Publications

10 Jul 2023
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2023

the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at HBS, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. She is the author and coauthor of several books, including her most recent book Think Outside the Building: How View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

17 Apr 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Diffusing Management Practices within the Firm: The Role of Information Provision

Keywords: by Michael J. Lenox & Michael W. Toffel; Technology

September 2024
Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Latin America; Mexico

09 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 9, 2010

Ontological Leadership Course. 4. Provide participants an opportunity to create a community of scholars, educators, and practitioners to advance the Ontological Leadership... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2022
Book

Making Meritocracy: Lessons from China and India, from Antiquity to the Present

By: Tarun Khanna and Michael Szonyi

How do societies identify and promote merit? Enabling all people to fulfill their potential, and ensuring the selection of competent and capable leaders are central challenges for any society. These are not new concerns. Scholars, educators, and political and economic... View Details

Keywords: Merit; Meritocracy; Society; Government and Politics; History; Power and Influence; Leadership; Competency and Skills; China; India

August 2008
Case

Sloan & Harrison: Non-Equity Partner Discontent

By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman

The law firm, Sloan & Harrison, was dealing with some discontent among its junior non-equity partners. These partners were concerned with the transparency of the advancement process, their ability to position themselves as both leaders within the firm and rainmakers,... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Human Resources; Leadership Development; Management Style; Performance; Work-Life Balance; Legal Services Industry

13 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

Breaking Through the Self-Doubt That Keeps Talented Women from Leading

Professor Katherine B. Coffman that was recently published in Management Science. Women tend to avoid applying for advanced positions where men are stereotypically believed to have an advantage, such as more analytical or... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

23 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

Management’s Role in Reforming Health Care

Despite the urgency of debate on the U.S. national stage about health-care reform, an issue now before the U.S. Senate, one crucial element of change has been less visible: advances in the delivery of medical services. Innovations in... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health

28 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

The Importance of ‘Don’t’ in Inducing Ethical Employee Behavior

in two different ways. Some students received promotion-based instructions that included the following statement, focusing on advancement: "This research project is being conducted to advance the ideals and aspirations pursued by... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

June 2024
Supplement

Heritage Holding (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-Abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: The summer of 2022 marked a crucial period for Heritage Holding co-founders, Alex de Pfyffer and Ross Porter. The... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Business Education; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Problems and Challenges; Private Equity; Corporate Strategy; Business Model; North America

07 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Digital Transformation: A New Roadmap for Success

technological advances open up new, previously unimagined use-cases, leaders must be prepared to ask and answer the question: "Just because we can do something, should we?" With regard to the use of data, leaders must be rigorous in... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

November 2022
Technical Note

Leader Action Orientations

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Akshaya Varghese and Laura Weimer

Leaders are responsible for planning and executing actions that advance organizational goals. As individuals gain career experience, they tend to develop and rely on implicit mental models that shape how they go about “getting things done.” Without knowing it, most... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Prejudice and Bias; Cognition and Thinking; Decision Making; Behavior

February 2020 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Sustainable Product Management at Solvay

By: George Serafeim, Vincent Dessain and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

In November 2019, Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay, a Belgian specialty chemicals and advanced materials group, with annual revenues of more than €10 billion in 2018, announced the group’s mid-term strategy, eight months after she took the helm as Solvay’s 11th CEO. The case... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainable Business And Innovation; Sustainability Management; Sustainable Development; Management Accounting; Innovation; Carbon Emissions; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Targets; Target-setting; Product; Management; Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Europe; Belgium

October 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Avon Products (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Greg Rogers

The general manager of Avon Mexico, Fernando Lezama, must decide whether to promote a woman to the position of vice president of sales. If appointed, the candidate would be the first female in all of Latin America to hold an executive position and one of the first... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Leading Change; Salesforce Management; Organizational Culture; Job Design and Levels; Gender; Management Teams; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mexico

11 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

The First 90 Hours: What New CEOs Should—and Shouldn't—Do to Set the Right Tone

and the way unexpected crises can emerge rapidly, leaders must move faster and display more strategic agility than ever before. Much of Watkins’ advice about how company officials should assume a leadership post still holds true. It’s... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

22 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 22, 2007

policy we consider concerns the level of future Social Security benefits. Specifically, we examine how an agent would respond to learning in advance whether she will experience a major Social Security benefit cut starting at age 65. We... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Nov 2016
First Look

November 15, 2016

advance; moreover, mitigating the conflict through flexible work policies has done little to improve women’s advancement prospects and often hurts them. Drawing on an in-depth case study of a professional service firm, we offer two... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Supplement

From "BIG" Ideas to Sustainable Impact at ICL Group (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

In August 2023, Raviv Zoller, CEO of ICL Group, discussed his upcoming business trip to St. Louis with Eduard Croitoru, VP of ICL Corporate Initiatives, to commemorate the construction of ICL's new $400 million advanced manufacturing facility. In preparation for the... View Details