Transformative Impact - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Jan 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

New Game, New Rules: Developing Managers for a Competitive World

The Program for Global Leadership assembles senior executives from organizations worldwide who participate and interact in a unique, multi-phased educational process. The program's unusual structure helps them to gain fresh insight about the forces of economic View Details

Keywords: by Staff

April 2021
Case

Etsy: Crafting a Turnaround to Save the Business and Its Soul

By: Ranjay Gulati, Luciana Silvestri and Monte Burke

Etsy, the online seller of handmade goods, was founded in 2005 on an almost utopian ideal—a responsible, caring company that offered individual crafters a place to sell their wares, a wholesome alternative to companies that sold mass-manufactured products. The company... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Organizational Culture; Financial Condition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Transformation; Leadership

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September 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Bühler: Mobilizing Industry around a Common Purpose

By: Ranjay Gulati, Franz Wohlgezogen and Malini Sen

Bühler Group, a Swiss multinational processing technology provider, started by selling machines for processing grains and later transitioned into selling food processing solutions. A family-owned business in the fifth generation, Bühler’s high-end milling, grinding,... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Customer Focus and Relationships; Machinery and Machining; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Innovation Leadership; Switzerland

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May 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Together for Sustainability

By: Ranjay Gulati, David Shin and Emily Tedards

This case documents the origin and development of Together for Sustainability (TfS), a chemical industry initiative dedicated to raising sustainability standards throughout the industry’s supply chains. In 2011, six Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) from some of the... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Accountability; Chemical Industry

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Program

Managing Turbulence

impact in all three areas of strategic leadership. Immersed in a vibrant exchange with renowned HBS faculty and a global group of accomplished peers, you will share diverse perspectives and new industry insights. The opening and capstone... View Details

29 Nov 2017
Blog Post

HBS, A Dream and Trey: How HBS Helped Me Launch My Social Enterprise

impactful one. Not only was I impressed that he made time to chat with me, but he also seemed very warm and genuine on the phone. I already knew that HBS had an incredible MBA program--that call demonstrated to me the culture and type of... View Details

15 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 15

effect on the investment of firms. High taxes will favor investment by firms that can finance internally. Using an international panel with many changes in payout taxes, we show that this prediction holds well. Payout taxes have a large View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Financial Services 24/7

week for it to clear will be equally unfathomable. Technology is transforming the banking industry so rapidly that anything less than around-the-clock electronic access to bank accounts seems unthinkable. While predictions vary widely as... View Details

Keywords: by Susan Young

05 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 5

goals, past research on these programs' impact has yielded mixed outcomes. Our goal is to understand why this might be the case. Design/Methodology/Approach: We rely on interview, archival, and longitudinal survey data to examine young... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2025
Working Paper

Generative AI and the Nature of Work

By: Manuel Hoffmann, Sam Boysel, Frank Nagle, Sida Peng and Kevin Xu

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology demonstrate a considerable potential to complement human capital intensive activities. While an emerging literature documents wide-ranging productivity effects of AI, relatively little attention has been paid... View Details

Keywords: Generative Ai; Digital Work; Open Source Software; Knowledge Economy; AI and Machine Learning; Open Source Distribution; Organizational Structure; Performance Productivity; Labor

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Program

Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management

effective organizational transformation to drive impact Build a governance system that enables mission performance Expand your personal and professional network Extend your network by living and working with... View Details

Program

Strategic Marketing for Driving Growth

more business growth. This program is eligible for the Digital Transformation Certificate. Learn More Key Benefits Effective marketing strategy development and implementation is a crucial piece of the puzzle for business leaders who need... View Details

27 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 27, 2018

forthcoming Harvard Journal on Legislation From the Digital to the Physical: Federal Limitations on Regulating Online Marketplaces By: Edelman, Benjamin, and Abbey Stemler Abstract—Online marketplaces have transformed how we shop, travel,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2025
Working Paper

The Value of Silence: The Effect of UMG’s Licensing Dispute with TikTok on Music Demand

By: Mengjie (Magie) Cheng, Elie Ofek and Hema Yoganarasimhan

Social media platforms like TikTok have transformed how music is discovered, consumed, and monetized. This study examines the implications of the dispute between TikTok and Universal Music Group (UMG), which resulted in UMG excluding its music from TikTok from... View Details

Keywords: Demand And Consumers; Monetization; Social Media; Revenue; Conflict and Resolution; Music Industry

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05 Jul 2023
HBS Case

What Kind of Leader Are You? How Three Action Orientations Can Help You Meet the Moment

describes them and why. “I’ve been studying the traps that organizations and leaders face when trying to reinvent themselves,” Raffaelli says. “Leaders develop a recipe that they assume will work based on their past experience, View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

Web

Initiatives & Projects - Faculty & Research

Research Initiatives & Projects Throughout the School’s history, a hallmark of HBS faculty research has been its power in practice. Increasingly, this impact extends beyond the management of firms to the large-scale, cross-disciplinary... View Details

09 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Moving From Bean Counter to Game Changer

management level.” If only they could be heard. Often these individuals remain buried in hierarchy, impacting only their isolated areas of influence. In the working paper Organizational Toolmaking: View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Banking

Program

Disruptive Innovation

Summary More than 20 years ago, late HBS professor Clayton Christensen introduced a revolutionary concept that transformed the business world and is still widely applied today: disruptive innovation. In this program, Christensen's team... View Details

24 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

The FDA: What Will the Next 100 Years Bring?

to provide insights. Sean Silverthorne: What has been the impact of the FDA in daily life over the last 100 years? Without the FDA, what would change about how we live our lives? Arthur A. Daemmrich: Picture yourself walking into a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage; Health

September 2024
Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry... View Details