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Publications
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(4,583)
- Faculty Publications (585)
- August 2020
- Case
Zoom Video Communications: Eric Yuan's Leadership During COVID-19
In the first half of 2020, worldwide lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought explosive growth to the Zoom Video Communications platform, as people replaced in-person work and social events with videoconferencing. Months into the pandemic, CEO Eric Yuan... View Details
Keywords: Transformation; Communication Technology; Customer Value and Value Chain; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Working Conditions; Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Health Pandemics; Technology Industry; United States; California
- July 2020
- Technical Note
Digital Natives Growing Without a Sales Force
By: Das Narayandas, Michael Norris and Amram Migdal
This brief case describes the rise of so-called digital natives (also called born-in-digital) in the 2000s and 2010s that successfully grew without a sales force. The case highlights the emergence of business-to-business Internet and cloud-based companies and their... View Details
Keywords: Government Administration; Crisis Management; Health; Health Pandemics; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Social Issues; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Information Technology Industry; Australia; North and Central America; United States; Illinois; Chicago; California; San Francisco
- July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
- Case
Rosalind Fox at John Deere
By: Anthony Mayo and Olivia Hull
Rosalind Fox, the factory manager at John Deere’s Des Moines, Iowa plant, has improved the financial standing of the factory in the three years she’s been at its helm. But employee engagement scores—which measured employees’ satisfaction with working conditions and... View Details
Keywords: Agribusiness; Change Management; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Diversity; Gender; Race; Engineering; Geographic Location; Globalized Markets and Industries; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management Style; Management Teams; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Prejudice and Bias; Power and Influence; Status and Position; Trust; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States
- July 2020 (Revised July 2023)
- Case
Live Nation and Pharrell Williams
By: Anita Elberse and Kate Christensen
“We’re in business together, and whether we lose a few million dollars or make a few million dollars, let’s do this. If you think you can pull it off, I’m behind you.” Michael Rapino, chief executive officer of Live Nation, the world’s leading live entertainment... View Details
- July–September 2020
- Article
Innovation Contest: Effect of Perceived Support for Learning on Participation
By: Olivia Jung, Andrea Blasco and Karim R. Lakhani
Background: Frontline staff are well positioned to conceive improvement opportunities based on first-hand knowledge of what works and does not work. The innovation contest may be a relevant and useful vehicle to elicit staff ideas. However, the success of the... View Details
- 2024
- Working Paper
Cephalosporins—Fighting Hospital Infections: Case Histories of Transformational Advances
By: Amar Bhidé, Srikant Datar and Katherine Stebbins
This case history describes the development of three generations of cephalosporins – antibiotics that have significantly reduced hospital infections. Specifically, we chronicle how: 1) Early (pre-cephalosporin) antibiotics were developed in the first half of the 20th... View Details
- June 24, 2020
- Article
Wolfgang Puck on Leading His Restaurants Through the Pandemic
By: Boris Groysberg
Chef Wolfgang Puck shares his experience leading his restaurants and other businesses through the pandemic crisis. He explains how his company has pivoted to find new sources of revenue and how he has become a vocal advocate for the restaurant industry. He also... View Details
- Article
Sustainability, Business, and Health
By: George Serafeim, Amanda M. Rischbieth and Howard K. Koh
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demonstrated that response demands involvement from every sector of society. As a major example, some businesses have stepped up in ways previously unimaginable. Garment companies have repurposed production to face... View Details
- June 16, 2020
- Article
Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.
By: Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz and Imran S. Currim
The coronavirus makes your customers less able and less willing to spend than before. How should you re-engage with them? Advice from Rohit Deshpandé and colleagues. View Details
- 2020
- Other Unpublished Work
An Operating Model for the Next Normal: Lessons from Agile Organizations in the Crisis
By: Christopher Handscomb, Deepak Mahadevan, Lars Schor, Marcus Sieberer, Euvin Naidoo and Suraj Srinivasan
Companies with agile practices embedded in their operating models have managed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis better than their peers. Here’s what helped them cope. View Details
- June 2020 (Revised March 2024)
- Case
Deloitte's Pixel (A): Consulting with Open Talent
By: Michael L. Tushman, John Winsor and Kerry Herman
Deloitte Consulting’s General Manager Balaji Bondili, head of Pixel, considers how best to grow Deloitte Consulting’s use of open (on-demand) talent, as consulting companies and their clients face transformative change in the way client engagements and projects get... View Details
- May 2020
- Case
Big Boom Beverages: Fight or Flight?
By: Stephen A. Greyser and William Ellet
Four college friends market a beverage that combines ingredients like those in a drink they consumed in college bars. It includes a caffeinated energy drink, malt liquor, and a soft drink flavoring. They launch the business, Big Boom Beverages (BBB), with their own... View Details
- May 8, 2020
- Article
Lead Your Team Into a Post-Pandemic World
By: Hubert Joly
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has tested leaders, especially as it relates to how they lead their workers. As the crisis goes on, many that the author has spoken with have begun to frame it around three distinct phases: The Shelter-in-Place Phase, the Re-opening... View Details
- May 1, 2020
- Article
COVID-19's Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Danielle Kost
The coronavirus pandemic caught the business world by surprise, but the catastrophe might force companies to face a crisis that has been unfolding in plain sight: climate change.
We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details
We asked faculty members affiliated with the Business and Environment Initiative at... View Details
- May 2020
- Article
Sales Leadership During and After the Crisis
Because customer acquisition and retention are the lifeblood of a for-profit enterprise, sales activities establish foundational conditions for a business. In turn, sales managers’ responsibilities in a crisis extend beyond keeping the lights on. Their leadership makes... View Details
- May 5, 2020
- Article
Why the Crisis Is Putting Companies at Risk of Losing Female Talent
By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg
There has been a massive shift in how work gets done inside many companies and the global pivot to working remotely will likely change how many think about face time and rigid work schedules. Might these changes benefit women? The authors argue that will depend on how... View Details
- April 13, 2020
- Article
4 Things Workers Need from Their Companies Right Now
- April 2020
- Teaching Note
Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature
By: Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett
Teaching Note for HBS No. 620-024. Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing... View Details
- March 2020 (Revised October 2020)
- Case
Board Director Dilemmas—Digging into Detail
By: David G. Fubini, Suraj Srinivasan and Amram Migdal
This case explores a new board director who asks a detailed question about a footnote in the lengthy board packet distributed to directors by management. The case allows for discussion about the amount of information and level of detail provided by management, the... View Details
- February 2020
- Supplement
Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature
By: Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett
Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing so, the company developed direct... View Details
Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Product Development; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Digital Platforms; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts