logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
32m 50s

How to Compete with a Fast-Growing Disru...

Harvard Business Review
About this episode

OXXO was the dominant convenience store chain in Mexico—until its chief rival doubled in size almost overnight.

In this episode, Harvard Business School professor Tatiana Sandino explains how OXXO CEO Eduardo Padilla responded to this strategic challenge. Instead of opening more stores as quickly as possible, he focused on improving the company’s culture and operations. The company implemented management systems across its locations and then used those systems to gain new economies of scale.

Key episode topics include: strategy, competitive strategy, operations strategy, organizational culture, Mexico, growth, agile, multi-unit organizations.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR Cold Call episode: Under Pressure, OXXO Rethinks the Convenience Store (Dec 2019)

· Find more episodes of Cold Call

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org

Up next
Jun 2025
An Announcement from HBR On Strategy
For the last two years, HBR On Strategy has been a collection of the best conversations and case studies with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. But the time has come for HBR On Strategy to hit pause on new episodes. We ... Show More
1m 5s
Jun 2025
The Strategic Advantage of Tapping Freelancers
The rapid pace of technological change is making a big impact on hiring. Some organizations are dynamically securing freelance workers through platform apps like Upwork and Freelancer. Other companies are investing heavily in work enabled by artificial intelligence. John Winsor a ... Show More
30m 26s
Jun 2025
The Promises, Pitfalls, and Trade-offs of the Circular Economy
Most businesses are built on a linear model: take, make, and discard. But that norm is reaching its limits, and leaders are under pressure to find smarter, more sustainable ways to operate. Weslynne Ashton is a systems scientist and professor at the Illinois Institute of Technolo ... Show More
20m 36s
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
238: Kian Gohar, How radical adaptability sustains continuous change
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 238, an episode with a sought-after strategist and advisor, Kian Gohar. Get Kian’s book here: https://amzn.to/3mOXe1y Many organizations have been caught flat-footed by disruptive changes – especially in the pandemic era – which has forced a lot ... Show More
1h 3m
Jan 2024
413: Best-selling author and Harvard Business School professor, Ranjay Gulati — Courageous Leadership
Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 413, an interview with the author of Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies, Ranjay Gulati. In his book, Ranjay reveals the fatal mistakes leaders unwittingly make when attempting to implement a reason for being. Moreover ... Show More
53m 40s
Feb 2024
Ultra-Niche Positioning: How to Find Success By Going SUPER Narrow
I’m so f*cking happy to announce that ​my book, Stand The F*ck Out, is officially available for PURCHASE​! To buy the book—and more!—DIRECTLY from us and support our small business, go to: https://book.stfo.ioFree Shipping Worldwide • Ripped Apart by 70+ Marketers • Money-Back Gu ... Show More
57m 59s
Apr 2023
78 | Your Fear Of Judgement Is Holding Your Jewelry Business Back with Robyn Clark
One of the biggest things that holds business owners back is a fear of judgement. Fear of what friends and family will think, fear of what customers will think. And we allow this fear to keep us small. Keep us in a box. And hold both our businesses and lives back. Today I'm divng ... Show More
30m 21s
Feb 2024
197 (Lead) Communication Hacks to Unleash Your Sales Team’s Full Potential (Jake Dunlap, Skaled Consulting)
Check out Jake’s new book The Innovative Seller: Keeping Peace in an AI and Consumer-Centric World and pre-order your copy today!FOUR ACTIONABLE LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAYS Allocate your time into now, near future, and far future to identify true priorities. Use two-week blocks to under ... Show More
32m 34s
Feb 2024
Why DEI Matters Behind The Numbers
In this episode, hosts Ian Dunlap, Troy Millings, and Rashad Bilal sit down with Rick Wade, Vice President of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, to discuss the current landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the corporate world. Rick ... Show More
8m 34s
Nov 2021
164 Strauss Zelnick - America’s Fittest CEO
Leadership is tough. For that matter, just about every job today is tough; the hours, the effort, the competition, the people, the pandemic. Success today requires a certain level of mental and physical fitness. As a result, exercise is key. And while it’s important, it can be ch ... Show More
19m 12s
Dec 2018
Podcast 143: Adopting Agility
The world of business is becoming increasingly complex and as a result businesses themselves are adding complexity to their structures, processes and systems. This can often act as a blocker to the factors of business success like innovation, engagement and ultimately productivit ... Show More
24m 34s