Publications

December 2004 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Innovation Corrupted: The Rise and Fall of Enron (B)

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Presents a brief historical overview of Enron's rise, its strategic successes and failures, the evolution of its business model, and the organizational processes relied upon by Enron's management to drive and monitor the business. A rewritten version of an earlier... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Risk Management; Management Practices and Processes; Success; Business Model; Strategy; Business History; Governance Controls; Innovation and Management; Failure; Business Processes; Energy Industry; United States

April 2022 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Mastercard Labs (A) (Abridged)

By: Linda A. Hill, Sunil Gupta, Emily Tedards and Julia Kelley

When Ajaypal (Ajay) Banga became the CEO of Mastercard in 2010, he shifted the company’s competitive focus from card networks to cash itself. Mastercard’s new vision of a “World Beyond Cash” distilled into a three-pronged framework: Grow the core business, Diversify... View Details

January 1995
Case

3M: Profile of an Innovating Company

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Afroze A Mohammed

Traces the birth and development of 3M Corp., focusing in particular on the origins of its entrepreneurially-based ability to innovate. In particular, it highlights the role of CEO William L. McKnight in creating a unique set of values, policies, and structures to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture

2009
Working Paper

Don't Just Survive - Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad

By: Lynda M. Applegate and J. Bruce Harreld

Battered by contracting markets and frozen credit, many businesses today are fighting for survival. Indeed, the current global financial crisis provides a mandate for restructuring. But survival is not the end goal. In fact, cost cutting and restructuring are simply... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk Management; Leading Change; Innovation and Management; Crisis Management; Growth and Development Strategy

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July 2025
Case

AeroVironment: The MacCready Works Dilemma

By: Willy Shih and Sophie Zimmerman

Scott Newbern, the head of the MacCready Works at AeroVironment (AV) faced a dilemma. The new Strix next-generation drone had just completed a very successful test. AV had launched MacCready Works to focus on transformational innovations that served new markets and new... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Dynamics; Innovation; Innovation Adoption; Organization Alignment; Organization Design; Organization Boundaries; Disruptive Innovation; Disruptive Innovations; Disruptive Technologies; Aerospace Industry; United States

02 Oct 2014
News

5 Technology Questions Every CMO Must Ask

Keywords: digital marketing; innovation; workflow; organizational culture

October 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Innovation Corrupted: The Rise and Fall of Enron

By: Malcolm S. Salter

Presents an historical overview of Enron's rise and fall and summarizes what is currently known about (1) the evolution of Enron's business model, (2) the organizational processes Enron officials relied on to drive and monitor the business, (3) emergent behavior... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Behavior; Governing and Advisory Boards; Success; Transformation; Failure; Business Processes; Energy Industry; United States

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July 2017 (Revised October 2017)
Supplement

Becton Dickinson: Innovation and Growth (B)

By: Raffaella Sadun, Michael Beer and James Weber

This (B) case supplements the (A) case by providing additional information and updates through early 2016. View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Change Management; Innovation Leadership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

October 2020 (Revised February 2025)
Technical Note

Reinvention

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This note is designed to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of leading innovation in established organizations. Reinvention is a process whereby organizations respond to changes in the environment that threaten their core business model, technologies,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation And Strategy; Leadership And Change Management; Organizational Ambidexterity; Exploration And Exploitation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Leading Change; Technology Adoption; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

15 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Why Business IT Innovation is so Difficult

especially larger ones, have done so. Those that have done the heavy IT and organizational lifting, such as Walmart, reap serious dividends. "There's a tremendous gap between the most IT-savvy firms and the IT laggards," says McElheran,... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

June 2010
Case

The Shaw Group Inc.: Entrepreneurial Innovation

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Edward Watson

The case describes the founding and evolution of the Shaw Group through acquisition. The case is set at the time that the company is redesigning its business processes, organization, and information technology infrastructure to support aggressive growth and increased... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Infrastructure; Business Processes; Organizational Design; Information Technology

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January 2006 (Revised February 2015)
Case

Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ryan Raffaelli

Innovation was linked to Timberland's heritage. In 2005, CEO Jeff Swartz and COO Ken Pucker hoped the Invention Factory, an advanced concept lab, would develop new breakthrough products and reinvigorate the company's culture of innovation. Since the 1960s, Timberland... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Organizational Culture; Change Management

Web

Online Entrepreneurship & Innovation Courses | HBS Online

hrs/week Pay by August 7 $1,850 Certificate Leading Change and Organizational Renewal Professors Michael Tushman and Charles O’Reilly Lead your organization through successful transformation by learning how to execute for today and View Details

June 2022 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Strategic Innovation at the United Nations: A Network of Ecosystems

By: Frank Nagle, Elizabeth J. Altman and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2021, Gina Lucarelli, leader of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs, prepared for a meeting with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. The two planned to discuss the future of the Accelerator Labs, a network of social innovation labs located... View Details

Keywords: Change; Disruption; Transformation; Change Management; Education; Learning; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Local Range; Geopolitical Units; Country; Human Resources; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Information Technology; Information Management; Innovation and Invention; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Dissemination; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Psychology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Society; Social Issues; Welfare; Strategy; Cooperation; Adaptation; Public Administration Industry; North and Central America

2019
Article

Does Big Data Enhance Firm Innovation Competency? The Mediating Role of Data-driven Insights

By: Maryam Ghasemaghaei and Goran Calic

Grounded in gestalt insight learning theory and organizational learning theory, we collected data from 280 middle and top-level managers to investigate the impact of each big data characteristic (i.e., data volume, data velocity, data variety, and data veracity) on... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Innovation and Invention; Learning

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Battered by contracting markets and frozen credit, many businesses today are fighting for survival. Indeed, the current global financial crisis provides a mandate for restructuring. But survival is not the end goal. In fact, cost cutting and restructuring are simply... View Details

2000
Chapter

A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations

By: T. M. Amabile

Keywords: Creativity; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation