Publications

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Supplement

ABB: Accountability Times Two (A)

By: Robert L. Simons

Describes the complexity of setting and reconciling performance targets in a global, matrix company. The president of the Finnish industry and rail transport company has received targets from two bosses--his regional superior and his business area superior. Each has... View Details

Keywords: Performance Expectations; Complexity; Multinational Firms and Management; Finland

18 Oct 2016
Op-Ed

Why Business Should Invest in Community Health

“where people live, learn, work, and play.” Many firms acknowledge the importance of employee health to their bottom lines, and have also started taking steps to improve their consumer health and environmental health footprints. Target,... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch, Howard Koh, and Pamela Yatsko; Health

2021
Working Paper

Accounting for Product Impact in the Consumer-Packaged Foods Industry

By: Amanda Rischbieth, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the consumer-packaged goods industry. We design a methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates on customer... View Details

SSRN

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April 16, 2019
Article

Research Confirms: When Receiving Bad News, We Shoot the Messenger

By: Leslie John, Hayley Blunden and Heidi Liu

Most jobs require us at some point to deliver bad news—whether it be a minor revelation such as a recruiter telling a prospective employee that there’s no wiggle room in salary, or something major, like when a manager must fire an employee. We dread such discussions... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Perception; Judgments

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2022
Article

Becoming a Learning Organization While Enhancing Performance: The Case of LEGO

By: Thomas Borup Kristensen, Henrik Saabye and Amy Edmondson

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to empirically test how problem-solving lean practices, along with leaders as learning facilitators in an action learning approach, can be transferred from a production context to a knowledge work context for the purpose... View Details

Keywords: Performance Efficiency; Learning; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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2015
Interviews

Max Bazerman

2016
Book

The Three Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation

By: Vijay Govindarajan

How to Innovate and Execute. Leaders already know that innovation calls for a different set of activities, skills, methods, metrics, mind-sets, and leadership approaches. And it is well understood that creating a new business and optimizing an already existing one are... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Innovation Leadership

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January 1976 (Revised December 1988)
Case

Webster Industries (A)

The manufacturing manager of Webster's largest division is told to cut his managerial payroll by 15%. Provides company background data and a description of the manufacturing manager's reactions to the proposed reduction. Provides the students with an opportunity to... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Cost Management

November 2017
Case

Loss Prevention at Mac's Convenience Stores (A)

By: Francesca Gino, Katherine DeCelles and Olivia Hull

Faced with a persistent robbery problem at his convenience store company, Sean Sportun, security and loss prevention manager at Mac’s of Central Canada, looked to standardize safety measures and devise a new way of preventing employee injury. But as a 32-year old with... View Details

Keywords: Public Relations; Community Relations; Change Management; Working Conditions; Leading Change; Training; Knowledge Dissemination; Crime and Corruption; Law Enforcement; Legal Liability; Business and Community Relations; Retail Industry; Canada

June 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Home Depot, Inc. in the New Millennium

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Jeremy Cott

After nearly two decades of spectacular performance, Home Depot reported a disappointing performance in the year 2000. The company began expanding its business scope as a result of saturating its growth in the core business. This case explores whether the disappointing... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Expansion; Valuation; Performance; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Retail Industry

10 Jan 2005
Research & Ideas

The Knowledge Coach

organization viable. As they put it, "Deep smarts are the engine of your organization. You cannot progress without them, and you will manage more effectively if you understand what they are, how they are built and cultivated, and the... View Details

Keywords: by Dorothy Leonard & Walter Swap

16 Jan 2019
News

Companies lose out when employees’ caregiving burdens increase

October 2010 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Harvest: Organic Waste Recycling with Energy Recovery (A)

By: Deishin Lee, Baris Ata and Mustafa H. Tongarlak

This case describes the waste management industry and a clean technology solution for landfill diversion and renewable energy production. The (A) case focuses on the operational characteristics of waste management and waste to energy, as well as the characteristics of... View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Logistics; Wastes and Waste Processing; Corporate Finance; Green Technology Industry; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry

September 1991 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Tombow Pencil Co. Ltd.

Tombow Pencil Co. Ltd., one of Japan's two premier pencil manufacturers, has been using a subcontractor network in order to respond to changing market conditions. The system currently faces a new challenge as Tombow moves to address a volatile business market for... View Details

Keywords: Production; Supply Chain Management; Manufacturing Industry; Japan

July 2022
Article

Private Equity and COVID-19

By: Paul A. Gompers, Steven N. Kaplan and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

We survey more than 200 private equity (PE) managers from firms with $1.9 trillion of assets under management (AUM) about their portfolio performance, decisionmaking and activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Given that PE managers have significant incentives to... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Health Pandemics; Private Equity; Management; Investment Portfolio; Performance; Decision Making; Value Creation

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September 2013 (Revised April 2014)
Case

Trader Joe's

By: David L. Ager and Michael A. Roberto

Based on a variety of metrics, Trader Joe's ranked as one of the most successful grocers in the United States in 2013. Experts estimated that the company had the highest sales per square foot of any major grocery chain, even significantly higher than top performer... View Details

Keywords: Core Competencies; Growth Strategy; Strategic Positioning; Industry Analysis; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

October 2010 (Revised August 2012)
Supplement

Harvest: Organic Waste Recycling with Energy Recovery (B)

By: Deishin Lee, Baris Ata and Mustafa H. Tongarlak

This case describes the waste management industry and a clean technology solution for landfill diversion and renewable energy production. The (A) case focuses on the operational characteristics of waste management and waste to energy, and the characteristics of the... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Wastes and Waste Processing; Management; Operations; Social Issues; Problems and Challenges; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Quality; Industry Structures; Energy Industry