Publications

November 2012
Case

Building a Community at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation

By: Christopher Marquis, Zucheng Zhou, Mo Chen and Heng Fan

Over the past decade, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) had developed a unique set of benefits and cultural amenities for its employees, including a beautiful residential campus, known as the Living Quarters (LQ), and an award winning... View Details

Keywords: Culture And Community; Cost vs Benefits; Civil Society or Community; Organizational Culture; Profit; Culture; Compensation and Benefits; Semiconductor Industry

December 2011 (Revised June 2013)
Supplement

Bananas (B)

By: Eric Van den Steen

As owner and CEO, Wim Van der Borght had grown Bananas in 8 years from a 4.5 million euro company into a 40 million euro group of companies with a range of field marketing activities in Belgium and the Netherlands. The core of the group consisted of two companies —... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy

29 Nov 2021
News

Eighteen Books on How to Build High-Performing, Inclusive Cultures That Every Business Leader Should Read

13 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Your Company Wants to be a 'Cognitive Referent' (Hint: SpaceX)

with them. The press wants to write about them. Cognitive referents have buzz. McDonald delves into how companies can come to epitomize a market in the working paper Becoming a Cognitive Referent: Market Creation and View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Aerospace; Food & Beverage; Retail

09 Sep 2021
News

Should Your Company Implement a Vaccination Mandate?

16 Nov 2021
HBS Case

How a Company Made Employees So Miserable, They Killed Themselves

year, a 49-year-old technician at the same company stabbed himself in front of his colleagues after learning he had been demoted. Between 2006 and 2009, at least 19 France Télécom employees took their own lives, 12 others attempted... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

April 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

The Container Store

By: Tatiana Sandino, Zeynep Ton and Aldo Sesia

The Container Store (TCS) is a Texas-based retailer of organization and storage solutions. The company prides itself in taking care of its employees first, and its cofounder and CEO Kip Tindell practices Conscious Capitalism. Since its beginnings in 1978, TCS grew to a... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Conscious Capitalism; Merchandising; Customer Focus and Relationships; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Service Delivery; Going Public; Performance Evaluation; Performance Productivity; Retail Industry; United States

14 May 2024
Blog Post

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series - How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship

Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series – How to Build a Culture of Intrapreneurship Today, the concept of “sustainable innovation” seems commonplace and is generally accepted as a viable path balancing business growth with... View Details

21 Aug 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

Companies Love Big Data But Lack the Strategy To Use It Effectively

relied more heavily on data and analytics; this included discovering important barriers to change that require a broader understanding of the organizational culture and incentives.” Ferreira also shared results of a survey of about 350... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July–August 2019
Article

Where Is Your Company Most Prone to Lapses in Integrity?

By: Eugene F. Soltes

Every sizable organization has integrity gaps—areas where what’s considered appropriate behavior diverges from the norms set by its leaders. Within these pockets, things like offensive language, overly aggressive sales practices, or conflicts of interest may be... View Details

Keywords: Integrity; Organizational Culture; Ethics

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10 Jan 2019
News

Companies will perform better if employees are not cowed into silence

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 28 Sep 2018
Webinars: Career

How to Drive Company Performance and Employee Sustainability

Learn how to empower your teams in a way that encourages both high performance and sustainability, from Carolyn Everson, VP of Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook. View Details

Spring–Fall 2015
Article

Whither Uber? Competitive Dynamics in Transportation Networks

By: Benjamin Edelman

Transportation Network Companies offer notable service advances—but do they comply with the law? I offer evidence of some important shortfalls, then consider how the legal system might appropriately respond. Though it is tempting to forgive many violations in light of... View Details

Keywords: Transportation Network Company; Uber; Lyft; Regulation; Lawfulness; Transportation Networks; Laws and Statutes; Law Enforcement; Transportation Industry; Information Technology Industry

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24 Nov 2014
Research & Ideas

Corrupting Silence: Companies Must Speak Up Against Bribes

corporate culture— and not against the law in Germany until 1999. The competitive environment and permissive culture both played a role in the future bribery scandal. "There are three elements that lead individuals in View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

May 2025 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Daiichi Sankyo: Steering a Global Organization

By: Tiona Zuzul, Amy C. Edmondson and Cat Huang

In the spring of 2023, Sunao Manabe, CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, reflected on a pivotal decision. A large Western pharmaceutical company had made a bid to partner with Daiichi Sankyo to develop the next three products in its oncology pipeline. Daiichi Sankyo, a 125-year old... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Culture Change; Decision-making; Leadership; Culture; Innovation; Psychological Safety