Publications

January 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Wyoff and China-LuQuan: Negotiating a Joint Venture (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Cheng (Jason) Qian

Through stalled joint venture talks between Pennsylvania-based Wyoff Corp. and China-based China-LuQuan, strategic and cross-cultural negotiation challenges are explored both from American and Chinese perspectives. Wyoff, a leading US chemical company has been seeking... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Negotiation Style; Strategy; Chemical Industry; China; Pennsylvania

Michael Tushman holds degrees from Northeastern University (B.S.E.E.), Cornell University (M.S.), and the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. (Ph.D.). Tushman was on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, from 1976 to 1998 where he was... View Details

August 1994 (Revised October 1996)
Case

MicroFridge

By: Norman A. Berg and James Weber

MicroFridge, a five-year-old, $12 million company based in Sharon, Mass., develops and sells a unique, combination compact refrigerator and microwave oven. All of the manufacturing is done for it by Sanyo in various overseas locations. The founder and president... View Details

Keywords: Production; Competitive Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Supply Chain Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Consumer Products Industry; Massachusetts

April 2016 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Moleskine (A)

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Raffaella Sadun and Kathy Qu

Describes the founding and growth challenges facing Moleskine, an Italian-based consumer products company known for its oilcloth-covered notebooks once used by Ernest Hemingway and Vincent van Gogh. CEO Arrigo Berni and co-founder Maria Sebregondi aim to transform the... View Details

Keywords: Creative Industries; Brand Building; Digital Innovation; Digital Services And Strategy; Process Improvement; Culture; Identity Construction; Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Innovation Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

November 1978 (Revised June 1982)
Case

Federal Express (B)

Federal Express is a small-package airline operating throughout the United States. After initial heavy losses, it is now profitable. Management is examining the services offered by the firm and believes that there is great potential for "Courier Pak," an overnight... View Details

Keywords: Product; Product Marketing; Air Transportation Industry; Service Industry; United States

2021
Book

The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Trust is the most powerful force underlying the success of every business. Yet it can be shattered in an instant, with a devastating impact on a company’s market cap and reputation. How to build and sustain trust requires fresh insight into why customers, employees,... View Details

2008
Book

Ownership Quotient: Putting the Service Profit Chain to Work for Unbeatable Competitive Advantage

By: James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser Jr. and Joe Wheeler

Hundreds of large organizations worldwide have used the groundbreaking Service Profit Chain to improve business performance. Now The Ownership Quotient reveals the next generation of the chain: customer and employee "owners" of your business. Employee-owners exhibit... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Ownership; Employee Ownership; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation

Find at Harvard

August 2012
Case

Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH

By: John J. Gabarro and Colleen Kaftan

Jess Westerly is the assistant product owner of CRM applications for computer and office supply wholesalers and retailers at Kauflauf, a fast-growing provider of subscription enterprise software headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Only months into her job, outsider... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Leading Change; Behavior; Salesforce Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Planning; Web Services Industry; Germany

September 1984 (Revised December 1992)
Case

Federated Industries (A)

By: Robert J. Dolan

The market leader in an overcapacity industry with a commodity product is trying to restore industry price levels. Price cutting has hurt overall industry price levels and the leader must determine whether (and how) to bring up price levels or exit the market. View Details

Keywords: Supply and Industry; Market Entry and Exit; Price; Goods and Commodities; Competition; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Jan W. Rivkin is a Professor in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. In the past, he has served as Faculty Chair of the MBA Program, Senior Associate Dean for Research, and head of the Strategy Unit. His research, course development, and teaching focus on... View Details

Keywords: airline; computer; internet; music; transportation

March 2020
Case

Thingtesting: Launching a Brand Discovery and Testing Digital Community

By: Ayelet Israeli and Jill Avery

Thingtesting, a brand discovery and testing digital community devoted to uncovering and exploring direct-to-consumer brands, had just received seed funding and was contemplating a second year of growth. The new year brought many challenges, as founder Jenny Gyllander... View Details

October 1979 (Revised March 1986)
Case

PC&D, Inc.

By: Evelyn T. Christiansen and Richard G. Hamermesh

Covers history of PC&D from 1960 to 1975 as it grows from a single business firm to a diversified firm. Emphasizes the use of subsidiaries for product development and fast growth. Other issues include problems of a new CEO in keeping control of fast growing divisions. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Diversification; Growth Management; Product Development

February 2015
Case

Transforming Verizon 2015: Going Above the Network

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Daniel Fox

In 2015, the Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications reflects on his four years leading the company and considers strategic repositioning for the future. Meanwhile, a rising leader within the organization, Marni Walden, leads change with a new, company-wide product... View Details

December 1994 (Revised February 1995)
Case

Anne Livingston and Power Max Systems (A): Interviewing with the PowerPlayer Software Engineering Team

Follows the entry and early experiences of engineer Anne Livingston, an African American woman, as she joins Power Max Systems in 1991 as software engineering manager for the new product development group. Power Max is facing stiff competition and wants to be first to... View Details

Keywords: Race; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Gender; Information Technology Industry