Publications

31 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Where Can Digital Transformation Take You? Insights from 1,700 Leaders

democratized both inside and outside of companies. In the past, CEOs and other senior leaders were seen as the legitimate strategic decision-makers because they had more access to data and could decide if and when to share it. With much... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

April 2010
Case

Manchester Bidwell Corporation: the Replication Question

By: Toby E. Stuart, G. Felda Hardymon, James L. Heskett and Ann Leamon

Bill Strickland, CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation, must decide the best way to replicate his innovative, award-winning approach to curing poverty. Manchester Bidwell's approach, which provides both adult job-training tuned to fill the needs of local industries and... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth and Development; Social Enterprise; Poverty; Training; Competency and Skills; Jobs and Positions; Human Resources

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

September 2024
Case

Navigating Digital Transformation at Carrefour

By: Sunil Gupta and Emilie Billaud

In 2023, Elodie Perthuisot, Carrefour’s Executive Director for e-commerce and digital transformation, met with CEO Alexandre Bompard to discuss strategies for the company’s digital initiatives. Carrefour, a global retail giant with over 14,300 stores across 40... View Details

April 2025
Case

Thrivent: From Insurance Agents to Financial Advisors

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Tom Quinn

Thrivent, a midwestern financial services company with a centuries-long history rooted in Lutheranism, had reached $10 billion in revenue mostly by selling life insurance. In the 2020s, however, CEO Terry Rasmussen began a transformation process centered around the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Employee Relationship Management; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Job Design and Levels; Human Capital; Leading Change; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Insurance Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Minneapolis

Research Summary

The New Social Contract: Contractors, Firms, and Agencies

The emergence of a 'new social contract' linking employees and organizations - perhaps most notable for the absence of a promise of lifelong job security - has been widely remarked. A related trend, less noted but potentially important, has been the emergence of a... View Details

15 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 15

competence—expertise in technology—and its skilled people to accomplish what government and relief agencies could not: an information system and supply chain that tracked and managed the flow of relief supplies. Its efforts were crucial... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

irregularities related to the off-balance-sheet partnerships. This forced Lay—who returned as CEO after Skilling resigned that August—to announce a $544 million charge against earnings, and a $1.2 billion... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

13 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 13

http://hbr.org/2014/05/making-freemium-work/ar/1 August 2013 Directors & Boards Dynamics of the Board Interview By: McGarvie, Blythe Abstract—You want candidates who meet the requirements of cultural fit, the right skill set, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 20, 2008

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=608016 China Resources Corporation (B): China Resources Microelectronics Harvard Business School Supplement 107-015 Supplements the (A) case. Late in October 2006, China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd. (CRC)... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2024
Supplement

gWorks (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

In January of 2019, Joe Heieck, CEO of gWorks, was deciding whether to proceed with his acquisition of Data Tech, that was a business roughly the same size as gWorks. gWorks, which provided geospatial software to small city and rural county governments, was acquired by... View Details