Publications

01 Aug 2023
What Do You Think?

As Leaders, Why Do We Continue to Reward A, While Hoping for B?

among team members who are better prepared for the future than they are. As she put it, “How will the supervisor mentor someone who should likely be fast-tracked?” Les Sherry added, “Older managers & mid-level executives are facing... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Program

Transforming Customer Experiences

inside sales teams, or other functions central to service delivery Executives in marketing, data analysis, or operations management Human resources executives concerned with driving internal service culture While individuals are invited to attend, cross-functional... View Details

September 2007 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Peter Welz: When a Marquee Prospect Plays Hardball (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Ellen Knebel

Describes the hardball tactics facing Peter Welz, who seeks to negotiate a make-or-break contract with a vastly larger potential client. Welz's counterpart team is led by Preston Spitzer, a notoriously tough player who fully understands his side's massive advantages in... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics; Behavior; Conflict and Resolution; Competitive Advantage

March 1999
Case

MySoftware Company (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Nicole Tempest

In 1997, Gregory Slayton took the position as CEO of MySoftware, which had been experiencing revenue and operating losses for the past two years. Within 90 days, he stabilized the company through a combination of cost cutting, financial discipline, and accountability... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Cost Management; Profit; Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Outcome or Result; Partners and Partnerships; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

Program

Leading Change and Organizational Renewal

Recognize how leadership styles and senior team characteristics affect change Make better decisions about change initiatives—even with insufficient information Develop internal communication networks essential to driving initiatives... View Details

15 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

Why Giving to Others Makes Us Happy

Tell Kids to ‘Work Hard,’ Do They Send the Wrong Message? How Bonuses Get Employees to Choose Work Over Family Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at hbswk@hbs.edu. Image: Adobe/SasinParaksa View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Program

Managing Innovation

intradepartmental teams of four to six managers are encouraged to apply. Learning and Living at HBS When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the... View Details

July 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Case

The Springfield Nor'easters: Maximizing Revenues in the Minor Leagues

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Christopher H. Lovelock and Laura Winig

The marketing director of a new minor-league baseball team must design, conduct, and then interpret survey research to determine optimal ticket pricing that will yield large attendance figures and contribute to the owner's goal of breaking even in the first year of... View Details

Keywords: Market Research; Quantitative Analysis; Consumer Marketing; Pricing Strategy; Price; Marketing Strategy; Mathematical Methods; Product Launch; Sports; Sports Industry; Massachusetts

17 Apr 2020
News

Q&A with former SBA Administrator Karen Mills

11 Mar 2021
Video

Meet the i-Lab‘s “Unicorns”: Celebrating Venture Success Stories

12 Mar 2013
Video

LearnX - Episode 1 - Creative Tension

2013
Working Paper

How Major League Baseball Clubs Have Commercialized Their Investment in Japanese Top Stars

By: Isao Okada and Stephen A. Greyser

When a Major League Baseball club signs a Japanese star player, it obviously tries to commercialize its investment in the player. The initial focus is on home attendance (ticket sales) and television audiences, plus merchandise sales. These elements are similar to... View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Sports; Revenue; Sports Industry; Japan; United States

SSRN

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October 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

The University of Notre Dame Endowment

By: Andre F. Perold and Paul Michael Buser

The Endowment Model of Investing, which was based on creating high risk-adjusted performance through diversification, a long time horizon, top-notch outside managers, and illiquid investments, had served Notre Dame and other large universities well over the past... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Higher Education; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Liquidity; Investment; Risk Management; Performance Evaluation; Education Industry; Financial Services Industry

30 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

Why Anger Makes a Wrongly Accused Person Look Guilty

person behind bars,” says John, the Marvin Bower Associate Professor at HBS. “People who are falsely accused, of course, have every reason to be angry. But we wondered whether displays of anger may be misinterpreted as a sign of guilt.” First, the View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

January 2025
Case

Apax Partners: Deciding Whether to Bid for Trader Corp.

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Edward A. Meyer

Apax Partners’ investment committee was schedule to meet on March 21, 2011, to decide whether to invest in Trader Corporation, a Canadian classified advertising business for used automobiles with both print (magazines) and digital (website) distribution. What made this... View Details

2022
Working Paper

Passing the Mic: Career and Firm Outcomes of Executive Interactions

By: Wei Cai, Ethan Rouen and Yuan Zou

We exploit a unique feature of conference calls to study one type of interaction among executives—directly inviting colleagues to respond to analysts’ questions. We find that the frequency of initiating interaction is positively associated with an executive’s ability,... View Details

Keywords: Conference Calls; CEO Succession; Executive Interactions; Promotion; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Development and Career; Retention

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February 2025
Case

Luca de Meo at Renault Group (A)

By: Emily Truelove, Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

When Luca de Meo became CEO of Renault Group in 2020, the 122-year-old French automaker faced financial challenges and the double technological disruption of the automotive industry: the shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and the rise of software-defined vehicles (SDVs).... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Transition; Interpersonal Communication; Forms of Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Experience and Expertise; Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Making; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Alternative Energy; Engineering; Global Strategy; Governance; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Technology Adoption; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Technological Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Crisis Management; Management Skills; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Performance Efficiency; Transportation; Auto Industry; Battery Industry; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Transportation Industry; France; Europe; China