Publications

February 2017
Case

Dick's Sporting Goods

By: Rajiv Lal, Jose B. Alvarez and Matthew G. Preble

Edward Stack, chairman and CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), faced a rapidly changing sporting goods landscape in October 2016. Two large competitors—The Sports Authority and Sport Chalet—had folded earlier that year, and DKS had to contend with increasingly robust... View Details

November 2015
Case

Katherine Schuler at Boxes & Bins, Inc.

By: Linda A. Hill and James Kindley

This case is about Katherine Schuler, soon to become senior vice president of marketing at a fast-growing retail organization, Boxes & Bins (B&B). Part of Schuler's success has been due to her "fit" into a company with clear values and principles. In particular, B&B... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Personal Development and Career; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Reinventing the Industrial Giant

Internet system to handle billing and related services. Also in November, GM signed an agreement with EDS to manage its B2B and business-to-employee projects.92 The revenue growth and savings that GM executives predict have until now... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, Davis Dyer & Frederick Dalzell; Manufacturing

02 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 2

PublicationsThe Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work Authors:Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer Publication:Harvard Business Press, 2011 Abstract The most effective managers have the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Political Standards

The University of Chicago Press November 2015.

Prudent, verifiable, and timely corporate accounting is a bedrock of our modern capitalist system. In recent years, however, the rules that govern corporate accounting have been subtly changed in... View Details

August 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Background Note

Oil: History, Present and Future

By: Jurgen Weiss

This background note is intended to provide context for a discussion of the strategies for big integrated oil companies in light of both oil’s current role in the global energy system and the uncertainty about changes going forward. View Details

Keywords: Oil; Energy Markets; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Decarbonization; Non-Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries

August 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Stanley O'Neal at Merrill Lynch (A)

By: David A. Thomas and Ayesha Kanji

In the late 1970s, Stanley O'Neal joined Merrill Lynch as an investment banker. Profiles O'Neal's ascent at Merrill to CEO. O'Neal put Merrill through a comprehensive restructuring program, cutting costs and significantly reducing the work force. As CEO, O'Neal faces... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Race; Cost Management; Investment Banking; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Leadership; Management Succession; Performance Effectiveness; Personal Development and Career

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

advice. Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative Guests: Jay Koh, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Lightsmith Group For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org... View Details

May 2017
Article

Experimental Evidence of Pooling Outcomes Under Information Asymmetry

By: William Schmidt and Ryan W. Buell

Operational decisions under information asymmetry can signal a firm's prospects to less-informed parties, such as investors, customers, competitors, and regulators. Consequently, managers in these settings often face a tradeoff between making an optimal decision and... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Decision Research; Information Asymmetry; Signaling; Decision Choices and Conditions; Alignment

Web

Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

financial markets and trade policy is causing disruption globally, with low-income people... Introducing a New Free HarvardX Course: Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change Brian Trelstad 03 Jun 2025 What makes a social entrepreneur... View Details

September 2013 (Revised February 2016)
Case

GlaxoSmithKline: Sourcing Complex Professional Services

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Silvia Hodges Silverstein

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) uses an innovative new approach to procuring outside legal counsel: it replaces relationship-based selection and law firms' traditional time-based billing with data-driven decision making and an online reverse auction. In... View Details

Keywords: Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Competition; Change Management; Supply Chain Management; Legal Liability; Business Processes; Legal Services Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

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

26 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 26

negatively related to the profitability of both Japanese and American firms, although the effect is less negative in Japan. We finally find that the adoption of cost orientation does not have an impact on the profitability of both Japanese and American firms. Academy... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Program

Agribusiness Seminar

and manage risks arising from climate change and environmental pressures Assess strategies for entering and competing international markets Identify ways to build the resilience and flexibility needed to... View Details

Keywords: Agriculture; Agriculture

March 1974 (Revised June 1996)
Case

First National City Bank Operating Group (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Growth in the banking field has produced new demands on the "back office." Traditional management practices in check processing and paper handling operations have resulted in ten years of cost increases and quality loss. New manager of the operating group faces an... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transition; Banks and Banking; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Production; Banking Industry

October 2001
Supplement

BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project-An Interview With Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Chris Bangle describes how BMW is trying to reduce its development time by half with the aid of computer-aided technologies. To leverage these technologies in the very competitive automotive industry, he talks about how BMW is faced with the challenges of changing its... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Management Practices and Processes; Time Management; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Information Technology; Auto Industry

March 2024
Module Note

Accounting Standards for the 21st Century

By: Jonas Heese

Over the past two decades, accounting standards have evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business environment. This module note focuses on understanding the impact of these standards on measuring firm performance and financial position in the context of a... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Standards; Performance Evaluation; Change Management