Publications

Fall 2021
Article

Strategy as a Way of Life: Businesses Must Root Strategy in Moral Purpose to Thrive in a Complex, Rapidly Changing World

By: Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi

Doing the ordinary things in life a little bit better every day elevates individuals. All of us gained mother's wisdom by living with her, by watching her from behind her, by being scolded by her, and being told over and over again, to be honest, not to tell a lie or... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Moral Sensibility; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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September 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel

By: Elie Ofek, Andres Terech and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which innovation path to pursue in order to "future proof" the Hot Wheels franchise going forward. Hot Wheels was the... View Details

Keywords: Toys; Industry Evolution; Innovation Strategy; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Decision Making; Digital Transformation

March 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

The Home Depot, Inc.

For its first 20 years, Home Depot was known for its entrepreneurial spirit and focus on customer service. Merchandising, purchasing, and store operations were all decentralized. When the company hit $45 billion in sales, many believed that a more disciplined approach... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Profit; Leading Change; Six Sigma; Service Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

representation of multicultural employees at every level of management. 2. Hold up the mirror. Do the work you need to do to acknowledge the inequality that may exist in your organization. Ask tough questions of yourself and your senior leadership team. What might we... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

April 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

By: Robert G. Eccles and David Lane

As CEO of leading executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles for the past 18 months, Kevin Kelly was pleased with his accomplishments so far but concerned about threats he perceived to Heidrick's position at the highest levels of the executive search business. In... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Recruitment; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Employment Industry; Service Industry

03 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 3

making the concept of enterprise architecture more operational, improving a firm's ability to analyze its architecture, understand its performance implications, and adapt and improve it in the future. Download working paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Sep 2023
Book

Thriving After Failing: How to Turn Your Setbacks Into Triumphs

to take a deep breath and be OK with not being perfect.” In today’s fast-paced business environment, however, those old evolutionarily adaptive habits don’t apply. “The marketplace has never been more uncertain and full of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

February 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care

External cost pressures are motivating the adoption of case management (CM) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), but several of the organization's key professional groups are working against it. President and CEO David Dolins must decide whether CM is... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Boston

2016
Working Paper

Innovation Adoption and Organizational Identity: Identity Dynamism as a Strategic Resource for Top Management Team Decision Making

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Mary Ann Glynn and Michael Tushman

Organizations continuously face decisions about whether to adopt radical innovations. We examine the relationship between innovation adoption and identity, linking identity with firm strategy to explain innovation adoption over time. We conceptualize identity as... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Managerial Capabilities; Organizational Identity; Innovation Adoption; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Adoption

May 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Kenny Kahn at Muzak (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

Founded in 1934, Muzak pioneered the industry of background music. Equipped with propriety technology and a vast music library, over the ensuing decades the Muzak franchise organization expanded geographically. Despite a history of innovation, by the late 1990s Muzak... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Design; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Franchise Ownership; Music Industry

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25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Rapport: The Hidden Advantage That Women Managers Bring to Teams

culture has been designed from a male perspective,” Tamayo says. “Our findings underscore that, even if we bring women in on the front lines, we may not be setting them up for success if we don’t also improve female representation at the... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Food & Beverage

January 2011
Case

Founder-CEO Succession at Acer

By: Noam T. Wasserman, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Stan Shih, founder-CEO of Acer, Inc., had proactively chosen and transitioned the "perfect" successor as CEO, but was now faced with major problems. Over the last two years, his heir apparent, Leonard Liu, had made the changes he had been hired to make, including... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Management Style; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Conflict Management

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Culture; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Performance Productivity; Problems and Challenges; Management Practices and Processes; Business Divisions; Information Management; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

20 Aug 2020
Book

From the Plow to the Pill: How Technology Shapes Our Lives

For centuries, the creation of innovative technology—from steam engines and automobiles to computers and smartphones—has dramatically changed the nature of our work. Less deeply understood has been the impact of technology on the inner currents of our personal lives,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

12 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 12

Joshua Weiss Abstract In the face of daunting barriers, the Abraham Path Initiative envisions uncovering and revitalizing a route of cultural tourism that follows the path of Abraham and his family some 4,000 years ago across the Middle... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

February 1991 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Appex Corp.

By: Nitin Nohria

1990 Business Week named Appex Corp. the fastest growing high-technology company in the United States. Appex provided management information systems and intercarrier network services to cellular telephone companies. During its rapid growth, the company went through... View Details

12 Sep 2023
Book

Successful, But Still Feel Empty? A Happiness Scholar and Oprah Have Advice for You

human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Big idea 1: Don’t be a caveman Brain science indicates that many of our knee-jerk emotions evolved to protect us from predators but might not be as View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Web

Organizational Behavior - Faculty & Research

Organizational Behavior Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students 2016 Distinguished Scholar Award Organization Development & Change Division, Academy of Management By: Michael Tushman More Information Harvard Business Review... View Details

July 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Shell’s Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition (Abridged)

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Renewables; Forecasting Demand; Strategy; Energy; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Activism; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Energy Industry