall, the book has some very serious discussions on Corporate Strategies. Some of these may not be as relevant to the particular situation you are in, but most would be if you work in a large organization. I picked up the book to see what I could learn on strategy for small businesses but this isn't the book for that. Though these lessons could be applied when the small business starts transforming into a large business. Bottom line - this book is an interesting read especially if you are in an MBA program or are part of the upper management of a large corporation. Enjoy!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for corporations, too heavy for small business, August 19, 2004

By 

Alan Gray "NewsBlaze.com" (Folsom, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Corporate Strategy (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) (Paperback)

Some of the theories were tough to get through, although I'm sure some people will love this. I prefer it more practical, so the part where it talks about what makes for good corporate strategy was good. The book shows five tests to determine if a resource can be the basis for an effective strategy. So many corporations need this!

5 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars First mover advantage on corporate strategy research?, December 14, 2000

By 

Hiroaki Nakagawa (Chiba-prefecture Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harvard Business Review on Corporate Strategy (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) (Paperback)

Many scholors have been researching in corporate strategy so far.And now this theme seems to be coming back.Too much emphasis on competitive strategy and business strategy of business units are likely criticized indeed. Mulibusiness corporations really need the optimal fit between corporate strategy and business strategy.This book is the one of challenging and quick respoce to that trend. The faster The better..... I don't know.But difinitely it is worth while reading for practitioner and researchers in this field. Including A.D.Chandler's discussion, outstanding papers of harvard business review are contained. Probably you will find new standpoint of academic field.