Publications

23 Jul 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Innovation Is Magic. Really

authors also teamed to write The Magic of Innovation, published in the European Business Review earlier this year. A Magical Process Thomke maintains that innovative managers looking to create successful new products or services can... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Consumer Products

02 Jul 2015
Op-Ed

The Future of the Greek Economy

future for Europe will remain an unaccomplished mission if the political vision and the courage to move to a closer fiscal union cannot be found. When all is said and done, however, Europe needs more Europe. — Dante Roscini Dante Roscini, a native of Italy, is a... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Alfaro, Dante Roscini & George Serafeim; Banking

01 Aug 2023
What Do You Think?

As Leaders, Why Do We Continue to Reward A, While Hoping for B?

jump ship for better offers.” Who’s responsible? Fonzie Gonz said, “Why focus on middle management when top leadership is leagues away from any meaningful adoption of DEI? These changes need to come from the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

27 Aug 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Learning From Japan’s Remarkable Disaster Recovery

It's common in Harvard Business School classrooms to discuss the "pivot," the moment an enterprise changes direction to pursue a new strategy. On a visit to eastern Japan, MBA students talked to Masamichi Ono, CEO of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Energy; Utilities; Retail

April 2017 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must... View Details

October 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Schroder Ventures: Launch of the Euro Fund

By: Josh Lerner, Kate Bringham and Nick Ferguson

Schroder Ventures is considering launching a pan-European fund in response to investor demand. This will lead to changes in the interactions between the parent organization and the national affiliates. A related question is the extent to which the private equity model... View Details

Keywords: Change; Private Equity; Investment Funds; Multinational Firms and Management; Product Launch; Europe

July 1996
Background Note

The GM's Organizational Challenge: Embedding and Leveraging Capability

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

Describes how general managers can build organizational capability in their firms. View Details

Keywords: Management Skills; Managerial Roles; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy

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January 2013
Article

Payout Taxes and the Allocation of Investment

When corporate payout is taxed, internal equity (retained earnings) is cheaper than external equity (share issues). If there are no perfect substitutes for equity finance, payout taxes may therefore have an effect on the investment of firms. High taxes will favor... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Investment; Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation

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Read Now

January 1989 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Warner Cable (A)

The new general manager of Warner Cable's Medford, Massachusetts complex faces a number of turnaround challenges in 1985, including service deficiencies, customer complaints, high turnover, and low employee morale. By 1988 he has turned the situation around, but some... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Human Resources; Telecommunications Industry; Massachusetts

2019
Book

Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovation

By: Gary P. Pisano

Creative Construction tackles the myth that larger enterprises are inherently incapable of transformative innovation and are doomed to be disrupted by nimble start-ups. If larger enterprises seem incapable of transformative innovation, it is due to how we design... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Business Growth and Maturation; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Culture; Management Systems; Creativity; Leading Change

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December 1997 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Merck Sharp & Dohme Argentina, Inc. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan

Describes the efforts of the new managing director of Merck's subsidiary for Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay to transform the organization and its culture. Focuses on a critical decision: whether to offer the son of a high-ranking official in the government's national... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Ethics; Decision Making; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Conflict of Interests; Argentina; Uruguay; Paraguay

05 Jul 2022
Op-Ed

Hear Me Out: Introverts Can Be Loud and You Might Like Microsoft Teams

not just because it’s ‘free.’ You’ve left completely unaddressed the key point that many, many companies use other MS products, particularly Outlook/Exchange email, and that using Teams simplifies the IT and business management of... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Growing Pains: Prescriptions for U.S. Health Care

We know the symptoms all too well. We wait months to see a doctor. Office visits end, it seems, just moments after they begin. Managed care firms hold sway over doctors' treatment plans, and health insurance premiums are heading for the... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Health

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

October 2022
Case

Lyra Health: Transforming Mental Health

By: Rembrand Koning and Nicole Keller

In January 2022, Lyra Health was deciding between several different alternatives to grow the business. Founded in 2015, Lyra Health, was a digital mental health platform that combined technology with human therapists and coaches to deliver high quality mental health... View Details

Keywords: Mental Health; Health Care and Treatment; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Customer Value and Value Chain; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Health Industry; Technology Industry; San Francisco

May 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Breaking the Buck

By: Robert C. Pozen and Elizabeth Leonard

After an incredibly volatile six months since Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Finbar McCall contemplated his options. As the investment manager of RPG Prime Reserve Fund, Inc. (RPGXX), McCall had just heard the news that the U.S. Treasury was extending the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Crisis; Financial Management; Insurance; Investment Funds; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry