Publications

01 Sep 2017
News

Inbox: From Das’s Desk

When most MBA students attend HBS, there is a general feeling that the contract they sign is to spend 18 months getting world-class exposure to cases and principles of business and management and then leave with a license to practice business, including the tools and... View Details

Keywords: Das Narayandas; HBX; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

05 Jan 2017
Blog Post

Crossing the River: The HBS/HKS Joint Degree Program

frameworks that will empower me to exercise adaptive leadership. Most importantly, I have a deeper understanding of the kind of leader I want to be and the change I hope to enact through my life’s work. View Details

12 May 2016
News

Food Rescue Is on a Mission

forensic accounting, the ability to adapt to clients’ needs, especially on such an enormous scale, is crucial. He points to SecondBite’s relationship with Coles, one of Australia’s largest supermarket chains, which joined the food-reuse... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

01 Apr 2001
News

Big Deals: Project Finance Helps Mitigate Risk in Large-Scale Investments

new geographic markets and for new types of undertakings, combined with an increasing need to finance development in countries with limited resources, suggest that project finance should continue to loom large in the years ahead. This article was View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Motorola; Air Transportation; Transportation; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services; Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Telecommunications; Information

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supercell 2.0: Clash of Plans

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2010, Supercell was a Helsinki, Finland-based mobile gaming company that had developed and launched five global hit mobile games: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Hay Day, Brawl Stars, and Boom Beach. The company’s early philosophy was that it could produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Video Game Industry; Finland

June 2015 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Akbank: Options in Digital Banking

By: Rajiv Lal and Esel Çekin

This case discusses the digitalization strategies of a leading bank in Turkey, Akbank, and how to position its digital banking products going forward. The Turkish banking industry was undergoing a transformation prompted by the demands of the country's digitally savvy,... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Banking; Emerging Market; Regulations; Channels; Digitization; Information Technology; Competition; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Emerging Markets; Distribution Channels; Banks and Banking; Digital Transformation; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Turkey

April 2014
Supplement

Managing Change at Axis Bank (B)

By: Paul Healy and Rachna Tahilyani

Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Valuation; Finance; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; India

December 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Supplement

Vodafone in Japan (B)

By: Juan Alcacer, Mary Furey and Mayuka Yamazaki

By 2005, Vodafone Group was losing its footing in the sophisticated Japanese telecom market. What were they doing wrong? Should they cut their losses and leave Japan, or could they learn from mistakes and turn things around? View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Profit; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Knowledge Acquisition; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Adaptation; Diversification; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; Japan

November 2008
Case

Malaysia Airlines (A)

In the first six weeks on the job, the new CEO of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has developed an ambitious turnaround plan, including aggressive job cuts and route eliminations, but MAS's largest shareholder, Khazanah Nacional, the sovereign wealth fund, is tasked with... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Economic Growth; Investment Funds; Sovereign Finance; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Air Transportation Industry; Malaysia

Find at Harvard

February 2005 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Shinhan Financial Group (A)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ryan Raffaelli

Mr. Young Hwi Choi, president and CEO of Shinhan Financial Group, embarked on an unconventional post-merger integration strategy with recently acquired Chohung Bank. The strategy focused on integrating traditional operations while attending to employees' reactions to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Change Management; Employees; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Emotions; Integration; South Korea

Profile

Fola Folowosele

inflexion points that tend to define a career. In the next couple of decades business models will have to evolve even more quickly than in the past and I believe that my ability to embrace and adapt to change will be a major deciding... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products

01 Oct 2001
News

Looking for a Leader: The Role of Executive Search Firms

qualified leaders who fall below the sight lines of directors and their personal networks. In these uncertain times, in particular," he concludes, "the stakes are too high for such a narrow perspective." — Peter K. Jacobs Adapted from... View Details

Keywords: Peter K. Jacobs; Telecommunications; Information

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How Business Strategy Tamed the “Invisible Hand”

thinking to guide management decisions. Thus, Peter Drucker argued that "management is not just passive, adaptive behavior; it means taking action to make the desired results come to pass." He noted that economic theory had long... View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat

01 Dec 2000
News

Latin America's Decade

1977) is chairman and CEO of Buenos Aires-based Velox Group, a privately held organization with a line of supermarkets, banks, and finance companies spanning five South American countries. He notes, "You need to be prescient, nimble, and View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons and Julia Hanna; Latin America; research; infrastructure; Hospitality; Securities, Commodities, and Other Financial Investments; Finance; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

08 Nov 2016
First Look

November 8, 2016

to understand the resilience as well as effectiveness of that corporate model remains inside the business group itself. As the business groups flexibly evolve, they can adapt and fit in to remain viable organizational models even in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2025
Supplement

Moleskine: Daniela Riccardi Turns the Page

By: Ryan Raffaelli

Newly appointed CEO Daniela Riccardi needed to develop and present an action plan to the board of the company that owned Moleskine. Riccardi was hired because Moleskine had recently overextended its reach and needed more focus and discipline. Having previously served... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Distribution Channels; Planning; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Product Marketing; Retail Industry; Italy

February 2016 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Greening Walmart: Progress and Controversy

By: Rebecca Henderson and James Weber

In 2005, Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, launched a sustainability initiative aimed at reducing waste and making the company more environmentally and socially conscious. By 2015, the company had made progress on multiple dimensions: energy efficiency in its... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business or Company Management; Motivation and Incentives; Reputation; Environmental Sustainability; Retail Industry; United States

November 2014
Teaching Note

American Airlines in 2011

By: Willy Shih

The American Airlines in 2011 case set was developed to provide a setting for the comparative analysis of two very different business models in the U.S. domestic airline industry—the network carrier and the low cost carrier (LCC). These models offer very different... View Details

Keywords: American Airlines; Network Carrier; Low-cost Carrier; LCC; Air Transportation; Business Model; Restructuring; Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Transportation Industry; United States

October 2013 (Revised December 2013)
Case

Intuit QuickBooks: From Product to Platform

By: Andrei Hagiu and Elizabeth J. Altman

This case focuses on the challenges and opportunities faced by a successful incumbent organization attempting to transform a large portion of its business from a traditionally product-centric operating mode to a platform-based one that leverages network effects to... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Competitive Advantage; Network Effects; Consumer Products Industry