Publications

May 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Jan Carlzon: CEO at SAS (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes Jan Carlzon's actions on assuming the CEO's responsibility at SAS in a time of financial and organizational difficulty. After tracing Carlzon's development as a manager, it focuses on the way in which he developed, then communicated a clear and motivating... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Financial Crisis; Employee Relationship Management; Knowledge; Leadership Development; Crisis Management; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Aerospace Industry

July 2004 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Opium and Entrepreneurship in the Nineteenth Century

By: Geoffrey Jones, Elisabeth Koll and Alexis Gendron

This case examines the role of Jardine Matheson, a trading company founded by two Scottish merchants, in the opium trade between India and China during the nineteenth century. The two Opium Wars fought between Western powers and China, which sought to stop opium... View Details

Keywords: History; Globalized Economies and Regions; Ethnicity; Multinational Firms and Management; Groups and Teams; Trade; Social and Collaborative Networks; China; United Kingdom

2023
Working Paper

Organizational Responses to Product Cycles

By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham, Jorge Tamayo and Nicolas Torres

Product cycles entail the mass production of new—and often increasingly complex—products on a regular basis. How do firms manage these changes? We use granular daily data from a leading automobile manufacturer to study the organizational impacts of introducing new... View Details

Keywords: Training; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Knowledge Management; Production; Product; Organizational Structure; Auto Industry; Argentina

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August 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

PalmSource 2005

By: David B. Yoffie and Barbara Mack

PalmSource is facing stiff competition from handheld, wireless handheld, and smart phone vendors in 2005. In addition, changes in leadership and corporate structure have altered its relationship with its leading customer--PalmOne. Although Palm renews its license with... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Innovation Strategy; Alliances; Software; Market Participation; Wireless Technology; Trends; Working Conditions; Change Management; Information Technology Industry; United States

February 2007
Case

Behavioral Finance at JP Morgan

By: Malcolm P. Baker and Aldo Sesia

Following a successful model in Europe, JP Morgan has introduced a set of five U.S. retail mutual funds with an investment philosophy and marketing strategy grounded in behavioral finance. The asset management group believes that understanding investor biases like... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Investment Funds; Behavioral Finance; Competitive Advantage; Asset Management; Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Customer Focus and Relationships; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Europe

Program

Developing Yourself as a Leader—Virtual

and professional network Extend your network by connecting and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide... View Details

August 2016
Supplement

CEO Succession at Cisco (B): Announcement Strategy

By: Boris Groysberg, J. Yo-Jud Cheng and Annelena Lobb

Supplements the (A) case (417-031). This case supplement describes Cisco’s communications strategy around the CEO announcement, which focused on controlling the narrative and avoiding leaks. The strategy included both internal and external processes aimed at... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Communication Strategy; Technology Industry

October 1995 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Li & Fung (Trading) Ltd.

Li & Fung, one of the largest export trading companies in Asia, works primarily as an agent to connect U.S. and European manufacturers and retailers of nondurable, mass-market consumer goods with suppliers located all over East Asia who manufacture products according... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Marketplace Matching; Supply Chain Management; Trade; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; Asia; United States; Europe

01 Dec 2015
First Look

December 1, 2015

Meaningful Relationships Between Brain and Consumer Behavior By: Plassmann, Hilke, and Uma R. Karmarkar Abstract—The goal of this chapter is to give an overview of the nascent field of consumer neuroscience and discuss when and how it is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2023
Case

Schuberg Philis: From Success to Significance

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The founders of Dutch professional services firm Schuberg Philis, and the new leadership team entrusted with the day-to-day management, must set the path forward in 2019. The company has grown into a €70 million revenue strong IT provider with top ranks in the... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Growth Management; Change Management; Transformation; Mission and Purpose; Leadership; Leading Change; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry; Europe; Netherlands

18 Oct 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Racial Diversity Initiatives in Professional Service Firms: What Factors Differentiate Successful from Unsuccessful Initiatives?

Keywords: by Modupe Akinola & David A. Thomas; Service

June 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Buurtzorg

By: Ethan Bernstein, Tatiana Sandino, Joost Minnaar and Annelena Lobb

As co-founders of home nursing company Buurtzorg, Jos de Blok and Gonnie Kronenberg prized both self-management and organizational learning. Buurtzorg’s 10,000 nurses across 950 neighborhood nursing teams in the Netherlands were empowered to manage themselves, both in... View Details

July–August 2014
Article

Becoming a First-Class Noticer: How to Spot and Prevent Ethical Failures in Your Organization

By: Max Bazerman

We'd like to think that no smart, upstanding manager would ever overlook or turn a blind eye to threats or wrongdoing that ultimately imperil his or her business. Yet it happens all the time. We fall prey to obstacles that obscure or drown out important signals that... View Details

Keywords: Accountability; Business Ethics; Cognitive Psychology; Human Behavior; Personal Ethics In Business; Business or Company Management; Ethics

Find at Harvard

Program

High Potentials Leadership Program

eligible for the Certificate of Management Excellence. Learn More Key Benefits Focused on developing high potential leaders, this program prepares you to embrace the risks and opportunities that accompany new leadership roles. You will... View Details

06 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Strategic Intelligence: Adapt or Die

Sometimes when John R. Wells, a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School, meets a senior manager from a successful company, he likes to ask the provocative question, "Is your company... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

05 Sep 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Structural Transformation: A Competitiveness-based View

Keywords: by Christian Ketels

05 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 5

Abstract—Why do so many firms publicly espouse a "purpose" beyond simple profit maximization? And why do so many managers and employees appear to care deeply about this purpose and to believe that... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 2014
Supplement

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bethany Gerstein and Melissa Valentine

In 2006, the leadership team at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. had to decide whether to keep its R&D organization in functional departments or restructure it into interdisciplinary teams. This case follows the outcomes of this decision from 2006 to mid-2014, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry