Publications

February 2001 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Amazon.com (D)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dickson Louie and William A. Sahlman

At the end of 1999, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos--just named Time Magazine's Man of the Year--ponders the next moves for his company. Having expanded into numerous categories in 1999, ranging from Z-shops to Auctions to E-cards as well as increasing the number... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Online Technology; Retail Industry

April 1992 (Revised July 1992)
Case

U.S. Robotics, Inc.

U.S. Robotics (USR) is a fast-growing $80 million computer communications company with the aggressive growth target of becoming a $500 million company by 1995. It is widely accepted as the technology leader in its market, and relies strongly on its ability to bring... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Computer Industry; Communications Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

01 Apr 1997
News

HBS Research Available on World Wide Web

development of entrepreneurial ventures? How about success factors for women managers, or the psychological factors that influence risk-taking? Interested in updating yourself about information technology in the organization, the changing... View Details

01 Jun 2004
News

Consultant on the Go

publicity and staying on task. While accumulating some 500,000 frequent-flier miles a year, Charan pursues his passion: helping executives solve problems. The northern India native would rather talk — in plain English — about how to break down View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

17 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Stories of 2020

the large team of researchers looking at COVID-19’s impact on issues of work and organizational psychology, prompting changes for practitioners and human resources professionals. Impact Investing: A Theory... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 2013 (Revised September 2014)
Case

Man Jit Singh at Sony Entertainment Television (A)

By: Linda A. Hill, Dana M. Teppert and Allison J. Wigen

Explores the role of CEO Man Jit Singh and his senior management committee in leading Multi Screen Media Pvt. Ltd. (formerly SET Pvt. Ltd.), a leading television broadcaster in India. Describes Singh's decision to evaluate employees based on values as well as... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisals; Performance Management; Performance Evaluation; Leadership Style; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Management Teams; Change Management; Decision Making; Emerging Markets; Media and Broadcasting Industry; India

January 2006 (Revised February 2015)
Case

Innovation at Timberland: Thinking Outside the Shoe Box

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ryan Raffaelli

Innovation was linked to Timberland's heritage. In 2005, CEO Jeff Swartz and COO Ken Pucker hoped the Invention Factory, an advanced concept lab, would develop new breakthrough products and reinvigorate the company's culture of innovation. Since the 1960s, Timberland... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Organizational Culture; Change Management

April 1995 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Xerox: Outsourcing Global Information Technology Resources

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kevin Davis

In order to increase revenues, develop new technologies, and manage information technology more efficiently, Xerox decided to sign a 10-year, $3.2 billion contract with Electronic Data Systems (EDS). This case describes the events that preceded Xerox's decision to... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology Industry

15 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

How Does a Social Startup Decide to Commercialize? It May Depend on the Founder's Gender

help to break down cultural and structural barriers to leadership and organizational development, especially for non-white, non-male, and non-cisgender social change leaders.” Beyond the implications for... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

01 Jun 2009
News

Insights from the Post-Macho Workplace

and to work reliably and effectively, they were willing to do that. How did the change in culture benefit the company? These organizational changes, which were instituted around the company as a whole,... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining

16 Jul 2021
Op-Ed

For Entrepreneurs, the Benefits of Slowing Down

brilliant book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, about successful executives hitting points of friction as they grow, requiring changes in their behavior in order to continue to succeed. I often coach my entrepreneurs to assess... View Details

Keywords: by Jeffrey Bussgang

01 Oct 1996
News

"Service-Profit Chain" Links Members of Service Management Unit

of large corporate databases. A management information systems specialist, Professor James I. Cash, Jr., focuses on how companies use information technology to improve organizational effectiveness and how businesses are View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

August 2008 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Repositioning CARE USA

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

CARE USA, a large ($600 million) international nonprofit/NGO, had recently revamped its external branding and positioning in support of its international development work. The case lays out the challenges facing its new CEO, Helene Gayle, as she manages through the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Management; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Non-Governmental Organizations; Adaptation; United States

March 1999
Case

Australia's Telstra Corporation (A): Going Public

By: W. Earl Sasser, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Frank Blount is named CEO of Telstra, Australia's state-owned telecommunications giant. In preparation for its 1997 IPO, he must reorganize the company from an inefficient public entity into a lean, customer-driven organization. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Initial Public Offering; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; State Ownership; Performance Effectiveness; Privatization; Telecommunications Industry; Australia

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November 1998 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Jeanne Lewis at Staples, Inc. (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Management Succession; Competitive Advantage; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Retail Industry; United States