Publications

November 2006 (Revised October 2017)
Case

China: 'To Get Rich Is Glorious'

By: Richard Vietor and Julia Galef

In 1978, Deng Xiaoping assumed the leadership of an impoverished China, after Mao Zedong's disastrous Cultural Revolution. During the next 17 years, Deng applied pragmatic policies to liberalize the Chinese economy gradually while maintaining the power of the Communist... View Details

Keywords: History; Leadership; Privatization; Policy; Macroeconomics; Economic Systems; Development Economics; Government and Politics; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; China

September 2019
Case

JTC: Stronger Together with Shared Ownership

By: Ethan Bernstein and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of Jersey-based financial services firm JTC, firmly believed that "shared ownership" was at the heart of his company’s successful track record. The firm had seen its revenues, profits, and number of clients and staff grow steadily throughout its... View Details

Keywords: Ownership; Employee Ownership; Leadership Style; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Going Public; Mission and Purpose; Management Practices and Processes; Human Resources; Financial Services Industry; Channel Islands; Europe; United States

17 Jan 2020
In Practice

6 Traits That Set Top Business Leaders Apart

their team’s best efforts. They’re great learners that view successful outcomes as both achieving specific objectives and improving their organization’s ability to deal with its next wave of challenges." Chester A. Huber, senior lecturer... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

October 2022
Case

Colette Phillips and GetKonnected!: Creating Inclusive Ecosystems

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Amy Chiu and Joyce Kim

Colette Phillips’ marketing firm had just won the City of Boston’s 2nd largest contract in history to a Black-owned company. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Get Konnected!, the networking organization for people of color that she founded 15 years earlier and led to... View Details

March 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Kyocera Corp.

By: John P. Kotter

Examines the three factors critical to this company's remarkable success in the high tech field. The first factor is the founder, Dr. Inamori's powerful leadership. The second is the strong corporate culture or philosophy of the firm. The third element in Kyocera's... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Infrastructure; Leadership Style; Management Systems; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Practice; Profit; Planning; Technology Industry; Electronics Industry

February 2014 (Revised April 2014)
Case

Komatsu in China

By: Krishna Palepu, Akiko Kanno and Nobuo Sato

Komatsu built a very successful business in China over the last two decades. But it is now facing rising competition from lower cost domestic Chinese companies which are themselves trying to become global players. Facing the same situation, Caterpillar is implementing... View Details

Keywords: Leading A Global Business; Building A Business In Emerging Markets; Emerging Markets; Construction Industry; China; Japan

May 2022
Case

Honeywell: Transforming a Century Old Industrial

By: William W. George, Michael Norris and John Masko

In late 2021, Darius Adamczyk, Chairman and CEO of Honeywell is considering the changes he has made to the company since he took over the top leadership position in 2017. The company he had inherited from his predecessor, David Cote, was seen by most as a... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Transformation; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Business Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Organization; Aerospace Industry; Chemical Industry; Electronics Industry; Green Technology Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Technology Industry; North Carolina; New Jersey

18 Dec 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Grooming Next-Generation Leaders

to be, says Sasser. Not everyone will be CEO some day, and having an enjoyable and challenging career doesn't have to mean becoming CEO. The key to career success is to draw on a variety of leadership styles... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

02 Jan 2024
What Do You Think?

Do Boomerang CEOs Get a Bad Rap?

(AdobeStock/Vincent) The return of Robert Iger as CEO of Walt Disney followed by a poorer-than-expected company performance has rekindled the debate about whether the decision to bring back formerly successful CEOs to revitalize an... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November 2008
Case

Eden McCallum

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Robert G. Eccles

This case illustrates the leadership and management challenges of starting a new firm based on a new business model and how success creates pressures that challenge the work/life balance which was one of the original goals of its two founders. The case also raises... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Work-Life Balance

December 2021 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Bed Bath & Beyond: The New Strategy to Drive Shareholder Value

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher

At one time, Bed Bath & Beyond was one of the most successful specialty retailers in the United States—its growth and profit margins far exceeded both peer retailers in the home goods market as well as many other discount retailers. But in 2014, its stock price peaked,... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation; Diversification; Corporate Governance; Leading Change; Performance Evaluation; Valuation; Investment Activism; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

February 2025
Case

Hyperscaling Dreams: Ualá's Path from Startup to Fintech Champion

By: Juan Alcácer and Manuel Franck

Ualá, a fintech startup founded in Argentina in 2017 by Pierpaolo Barbieri, aimed to increase financial inclusion in Latin America through a digital platform linked to a prepaid card. After rapid success in Argentina, it expanded into Mexico and Colombia, acquiring... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Leadership; Venture Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Strategy; Credit; Business Startups; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Banking Industry; Argentina; Mexico; Colombia; Latin America

December 3, 2014
Article

Family Businesses Need One Person to Conquer and Another One to Rule

By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer

This article explores the different leadership styles needed in family businesses beyond the traditional "conqueror" archetype. While conquerors are growth-focused and hands-on, rulers are essential for managing complexity, focusing on governance, and addressing family... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Family Business; Management Skills

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April 1998 (Revised April 2004)
Case

NEC: A New R&D Site in Princeton

In 1992, Daizburo Shinoda, a senior R&D manager at NEC, has to deal with a succession issue regarding the leadership of NEC's R&D site in Princeton, N.J. In deciding whom to appoint as the next leader of NEC's most important R&D site abroad, Shinoda has to consider a... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Information Technology Industry; New Jersey

2006
Book

Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Is success simply a matter of money and talent? Or is there another reason why some people and organizations always land on their feet, while others, equally talented, stumble again and again? There's a fundamental principle at work—confidence—that makes the difference... View Details

Keywords: Social Psychology

Find at Harvard

June 2023
Case

Launching Egypt’s First Digital Banking Platform: QNB Bebasata

By: Mark Egan, Billy Chan and Ahmed Dahawy

The leadership team at QNB Alahli, Egypt's second biggest private bank, looked back on their efforts to create a brand-new, fully digital banking platform since 2019. A digital-only banking service was unprecedented in Egypt, a country where over 90% of financial... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Banks and Banking; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Business Model; Product Launch; Finance; Banking Industry; Egypt