Top 50 Bestselling Case Authors 2022/23: No. 38

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No. 38 - David J Collis

David J Collis
Adjunct Professor
Harvard Business School

For the past 30 years, David J Collis has been a professor at the Harvard Business School, and only the second full-time Adjunct Professor appointed at HBS.

He was the winner of the 50th Anniversary McKinsey Award for the best article in the Harvard Business Review in 2008, and is a Harvard Business Review bestselling author. An expert on corporate strategy and global competition, he is the author of International Strategy: Context, Concepts and Choices; Corporate Strategy (with Cynthia Montgomery); and Corporate Headquarters (with Michael Goold and David Young).

David has written more than 65 cases which have sold nearly two and a half million copies worldwide. His articles now have almost 17,000 citations.

David's top bestselling cases

Browse David's top three bestselling cases during the last year.

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar, Inc: To Acquire or Not to Acquire?

Reference no. 9-709-462

Soon after Robert Iger took over as CEO of the Walt Disney Company in late 2005, he turned his attention toward Pixar, the animation studio with which Disney had worked since 1991 and was responsible for producing hits such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo. Disney's own animated film business had been in decline and the business relied on revenue from its partnership with Pixar to maintain performance. With the Co-Production Agreement between the two studios coming to a close in 2006, Pixar was looking to negotiate better terms with another distribution partner. Could Disney risk losing them?

The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King

Reference no. 9-701-035

The first ten pages of this case are comprised of the company's history, from 1923 to 2001. The Walt years are described, as is the company's decline after his death and its resurgence under Eisner. The last five pages are devoted to Eisner's strategic challenges in 2001: managing synergy, managing the brand, and managing 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.

Reawakening the Magic: Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company

Reference no. 9-717-483

Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Buzz Lightyear strolled down Main Street at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disney in the Fall of 2005, pausing to snap selfies with enthusiastic children in their Mickey Mouse ears. Bob Iger, newly appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company proudly watched the parade go by, but concerned for the future of the global corporation, he turned to colleagues and asked, 'How many characters in this parade were created by Disney in the last ten years?'

View all David's cases

Bestselling case author in...

38th - 2022/23 23 - 2021/22 21 - 2020/21 17 - 2019/20 8 - 2018/19 24 - 2017/18 19 - 2016/17 20 - 2015/16

“The joy of writing field cases is that you learn how important strategic decisions are actually made. And the result may surprise you. During onsite visits and in executive interviews you uncover much that is hidden from the outside and which cannot even be captured in press articles or company presentations – useful though these are today.

“You get a feel for the culture of the place in the little things, like who meets you, how carefully the visit is scheduled, how open executives are to criticise their past choices, where you go to lunch, etc. That, and how management framed the decision process – what factors mattered to them, how they developed their analyses – illuminate the nuances behind what can appear to be a straightforward decision, and lead to a deeper understanding of how the strategy process operates in practice. Hopefully, some of this richness comes across in my cases and provides real insight to students.”

~ David J Collis