Publications

July 1996 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Becton Dickinson--Designing the New Strategic, Operational, and Financial Planning Process

By: Robert L. Simons, Antonio Davila and Afroze A Mohammed

Describes management's attempts to design and install a sophisticated planning and control system in an international company as it changes its strategy. Issues of strategy implementation, accountability, and performance measurement are at the core of the analysis, as... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Business or Company Management; Corporate Accountability; Governance Controls; System; Performance Evaluation

January 1991 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Profiling at National Mutual (A)

This case series describes a company grappling with organizational change through information technology. National Mutual Life Association vies for Australian insurance industry leadership with its long-time competitor. It has purchased an expert system called Client... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Insurance Industry; Australia

October 1998 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Brazil Confronts an Interdependent World

By: George C. Lodge and Cate Reavis

Discusses the politics of change and how Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, elected in 1994, has fought to promote systemic change in Brazil. While his Real Plan has stabilized inflation and attracted foreign investment, the nation's deficit continues to... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Government and Politics; Inflation and Deflation; Foreign Direct Investment; Equality and Inequality; Change; Social Issues; Public Administration Industry; Brazil

August 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Arla Foods: Data-Driven Decarbonization (A)

By: Michael Parzen, Michael W. Toffel, Amram Migdal and Susan Pinckney

Arla implemented a data-based price incentive system to measure, track, and influence climate friendly changes to reduce CO2 emissions across the world’s fourth largest dairy cooperative. View Details

Keywords: Dairy Industry; Business Earnings; Earnings Management; Environmental Accounting; Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Decisions; Voting; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Pollution; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Financial Strategy; Price; Profit; Revenue; Food; Geopolitical Units; Global Strategy; Ownership Type; Cooperative Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Problems and Challenges; Natural Environment; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Cooperation; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe; United Kingdom; European Union; Germany; Denmark; Sweden; Luxembourg; Belgium

November 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Governing Sumida Corporation

By: Lynn S. Paine, Masako Egawa, Chisato Toyama and Kim Bettcher

Describes the corporate governance changes adopted by Japan's Sumida Corp. between 1999 and 2005, setting them in the context of changes in Japan's commercial code during this period. Sumida was the first Japanese company to adopt a new U.S.-inspired "committee system"... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Change Management; Business or Company Management; Management Teams; Law; Japan

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Research Summary

Flexibility, Information Technology and Operations

Upton is now examining the role of Information Systems in determining long-term operational effectiveness. As Corporate Information Systems have become increasingly monolithic, the dangers of long-term inflexibility loom large. In manufacturing/operations, the... View Details

30 Oct 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 14 Introducing Open Platforms and Business Ecosystems

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin

August 2001
Case

Aurora Health Care: Finding "a Better Way"

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Kevin M. Dwyer

The largest hospital system in Wisconsin is trying to respond to new threats from nontraditional care providers. This case presents the hospital's dilemma as it tries to create change from within. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry

September 1989 (Revised December 1989)
Case

Siemens Electric Motor Works (A) and (B) (Combined)

Explores how a cost system can help support a firm's decision to change strategies. In the process, students are exposed to a simple activity-based cost system. Also examines Siemens policy for transferring products between sales and manufacturing divisions. Transfer... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Business Strategy; Technology Industry

October 2013
Article

The Strategy That Will Fix Health Care

By: Michael E. Porter and Thomas H. Lee

In health care, the days of business as usual are over. Around the world, every health care system is struggling with rising costs and uneven quality, despite the hard work of well-intentioned, well-trained clinicians. Health care leaders and policy makers have tried... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Value; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

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October 2021 (Revised June 2022)
Case

PittaRosso: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Pricing and Promotion

By: Ayelet Israeli

PittaRosso, a traditional Italian shoe retailer, is implementing an AI system to provide pricing and promotion recommendations. The system allows them to implement changes that would affect both the top of funnel and bottom of funnel activities for the company: once... View Details

July 2005 (Revised February 2009)
Case

Eureka Forbes Ltd.: Managing the Selling Effort (A)

By: Das Narayandas and Kerry Herman

The CEO of EFL (India), a direct sales organization, must decide which changes to the sales compensation systems would better motivate his sales reps and improve their sales performance. View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Management; Performance Improvement; Sales; Motivation and Incentives; India

November 7, 2019
Article

WeWork’s Saga Is a Cautionary Tale about Golden Parachutes and CEO Pay

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

While the WeWork saga has dealt another blow to already-low public confidence in business, it should also strengthen cries for fundamental changes to a system that offers supersized compensation for undersized performance. View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Change; Compensation and Benefits; Corporate Accountability; Initial Public Offering

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September 1990 (Revised November 1991)
Case

Merck & Co., Inc. (B)

In late 1986, Merck revised its performance review and pay practices. The most important change was a shift from an absolute rating system to a forced-distribution system in which managers are forced to adhere to a given distribution of performance ratings. Other major... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Pharmaceutical Industry

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Supplement

Global Unichip Corporation (B)

By: Willy Shih and Chen-Fu Chien

Jim Lai, President of Global Unichip Corporation (GUC), mapped out the changes he saw coming to the global semiconductor industry. The big question was how many system developers would start coming directly to GUC. View Details

July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Washington Hospital Center (A): Rescuing Emergency Medicine

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett

Dr. Craig Feied and Dr. Mark Smith, recruited to turn around the Washington Hospital Center Emergency Department, prepare to roll out their most revolutionary change yet--an information system that could radically improve the practice of emergency medicine. A review of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Medical Specialties; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Technological Innovation; Higher Education; Health Industry; District of Columbia

Fall 2024
Article

The Case for Climate Alliances

By: Matteo Gasparini, Knut Haanaes, Emily Tedards and Peter Tufano

Business leaders are under pressure to address the climate crisis, but they can’t do so alone. Climate alliances can help leaders and firms be more ambitious, responsible, and effective in driving the systems change necessary to save the planet. View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships

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March 18, 2020
Article

How Honest Conversations Can Accelerate Corporate Transformation

By: Michael Beer

When CEOs engage a cross section of their key people in an honest conversation about organizational strengths and barriers to the execution of strategic changes required by the changing competitive landscape, transformations are accelerated. The honest conversation... View Details

Keywords: Honesty; Communication; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transformation; Organizational Culture

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September 1991 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Dore-Dore

By: Janice H. Hammond and Audris Wong

Dore-Dore, a French manufacturer of socks and children's knitwear, has just converted a portion of its knitwear operations to a flexible modular system to allow faster response and greater flexibility. The case provides an opportunity to assess the changes in knitwear... View Details

Keywords: Order Taking and Fulfillment; Logistics; Production; Performance Productivity; Apparel and Accessories Industry; France