Publications

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A4): Sun Peak: Helen Yang and Mark Walden on "Running Sun on Sun"

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

SunPeak was the largest project Sun Microsystems, Inc. had ever undertaken: shifting Sun's entire business transaction system from a mainframe-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to a Sun-based system. Making the shift would be complicated and financially... View Details

Keywords: Projects; Transformation; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Complexity; Risk and Uncertainty; Success; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; Technology Industry

November 2017
Case

iRobot: Moving Beyond the Roomba

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

The makers of the Roomba, a robotic vacuum cleaner, connected the latest version of their product to the Internet. This new feature opened up a wealth of new opportunities and challenges for the company. View Details

Keywords: Irobot; Smart Home; Connected Home; Roomba; Vacuum; Mapping; Internet Of Things; Connected Products; Organizational Structure; Organizational Design; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

31 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 31, 2017

develop their know-how, and build and maintain their reputation globally during the last decades. We focus on three tools: patents, trademarks, and industrial designs. We find that, although most IP applications come from a few countries... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2010 (Revised March 2012)
Teaching Note

PNC Financial: Grow Up Great (TN) (A) and (B)

By: Christopher Marquis, V. Kasturi Rangan and Bobbi Thomason

Teaching Note for [409108]. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Leadership; Early Childhood Education; Brands and Branding; Organizational Structure; Success; Financial Services Industry

August 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Leaders Who Make a Difference: Joel Klein Brings Accountability to NYC DOE: Day 2

By: Joseph L. Bower and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Joel Klein took over the NYC Department of Education in 2002 and radically transformed the strategy and organization remarkably with improvements in performance. Day 2 focuses on Klein as a strategist, organization builder and driver of performance. Supplementary... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Education; Performance Improvement; Public Administration Industry; Public Administration Industry

October 2019
Case

Impax Laboratories: Executing Accretive Acquisitions (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Impax Laboratories was a technology-based pharmaceutical company that used a “dual platform” strategy to sell both generic and branded treatments. While Impax had grown organically for most of its history, it was beginning to use major acquisitions for growth. In the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

November 2008 (Revised October 2009)
Case

American Cancer Society: Access to Care

By: Robert L. Simons and Kathryn Rosenberg

CEO John Seffrin decides to radically change the strategy of the American Cancer Society. The new Access to Care strategy relies on advocacy to change public policy and increase the number of Americans eligible for cancer prevention and treatment. The new strategy... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Governance Controls; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Strategy; Health Industry; United States

02 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 3, 2018

corporate responses were not homogeneous. There were major variations between individual managers, companies, industrial sectors, and national business systems. This working paper supports this reinterpretation by examining the case of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2009 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Intel NBI: Radio-Frequency Identification

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

The Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) group was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives. It sought initially to develop and sell a high performance Rf fast read rate module targeted at fixed position readers that might be found in loading docks... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Structure; Failure; Diversification; Integration; Semiconductor Industry

Find at Harvard

Web

IFC: Italy; Tradition and Innovation - Course Catalog

evolution and the present business, economic and political situation in Italy, (2) explore examples of how Italian companies innovate and compete, (3) gain an understanding of the structure of the Italian View Details

12 Nov 2018
Research & Ideas

'Always On' Isn't Always Best for Team Decision-Making

and high performers draw on them less. NEXT UP: NEW COLLABORATION TOOLS Not all intermittency is gone, despite management trends and collaboration tools pushing the always-on ethos. Sprints used by agile teams are an example of View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

December 2019
Case

WeWork Files for an IPO

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

For the board of The We Company—better known as WeWork—August 14, 2019, promised to be a pivotal day. It was then that WeWork’s IPO prospectus, known as an S-1 filing, would be made public, giving potential investors, the media, and the general public a window into the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Leadership; Management; Private Equity; Valuation; Venture Capital; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States

08 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 8, 2008

unprecedented expansion of higher education and, in the most recent time, efforts at reform and restructuring. Harvard has overhauled its undergraduate curriculum in a comprehensive fashion for the first time in 30 years. European universities have witnessed even more... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Restructuring at Delphi Corporation (A)

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

Delphi Corporation, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has filed a plan of reorganization with the court, under which a consortium of hedge funds led by Appaloosa Management will invest up to $2.6 billion in new equity. Also participating in the plan is... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Investment Funds; Labor and Management Relations; Auto Industry; Auto Industry