Publications

22 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

The Silo Lives! Analyzing Coordination and Communication in Multiunit Companies

dominant means of communication within companies. Our particular interest is in how organizations coordinate across their many internal divisions (e.g., functions, business units, geographic offices, pay grades, job ranks). Studying... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

07 Jul 2022
HBS Case

How a Multimillion-Dollar Ice Cream Startup Melted Down (and Bounced Back)

finding the right match with people who could run those more distant stores and train people,” says Hyde. Despite these issues, Ample Hills expanded from the East Coast to the West, opening a store in the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood of... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

January 2024
Technical Note

The ICARUS Principles: What It Takes to Tackle the World

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

Over the course of the 20th century, most of the world’s major multinational corporations framed their mission around Milton Friedman’s famous mantra: that the sole purpose of the firm is to maximize its shareholders’ profits. Recently, however, growing numbers of... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Mission; Social Business; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; For-Profit Firms

01 May 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, May 1, 2018

concise chapters, leading authorities and up-and-coming scholars explore fundamental issues and current controversies. The volume systematically reviews the empirical evidence base and presents influential theories of moral judgment and behavior. It is View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2010 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Yum! China

By: David E. Bell and Mary Shelman

Since the first KFC opened in China in 1987, Yum--under Sam Su's leadership--had built the largest restaurant company by far in mainland China. Averaging one new restaurant opening a day for the past five years, in 2010 Yum ran over 3,600 restaurants in 650 cities and... View Details

Keywords: Business Processes; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategy; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Beijing Shi

2010
Working Paper

Beyond Agency Theory: The Hidden and Heretofore Inaccessible Power of Integrity (PDF file of Keynote Slides)

By: Michael C. Jensen and Werner Erhard

There is far too much concern today about the conflicts of interest between people; for example, conflicts of interest between agents and owners—historically a favorite topic of Jensen—and not enough attention paid to the damage caused by an individual's conflict of... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Lawfulness; Production; Organizations; Performance Improvement; Agency Theory; Conflict of Interests; Trust; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation

21 May 2007
Research & Ideas

Fixing the Marketing-CEO Disconnect

McGovern to discuss the CEO-marketing rift in more detail and describe the benefits of the tutorial. Sean Silverthorne: Why has marketing evolved so far from the executive suite over the years? You'd think corporate leaders would want to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

The Untold Story of ‘Green’ Entrepreneurs

In the 1920s, on pitch black nights in rural eastern Montana, the farmhouse owned by the parents of brothers Marcellus and Joe Jacobs stood out for one reason: it had light, although located far from power lines and gasoline supplies. It... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

11 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 11, 2008

South Dakota Wheat Growers (SDWG) serves the needs of its 3,600 active farmer-members by supplying farm inputs and organizing the marketing and transportation of grain produced in the co-op's service territory. For almost 80 years, the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Article

Beyond Magic Bullets: True Innovation in Health Care

By: Vaibhav A. Narayan, Marco Mohwinckel, Gary Pisano, Michael Yang and Husseini Manji

The molecular medicine revolution—based on advances in fields such as genomics and network modeling in the decade since the human genome sequence was completed—has changed the way we think about, study, and approach the development of novel therapies. However, these... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Business Model; Organizational Structure; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

31 Mar 2009
First Look

First Look: March 31, 2009

2009 Abstract This casebook provides an organized treatment of the major challenges associated with managing large-scale disaster events, including discussion of systematic methods of organizing disaster... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Jun 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Fame, Faith, and Social Activism: Business Lessons from Bono

other influential politicians. Bono and Bobby Shriver helped form the political advocacy organizations DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa) and ONE, and the fundraising group (RED) to fight disease, poverty, and hunger in Africa. He also used... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

26 Apr 2023
In Practice

Is AI Coming for Your Job?

III: Skillsets will shift As far as the doomsday scenario in which AI replaces everyone’s jobs, I don’t see that playing out anytime soon. As new technologies penetrate markets, they often change how View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

April 2020
Case

The Board's Role in Refocusing Bahrain Development Bank

By: Paul M. Healy and Alpana Thapar

In March 2016, Bahrain Development Bank’s (BDB) existing board term came to an end and Khalid Al Rumaihi was appointed the new chairman. Determining a need for change, he immediately overhauled the board and replaced BDB’s long-standing CEO. The new board quickly... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Banking Industry; Bahrain

March 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Transforming AMFAM

By: Rakesh Khurana, Rajiv Lal and Cathy Ross

On a winter day in December 2007 at the American Family Mutual Insurance Company (AMFAM) headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, Dave Anderson and Jack Salzwedel remained in the conference room after the senior management meeting had concluded. Anderson, CEO of AMFAM since... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Governing and Advisory Boards; Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Insurance Industry; United States