Publications

10 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Time to Move On? Career Advice for Entrepreneurs Preparing for the Next Stage

book Transitions, by William and Susan Bridges, outlines three stages of transition—the ending, the neutral zone, and the new beginning—and encourages the reader to pause and understand each of these phases during their own transitions.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

November 2000
Case

FireDrop

By: William A. Sahlman and Michael J. Roberts

Describes the evolution of FireDrop, a new venture-backed company that has developed a new platform for e-mail communication. The FireDrop application--called a Zaplet--allows for e-mails to be continually updated so they are current when read (rather than when sent).... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Internet and the Web; Communication Technology; Venture Capital; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry

August 2009
Case

Intel NBI: Vivonic

By: Willy C. Shih and Thomas Thurston

Vivonic was a start-up that was part of Intel's New Business Initiatives that sought to develop and sell personal health monitoring hardware and software. When it was first funded, Intel was in the midst of record growth and was seeking diversification. But the company... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Failure; Diversification; Semiconductor Industry

December 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

FIRA: Confronting the Mexican Agricultural Crisis

By: James E. Austin, Michael Chu and Cate Reavis

In fall 2003, Mexico's agriculture sector was facing a crisis brought on largely by a surge in cheap U.S. imports resulting from NAFTA and inaccessible and/or expensive terms of credit for Mexican agricultural producers. It was getting harder for Mexican producers to... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Public Sector; Trade; Financial Instruments; Crisis Management; Markets; Strategic Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Competitive Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

March 2000 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Thomas Weisel Partners (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Ashish Nanda, Boris Groysberg, Matthew C. Lieb and Scott D Landry

Thomas Weisel, longtime leader of Montgomery Securities, realizes that the sale of Montgomery to NationsBank was the biggest mistake of his life. After his exit from NationsBanc Montgomery Securities, Weisel develops a business plan for a new merchant bank, Thomas... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Business Plan; Financial Institutions; Management Teams; Financial Services Industry

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

Research Summary

Consumer Decision Making and Behavioral Research

By: John T. Gourville

John Gourville’s research focuses on consumer behavior, especially in the areas of pricing and consumer decision making. In the area of pricing, for instance, he has looked at the role of time on how consumers interpret and react to product costs and prices.... View Details

October 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Information Technology and Innovation at Shinsei Bank

Shinsei Bank was rebuilt from the ashes of a failed predecessor, and pioneered new levels of customer service in retail banking in Japan. The bank's information technology, however, was vestigial at best and not well suited to the new service models Shinsei was... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Banking Industry; Japan

28 Jan 2020
Book

Advanced Leadership Requires More Than Outside-The-Box Thinking

constraints to envision a new role for higher education as a developer of change-makers for the world, who could become part of a new stage of higher education. We wanted to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A6): Enterprise 250: Mark Canepa on the Newcomer as Change Agent

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

Coming to Sun Microsystems after 20 years with Hewlett-Packard (HP), Mark Canepa brought a highly organized leadership style more characteristic of HP than Sun. His goal was to use the development of a new workstation product to build a disciplined, process-oriented,... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Cost Management; Leadership Style; Product Development; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

November 2000
Case

Model E: An Incubated Enterprise

By: Myra M. Hart

Provides a close-up view of an entrepreneurial search for opportunity, the role of incubators in the process, and the development of a viable business concept. Also depicts the changes made to the business concept as new people (with new expertise and experience) are... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Transformation; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Problems and Challenges; Internet and the Web

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

E-commerce at Williams-Sonoma

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

Describes Williams-Sonoma's development of a third channel of business on the Internet. Describes the strategies for managing changes in the organizational, operational, and technological structure of the company. The new e-commerce division confronts challenges posed... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Internet and the Web; Trade; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Operations; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; California

25 Feb 2021
News

Viewpoint: J.B. Hunt, Google team up to build another supply chain platform

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

environment, participate in corporate decisions, and be ready to push back when executives head toward murky ethical or legal waters. Bagley's latest book, Winning Legally: How to Use the Law to Create Value, Marshal Resources, and Manage Risk, breaks View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

June 1983 (Revised November 2001)
Case

EMI and the CT Scanner (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the development of the first CT Scanner by EMI, a company new to the medical industry, and EMI's entry into the U.S. market. The company's early success is threatened by the entry of a dozen competitors (some very large and experienced), by government... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Technological Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Industry Structures; Product Development; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry