Publications

February 2024
Supplement

Dena Almansoori at e&: Fostering Culture Change at a UAE Telco Transforming to a Global Techco

By: Emily Truelove, Michelle Zhang and Alpana Thapar

Dena Almansoori, the first female and one of the youngest members of the United Arab Emirates-based e&’s leadership team, joined in 2020 just before e& began a strategic transition from being a regional telecommunications company to becoming a global technology... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Telecommunications; Employee Mobility; Leading Change; Human Resources; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Change Management; Employee Relationship Management; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; United Arab Emirates

14 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Curiosity, Not Coding: 6 Skills Leaders Need in the Digital Age

require digital transformations to be more iterative than other forms of corporate change. Leaders need to catalyze change rather than plan for it. That means creating the initial conditions for the organization to achieve its ambitions... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards; Technology

February 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Case

Women.com

By: Myra M. Hart and Sarah S. Khetani

Entrepreneurs Ellen Pack and Marleen McDaniel have founded a women's online network and watched it grow from an online subscription service in 1992 to one of the best known, widely visited women's networks on the web in 1999. While the company's vision has remained... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Internet and the Web; Partners and Partnerships; Initial Public Offering; Networks; Transition; Web Services Industry

Find at Harvard

16 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Can Decades of Military Overspending be Fixed?

States has often turned to cutting-edge technology solutions to solve strategic and operational challenges. “Costs tend to rise in all organizations unless managers and their staffs are skilled in industrial management and strongly... View Details

Keywords: by J. Ronald Fox; Service

02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/picking_green_techs_winners_and_losers/ The New Psychology of Strategic Leadership Author:G. Gavetti Publication:Harvard Business Review 89, nos. 7-8 (July-August 2011) Abstract In this article, it... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

14 Jun 2023
Op-Ed

Every Company Should Have These Leaders—or Develop Them if They Don't

than ever. Amid all this turbulence, strategic thinkers must quickly evaluate opportunities and threats while operationalizing strategy. What organizations need now are “T-shaped leaders”—those who share knowledge across the organization... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson

February 2000 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Gray Security: Building a South African Services Firm

Describes Gray Security Services, an entrepreneurial South African firm that has recently gone through a financial restructuring with the help of Brait Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Gray provides complete security services to companies in South Africa, other... View Details

Keywords: Initial Public Offering; Entrepreneurship; Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; South Africa

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

inoculate the business against this risk. As we will see, the trick is in setting clear boundaries. Controlling strategic risk is the fourth implementation imperative. Strategic boundaries—which are always... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

23 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 23

over structure or structure over strategy. The case, therefore, presents students with a strategic and organizational challenge that tests students' understanding, and Valve's resolve, with regard to the congruence between their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Fernwood Art Investments: Leading in an Imperfect Marketplace

By: Boris Groysberg, Joel Podolny and Timothy Keller

As Bruce Taub, founder of Fernwood, strolled past some of New York City's finest galleries, he pondered the unique challenges that Fernwood faced. Where others had seen the inefficiency of imperfect markets, Taub saw an opportunity to revolutionize the very nature of... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Investment; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; New York (city, NY)

25 Oct 2016
First Look

October 25, 2016

fundamental redirections in strategy. Since ventures attain legitimacy and resources based on original aims that constituencies find compelling, entrepreneurs’ initial claims are likely to complicate subsequent course corrections. To shed... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Where Can Digital Transformation Take You? Insights from 1,700 Leaders

but also themselves. Everything is changing and technology is a key driver When we asked executives to join our roundtable conversations about “digital leadership,” they warned us that the term was too narrow: “leadership in the digital age” better describes the View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards

September 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Sona Comstar and Blackstone: Unlocking Value Through Business Transformation

By: Ranjay Gulati and Kanika Jain

Private equity firm Blackstone’s majority investment in automotive systems manufacturer Sona Comstar had culminated in the largest IPO in the Indian auto components industry in 2021, with stellar returns for all involved. This EV supplier was the result of a 2019... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Decision Making; Engineering; Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Private Equity; Mergers and Acquisitions; Initial Public Offering; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; Southeast Asia

April 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Dena Almansoori at e&: Fostering Culture Change at a UAE Telco Transforming to a Global Techco

By: Emily Truelove, Michelle Zhang and Alpana Thapar

Dena Almansoori, the first female and one of the youngest members of the United Arab Emirates-based e&’s leadership team, joined in 2020 just before e& began a strategic transition from being a regional telecommunications company to becoming a global technology... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Culture; Transformation; Technology; Telecommunications; Employee Mobility; Talent; Leading Change; Human Resources; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; United Arab Emirates

September 2023 (Revised August 2024)
Teaching Note

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Teaching Note for "On," HBS Case No. 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the Speedboard, and... View Details

September 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Supplement

On

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Karolin Frankenberger, Sascha Mader, Jordan Mitchell and Karen Elterman

Slides to support the teaching of the On case, 723-430. On is a premium performance running shoe company founded in Switzerland in 2010. The company rapidly gained traction through its unique CloudTec cushioning technology, its innovative midsole plate called the... View Details

24 Oct 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

Startup or Established Company? Which Is Best for You?

experts to level up the team, and they know what’s “normal” for a hypergrowth company. It’s the best of both worlds: you get the rollercoaster startup experience with some of the more measured leadership and strategic characteristics of a... View Details

Keywords: by Julia B. Austin

August 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Engineering Inspection & Insurance Company

By: Robert H. Hayes

Engineering Inspection & Insurance Co. (EIIC) is a small but highly successful company that offers machinery and boiler inspection and insurance services. After years of above-average growth and profits, both are retreating toward the industry average, policy delivery... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Business Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Insurance; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Insurance Industry; United States