Publications

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November 1997 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Sears, Roebuck and Company (A): Turnaround

The CEO of Sears faces issues involving the company's recent turnaround and ongoing transformation, including change management and the use of leading (U.S. lagging) indicators or measures. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Retail Industry; United States

Summer 2013
Article

Real Estate Prices During the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression

By: Tom Nicholas and Anna Scherbina

Using new data on market-based transactions we construct real estate price indexes for Manhattan between 1920 and 1939. During the 1920s prices reached their highest level in the third quarter of 1929 before falling by 67% at the end of 1932 and hovering around that... View Details

Keywords: Property; Market Transactions; Price; Value; Financial Crisis; Investment; Real Estate Industry; New York (state, US)

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27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

Many of us feel time-pressured, tethered to our smartphones so we can stay on top of work and home responsibilities. It can be tough to step off the daily merry-go-round, put our phones, laptops, and to-do lists aside, and find decent... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

February 2006
Article

Wealth and Executive Compensation

Using new data on the wealth of Swedish CEOs, I show that higher wealth CEOs receive stronger incentives. Since high wealth (excluding own-firm holdings) implies low absolute risk aversion, this is consistent with a risk aversion explanation. To examine whether wealth... View Details

Keywords: Wealth; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Risk Management; Competency and Skills; Wages; Sweden

October 1999
Case

CIBC Corporate and Investment Banking (A): 1987-1992

By: Joseph L. Bower and Michael Raynor

In 1992, CIBC CEO Al Flood faced the short-term operational challenge of saving Wood Gundy, the troubled investment bank CIBC had purchased five years earlier. At the same time he had to tackle the long-term strategic challenge of integrating Gundy's investment banking... View Details

Keywords: Investment Banking; Banks and Banking; Corporate Strategy; Integration; Problems and Challenges; Mergers and Acquisitions; Banking Industry

2021
Book

The Four Elements: Finding Right Livelihood in the 21st Century

By: Timothy Butler

This is a book for all who are facing career and life transitions. At such junctures, our decisions require the full self, and astute thinking alone will not carry us into the new place that our lives demand. The Four Elements shares the recent research of Dr.... View Details

Keywords: Meaningfulness; Career Satisfaction; Personal Development and Career; Transition; Decision Making

18 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Looking in the Mirror: Questions Every Leader Must Ask

question certain activities where they are spending substantial time and money yet not contributing to organizational goals and maybe they shouldn't be pursuing." Does The Way You Spend Your Time Match... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

Article

Why Every Organization Needs an Augmented Reality Strategy

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

While the physical world is three-dimensional, most data is trapped on two-dimensional pages and screens. This gulf between the real and digital worlds prevents us from fully exploiting the volumes of information now available to us. Augmented reality (AR), a set of... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Effectiveness

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24 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Do We Tax?

Lawmakers, following public opinion rather than scholars' theories, have put in place very little tagging. Does this mean it's time to bury the Utilitarian approach? Not quite, says economist Matthew C. Weinzierl. The Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Legal Services

July 2022
Case

General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (A)

By: Debora L. Spar and Alicia Dadlani

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused... View Details

Keywords: Race; Decisions; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Minneapolis; Minnesota; United States

May 2017 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Predicting Consumer Tastes with Big Data at Gap

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

CEO Art Peck was eliminating his creative directors for The Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic brands and promoting a collective creative ecosystem fueled by the input of big data. Rather than relying on artistic vision, Peck wanted the company to use the mining of big... View Details

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Sony

By: Stefan Thomke, Atsushi Osanai and Akiko Kanno

Sony used to be synonymous with "innovation" and "cool products." The case reveals how the company lost its edge and describes the leadership initiatives to restore its former glory. In 2012, Kazuo (Kaz) Hirai becomes CEO and successfully transforms Sony, including a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Experience; Product Differentiation; Transformation; Leadership Style; Technology Adoption; Leading Change; Electronics Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Video Game Industry; Japan

August 1974 (Revised November 1974)
Case

Reynolds Construction Company

By: Paul W. Marshall

Deals with the use of critical path method for the construction of remote control building, which is part of a water purification system. Discusses the necessity of determining the shortest possible time in which a job could be done without spending more money. Case... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Construction; Cost Management; Time Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; System; Construction Industry

July 2022
Supplement

General Mills: Responding to the Killing of George Floyd (B)

By: Debora L. Spar and Alicia Dadlani

Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills, one of the world's largest manufacturers of breakfast cereals and packaged foods, was deeply disturbed and instantly aware that he and General Mills would need to respond. George Floyd, an African-American man who had been accused... View Details

Keywords: Race; Decisions; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry; Minneapolis; Minnesota; United States

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

furnishings and home entertainment will hold up well, as uncertainty prompts us to stay at home but also stay connected with family and friends. Now may be the time to drop your weaker distributors and... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

05 Sep 2023
Book

Failing Well: How Your ‘Intelligent Failure’ Unlocks Your Full Potential

together, experiencing them all as negative experiences in life or in business, Edmondson contends that some failures are smarter than others because they help us identify a path toward eventual success. In the workplace, an employee may... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

20 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Creating a Positive Professional Image

non-verbal behavior (appearance, demeanor), verbal cues (vocal pitch, tone, and rate of speech, grammar and diction, disclosures), and demonstrative acts (citizenship, job performance). My research suggests that, in addition to using... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

January 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Transformation at ING (A): Agile

By: William R. Kerr, Federica Gabrieli and Emer Moloney

In December 2017, Vincent van den Boogert, CEO of ING in the Netherlands, was reflecting upon the company’s “agile” transformation, a reorganization of work that had been critical to respond to and exceed rapidly changing customer expectations. Launched in 2015 at the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change; Organizational Management; Workforce; Agile; Change Management; Leadership; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Leading Change; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Banking Industry

December 2011
Case

Bergerac Systems: The Challenge of Backward Integration

By: David A. Garvin and Sunru Yong

Bergerac Systems is a small, rapidly growing manufacturer of diagnostic instruments used in veterinary practices. The company introduced the OmniVue chemistry analyzer, which enables veterinarians to run a wide range of blood and blood chemistry tests on their animal... View Details

Keywords: Financial Analysis; Manufacturing Strategy; Strategy; Production; Supply Chain Management; Vertical Integration; Performance Capacity; Financial Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry