September 2024

Strategic Positioning: Competitive Advantage and Value Creation (A) Overview – Background Note

By Bukky Oyedeji

A firm achieves a competitive advantage when it earns higher economic profits than its competitors in the same industry. This advantage is primarily achieved by creating and delivering more economic value than competitors. Competitive advantage is essential for long-term success and profitability as...

September 2024

Five Forces Framework (B): Key Concepts – Background Note

By Bukky Oyedeji

Five Forces Framework: Key concepts...

September 2024

Five Forces Framework (A) – Background Note

The Five Forces framework, elaborated in a March/April 1979 article in Harvard Business Review by Michael Porter, is widely used to analyse the competitive environment in an industry. It provides insights into the potential profitability of incumbent firms operating within an industry....

July 2024

Pentland Brands: Berghaus’s International Expansion

By Ioannis Ioannou, Ken Mark

Pentland Brands, a family-owned British company, aims to expand its outdoor apparel brand Berghaus internationally, with a focus on the German and Chinese markets. Berghaus, certified as a B Corporation in 2023, boasts a strong reputation for well-designed, durable products and offers unique service...

July 2018

Dollar Shave Club: Disrupting the Shaving Industry (Japanese language)

By Nader Tavassoli, Karin Kollenz-Quétard, Jamie Anderson

The case describes how Dollar Shave Club proved to be a disruptive force in the shaving industry, one dominated by Gillette for over a Century. It did so without a single patent to its name, and with a direct-to-consumer subscription and a content-based customer engagement model that was new to the ...