The Key to Preserving a Long-Term Competitive Advantage

Harvard Business Review

27 March 2024

For more than a century, the pharmaceutical company Roche has been headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It’s one of more than a dozen pharmaceutical companies who have long been based there. Howard Yu, Lego Professor of Management and Innovation at IMD Business School in Switzerland, says that this industrial cluster is a unique example of enduring competitive advantage. In this episode, you'll learn how these historic companies began as makers of chemical dyes and later evolved into microbiology. You’ll also learn how to repackage your company’s existing knowledge to pioneer new products and services. And you’ll learn why persistence and experimentation over the long term are pre-requisites for innovation.