Publications

Article

As the World Shifts, So Should Leaders

By: Nitin Nohria

Two decades ago, extensive research led Nohria, the former dean of Harvard Business School, to conclude that the hallmark of great leadership is the ability to adapt to the times. Today, he says, we're in a period of significant change, thanks to global events,... View Details

Keywords: Adaptability; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Adaptation

Register to Read

Article

Organizational Innovation in the Multinational Enterprise: Internalization Theory and Business History

By: Teresa da Silva Lopes, Mark Casson and Geoffrey Jones

This article engages in a methodological experiment by using historical evidence to challenge a common misperception about internalization theory. The theory has often been criticized for maintaining that it assumes a hierarchically organized MNE based on knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Internalization; Multinational Strategy; Business History; Organization And Management Theory; Globalization; Entrepreneurship; Governance; History; Organizations; Theory; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America

Read Now

October 2021
Article

Shareholder Activism and Firms' Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks

By: Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel and Kala Viswanathan

This paper examines whether—in the absence of mandated disclosure requirements—shareholder activism can elicit greater disclosure of firms’ exposure to climate change risks. We find that environmental shareholder activism increases the voluntary disclosure of climate... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Reporting; Shareholder Engagement; Shareholder Activism; Climate Change; Risk and Uncertainty; Environmental Management; Investment Activism; Corporate Disclosure; Communication Strategy; Information Publishing; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Problems and Challenges; United States

January 2004
Article

Market Orientation, Innovativeness and Organizational Culture: Thai Firms Adapt to the Asian Economic Crisis

By: Rohit Deshpandé and John U. Farley

Keywords: Markets; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Culture; Financial Crisis; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Ventures; Thailand; Asia

January 2020
Background Note

Climate Change in 2020: Implications for Business

By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Sophus A. Reinert and Mariana Oseguera

This note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Included is an overview of climate change science and a number of its impacts, including rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and extreme weather, pressure on water... View Details

01 Dec 1996
News

Organizations and Markets: A Challenging View of the World

and leading others. This is a fundamental concept discussed in Coordination, Control, and the Management of Organizations (CCMO), one of the MBA Program's most popular... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

01 Mar 2023
News

Step Change

wasn’t secured by September 30, the remaining $180 million would disappear, giving Harmon and Enan just weeks to change more than a few hearts and minds. (Arguments used for... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Abdelrahman Gabr – Koree; entrepreneurship; women; venture capital; Egypt; developing economies; Finance

March 2022
Background Note

Climate Challenges for Cities: Introduction to Issues and Actions in the United States

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Catarina Mia Martinez

This background Note introduces the implications of climate change (global warming) for American cities. In the U.S., partisan political divides and unaddressed economic and racial disparities in climate vulnerabilities can inhibit action. The two main fronts for... View Details

2021
Working Paper

Shareholder Activism and Firms’ Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks

By: Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel and Kala Viswanathan

This paper examines whether—in the absence of mandated disclosure requirements—shareholder activism can elicit greater disclosure of firms’ exposure to climate change risks. We find that environmental shareholder activism increases the voluntary disclosure of climate... View Details

Keywords: Shareholder Activism; Climate Risk; Corporate Accountability; Climate Change; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry; United States

SSRN

Read Now

Article

Why Sexual Harassment Persists and What Organizations Can Do to Stop It

By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg

Long before the #MeToo movement, the insidious effects of harassment were well known to organizational researchers. Women who are harassed often leave their jobs, taking valuable relationships, and potential out the door with them and creating the costly need to hire... View Details

Keywords: Work Environment; Sexual Harassment; Harassment; Organizational Culture; Gender; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change

Register to Read

November 2005 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Leading Change at Simmons (A)

By: Tiziana E. Casciaro, Amy C. Edmondson, Stacy McManus and Kate Roloff

Explores the challenge of managing large-scale organizational change at Simmons, an old and established company that manufactures and distributes mattresses. The new CEO, Charlie Eitel, hired to turn the organization's performance around, considers whether to implement... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Leading Change; Employee Relationship Management; Manufacturing Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

2002
Chapter

Organizational Technology: Technological Change, Ambidextrous Organizations and Organizational Evolution

By: M. Tushman and W. Smith

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Technological Innovation

Program

Changing the Game

skills needed to bargain more effectively, make better decisions on the spot, and consistently deliver results. You may also be interested in the related program: Changing the Game: Negotiation View Details

16 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

Breaking the Code of Change

which we developed cases, seem to be pure cases of these archetypes. An examination of many other organizations will show a mixture of these strategies, often in uneasy coexistence. We argue that both theories have validity. Table I-1... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer & Nitin Nohria

09 Jan 2020
News

Advancing Change

institutional change should be the responsibility of aspiring and accomplished leaders everywhere,” says Kanter. Why do we need advanced leaders now? Problems like climate change, racial View Details

10 Feb 2021
Blog Post

HBS Virtual Treks: How Student Clubs are Adapting to the New Normal

Career treks and conferences organized by student clubs remain fundamental elements of the MBA experience at HBS. Like other events, though, clubs had to move these signature treks online. The VCPE Venture... View Details

15 Nov 2024
News

Driving Change

Speaking to nearly 700 alumni at the Women’s Leadership Summit last week, HBS Professor Robin Ely addressed both current and emerging challenges facing women in leadership roles, while emphasizing the critical importance of continued progress. “Today, we face a fresh... View Details

Climate Change in 2017: Implications for Business

This note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Included is an overview of climate change science and a number of its impacts, including rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and extreme weather, pressure on... View Details

January 1989 (Revised March 1991)
Case

General Electric Canada: Designing a New Organization

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James I. Cash Jr.

General Electric Canada used sociotechnical design techniques to restructure its financial, administrative, facilities, and information technology service from a decentralized, hierarchical organization to a centralized organization composed of self-managing,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Information Technology; Groups and Teams; Change; Communication; Information; Industrial Products Industry; Canada