Chapter Summaries and Suggested Cases
| Introduction Two Funerals and a Wedding–Why Growth Efforts Fail, and How to Do Them Right |
The introduction to “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” explains that firms’ growth efforts often fail because their leaders make the wrong choices about how to obtain the necessary new resources. It includes a glossary of key terms used throughout the book. | HBSP Store Product number: 9496BC-PDF-ENG |
| Chapter 1 The Resource Pathways Framework: Solving the “Build, Borrow, or Buy” Growth Dilemma |
Chapter 1 of “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” lays out a “resource pathways framework” that helps leaders decide whether to build (innovate internally), borrow (enter into contracts, alliances, or joint ventures), or buy (merge or acquire) when they need to obtain new resources for growth. In addition to contrasting two strategies–one successful, one not–used by Compaq and HP, the authors reveal how the framework applies to different firms within a given sector, for example Nokia, RIM, HP, Apple, and Google
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HBSP Store Product number: 9497BC-PDF-ENG |
| Chapter 2 When to Build: Internal Development Versus External Sourcing–Obtaining Targeted Resources for Business Growth |
Chapter 2 of “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” helps you choose whether to develop new resources internally, within your own organization, or obtain them externally. The chapter includes an assessment that will help you determine how relevant your present internal resources are to the capability your company needs to build, and whether your choice of a pathway is consistent with the nature of these present resources.
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HBSP Store Product number: 9498BC-PDF-ENG |
| Chapter 3 When to Borrow via Contract: Basic Contract Versus Alliance–Obtaining Targeted Resources for Business Growth |
Chapter 3 of “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” explores whether you should obtain targeted resources via basic contracts or consider more complex arrangements, such as alliances and acquisitions. An example from pharmaceutical giant Merck illustrates the use of licenses as a means of developing products beyond a firm’s existing technical base. An assessment tool at the end of the chapter will help ensure that you are looking for the right resources in the right places–and that the risks involved in obtaining them externally are worth it.
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HBSP Store Product number: 9499BC-PDF-ENG |
| Chapter 4 When to Borrow via Alliance: Alliance Versus Acquisition–Obtaining Targeted Resources for Business Growth |
Chapter 4 of “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” helps you choose whether to obtain new resources for your organization through an alliance or a full-scale acquisition. The chapter includes an example from Japan’s Honda Motor Company and its Indian partner, Hero, that highlights the benefits and pain points of a structured alliance. An assessment tool at the end of the chapter helps you determine whether the scope of the planned collaboration and the compatibility of your potential resource partner point to a successful alliance.
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HBSP Store Product number: 9500BC-PDF-ENG |
| Chapter 5 When to Buy: Acquisition Versus Alternatives–Obtaining Targeted Resources for Business Growth |
Chapter 5 of “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” helps you determine if a full-scale acquisition is an appropriate way to obtain new resources for your organization. The chapter includes an example from Johnson & Johnson that shows how acquisitions can be successfully integrated with internal development. It concludes with an assessment tool that guides you through key questions about governance and integration of the target firm–all of which must be answered before you decide to move forward.
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HBSP Store Product number: 9505BC-PDF-ENG |
| Chapter 6 Realigning Your Resource Portfolio: Staying Competitive with the Resource Pathways Framework |
Chapter 6 of “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” shows you how to use the “resource pathways framework” to continuously realign your organization’s portfolio, shifting some resources into more value-creating activities, revitalizing others by combining them with new resources, and completely divesting those that no longer add value. Using the framework as an ongoing portfolio management activity can help keep your firm focused and competitive
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HBSP Store Product number: 9506BC-PDF-ENG |
| Chapter 7 Developing Your Enterprise Selection Capability: Balancing Build, Borrow, and Buy Decisions Across Your Organization |
Chapter 7 of “Build, Borrow, or Buy: Solving the Growth Dilemma” explains how to create an organizational capability around the decision to build, borrow, or buy the resources your firm needs in order to grow. The chapter lays out a process for managing your organization’s resources by bringing the topics discussed in the rest of the book together into a repeatable framework that can be applied across your organization indefinitely. The authors use networking giant Cisco Systems to illustrate how expert leadership and the skillful use of all three growth pathways can create a powerful, enterprise-wide discipline–strategically coordinated building, borrowing, and buying.
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HBSP Store Product number: 9507BC-PDF-ENG |
