Publications

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Culture; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Performance Productivity; Problems and Challenges; Management Practices and Processes; Business Divisions; Information Management; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

February 1991 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Appex Corp.

By: Nitin Nohria

1990 Business Week named Appex Corp. the fastest growing high-technology company in the United States. Appex provided management information systems and intercarrier network services to cellular telephone companies. During its rapid growth, the company went through... View Details

30 Jun 2016
Blog Post

4 Ways I've Changed at HBS

fine-tuning my approach to leadership so that it is adaptable to the people and the context at hand, and that it always serves as the means to make others better. 3. My ability to be present and prioritize The two most salient things I... View Details

01 Jun 2002
News

Two Presidents, One Goal: Building on the Club of Chicago

— the group has also adapted to the changing needs of its membership. “We have a large percentage of people who work either for themselves, or out in the suburbs, or are retired,” Mott notes. “Not everybody is on the train heading... View Details

Keywords: Amy Burton

Summer 2023
Article

(Un)principled Agents: Monitoring Loyalty after the End of the Royal African Company Monopoly

By: Anne Ruderman and Marlous van Waijenburg

The revocation of the Royal African Company's monopoly in 1698 inaugurated a transformation of the transatlantic slave trade. While the RAC’s exit from the slave trade has received scholarly attention, little is known about the company’s response to the loss of its... View Details

Keywords: Slavery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business History; Monopoly; History; Business and Government Relations

March 2023
Case

Azenta Life Sciences: The Road to Transformation

By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner

When the Board brought Steve Schwartz in as President of Brooks Automation in 2010, they gave him a clear mission: strengthen the company’s core semiconductor equipment business and find a new industry to enter. Over the course of the next decade, Schwartz and the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Market Entry and Exit; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Segmentation; Technology Industry

January 2015 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Mauboussin

By: Anat Keinan, Sandrine Crener and Audrey Azoulay

Mauboussin is a French jewelry brand founded in 1827 in Paris. In the 1920s, the company earned a huge notoriety for capturing the aesthetic and emotional dimension of the Art Deco movement in its design and gained a worldwide reputation for innovation and expertise in... View Details

2015
Chapter

Staying the Same While Changing: Organizational Identity in the Face of Environmental Challenges

By: Mary Ann Glynn, Christi Lockwood and Ryan Raffaelli

We explore the role of organizational identity in the adoption of new sustainability practices, focusing on how identity functions as a driver of (or sometimes a drag on) adoption. Drawing on illustrations from the U.S. hotel industry, we examine how sustainability... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Adoption; Accommodations Industry; United States

July 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Case

WeServeHomes.com

ServiceMaster, a Fortune 500 supplier of home services such as Terminex, Trugreen (lawn care), and MerryMaids, has a 50% interest in an Internet start-up designed to attract new customers to its services and help service providers improve quality and lower costs.... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Service Industry

01 Dec 2018
News

Competencies and Credentials

Joseph Fuller (photo by Russ Campbell) Joseph Fuller (photo by Russ Campbell) American businesses can’t afford to ignore the reality: The nature of work is changing. If companies hope to hire and hold on to employees, they need to be ready to respond to the forces... View Details

01 Sep 2017
News

Case Study: Confidence Builder

Illustration by Suharu Ogawa Illustration by Suharu Ogawa Confi began in 2015 as a free online resource for credible and relatable answers to health questions that women weren’t comfortable asking their friends or partners. In its first year, the company, led by... View Details

Keywords: April White; Confi; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

May–June 2021
Article

How to Close the Gender Gap

By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg

Most companies say they’re committed to advancing women into leadership roles. What they may fail to recognize, though, is that systemic barriers are holding women back. As a result, women remain disadvantaged at every stage of their employment and underrepresented in... View Details

Keywords: Gender Discrimination; Employment; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Talent and Talent Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

September 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Zurich Insurance: Diversity and Inclusion

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after implementing five new people practices focused on manager development, diversity and inclusion, job model and data analytics, recruitment, and talent pipeline. The case “Zurich Insurance: Fostering Key People... View Details

Keywords: Managing Change; Organizational Behavior; Diversity Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Leadership; Human Capital; Human Resources; Insurance; Diversity; Insurance Industry

February 2014
Teaching Note

A.P. Møller–Maersk Group: Evaluating Strategic Talent Management Initiatives

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah L. Abbott and Robin Abrahams

This teaching note is an accompaniment to the case, A.P. Møller–Maersk Group: Evaluating Strategic Talent Management Initiatives. The case reviews the talent management issues being discussed at Maersk Group, a global conglomerate with large shipping and oil & gas... View Details

Keywords: Retention; Human Capital; Human Resources; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Management Practices and Processes; Shipping Industry; Energy Industry; Denmark

May 2012
Supplement

Columbia's Final Mission (Abridged) (B)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Kerry Herman

Keywords: Cognitive Biases; Teams; Organizational Learning; Ambiguous Threat; Risk and Uncertainty; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Corporate Disclosure; Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Public Administration Industry; Aerospace Industry

July – August 2009
Article

Organizational Ambidexterity: Balancing Exploitation and Exploration for Sustained Performance

By: Sebastian Raisch, Julian Birkinshaw, Gilbert Probst and Michael Tushman

Organizational ambidexterity has emerged as a new research paradigm in organization theory, yet several issues that are fundamental to this debate remain controversial. We explore four central tensions here: Should organizations achieve ambidexterity through... View Details

Keywords: Change; Innovation and Invention; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Research; Integration

February 2003 (Revised July 2005)
Case

British Broadcasting Corporation (B): Making it Happen

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Douglas A Raymond

Greg Dyke, the new director general of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), has launched an ambitious change program, called Making It Happen, with the objective of unlocking creativity, building a sense of common purpose, and encouraging collaboration throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Media; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership Development; Competition; Creativity; Relationships; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United Kingdom

September 1992 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Royal Automobile Club Rescue Services Division: Transformation Through Technology

By: W. Earl Sasser and Roger H. Hallowell

The Royal Automobile Club uses a new computer and telephone system to improve its service standards and profitability. After the initial impact of changes from technology, the organization faces a need to choose between future technological development or... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Corporate Strategy; Service Industry; Auto Industry; United Kingdom