Publications

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February 1999
Case

Lifeline Systems, Inc. (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis

In 1997, Lifeline Systems continues to grow its service business to $32 million, 56% of the company's total revenues. More local hospital Lifeline programs turn over their monitoring service to Lifeline Central, expanding the company's subscriber base by 30%. The... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Information Technology; Expansion; Cost Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Change; Customer Relationship Management; Service Operations; Age; Investment; Health Industry; Technology Industry; Cambridge; Boston

2020
Working Paper

Corporate Leadership and Creditor Recovery Rates: Evidence from Executive Gender

By: Clarissa Hauptmann, Syrena Shirley and Anywhere Sikochi

We examine the relationship between the gender of executives and corporate creditor recovery rates. Using 2,288 defaulted debt instruments, we find that female executives are associated with higher creditor recovery rates. Our findings are robust to tests that correct... View Details

Keywords: Executive Gender; Default; Recovery Rates; Debt; Corporate Bonds; Conservatism; Leadership; Gender; Borrowing and Debt; Bonds; Risk Management

January – February 2011
Article

Are You a Good Boss-Or a Great One?

By: Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback

Private moments of doubt and fear come even to managers who have spent years on the job. Any number of events can trigger them: an initiative is going poorly; you get a lukewarm performance review; your new assignment is daunting. HBS professor Linda Hill and executive... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks

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January 2023 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein

This case concerns the industrial automation division at Belden, a hardware manufacturer. While Belden historically sold products such as cables, wires, and other networking devices, EVP of Industrial Automation Ashish Chand recognized that IT vendors were entering the... View Details

Keywords: Implementation; Sales Cycle; Digital Transformation; Sales; Product Positioning; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Supply and Industry; Technology Industry; North America; United States

14 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing

publish a book on the subject of jobs-to-be-done marketing, explains that there's an important difference between determining a product's function and its job. "Looking at the market from the function of a product really originates from your competitors or your own... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Service; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

26 Jul 2016
First Look

July 26, 2016

Decision Processes Managing Perceptions of Distress at Work: Reframing Emotion as Passion By: Wolf, Elizabeth Baily, Jooa Julia Lee, Sunita Sah, and Alison Wood Brooks Abstract—Expressing distress at work can have negative consequences... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2015 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Rebranding Godiva: The Yıldız Strategy

By: Rohit Deshpande and Esel Çekin

This case concerns Yıldız Holding’s acquisition of Godiva Chocolatier from its previous owner, Campbell Soup, and its salient strategy in preserving Godiva’s “made in Belgian” brand position. Provenance Paradox, a problem faced by companies in emerging countries trying... View Details

Keywords: Branding; Internationalization; Provenance Paradox; Acquisitions; Positioning; Innovation; Customer-centricity; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Emerging Markets; Product Positioning; Change Management; Innovation and Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; North America; Turkey; Japan

Article

Family Control of Firms and Industries

We test what explains family control of firms and industries and find that the explanation is largely contingent on the identity of families and individual blockholders. Founders and their families are more likely to retain control when doing so gives the firm a... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Cost vs Benefits; Governance Controls; Family Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Competitive Advantage

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Read Now

12 Dec 2023
Book

HBS Faculty Books of 2023: Find Happiness, Fix Things, and Fail Well

Faculty-authored books that came out in 2023 hit many of the notes one would expect of the quiet quitter era: Finding new paths to happiness. Thriving after failure. Building a flexible and fulfilling life that prioritizes relationships... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

debt, it was forced to declare bankruptcy. The bank was sold to ING for just 1 pound. Twelve hundred employees lost their jobs, some of them his friends. And Leeson was sentenced to six and a half years in a Singaporean prison. How could... View Details

November 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Supplement

Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (B)

By: W. Earl Sasser and Gamze Yucaoglu

At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost... View Details

Keywords: Service Excellence; Customer Experience; Customer Service; Emerging Market; Customer Focus; Net Promoter Score; Customer Relationship Management; Competition; Leading Change; Service Operations; Emerging Markets; Customer Satisfaction; Insurance Industry; Turkey

01 Nov 2021
What Do You Think?

How Long Does It Take to Improve an Organization’s Culture?

determining success in changing an organization’s culture is the interest, support, and even passion displayed by its leader. The quality of leadership is strongly linked to the level of employee engagement, and View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Program

Disruptive Innovation

success. This program is eligible for the Certificate of Management Excellence. Learn More Key Benefits Examining disruption and strategic decision-making through the lens of Christensen's transformative theory, you will gain a deeper... View Details

03 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

It Is Okay for Artists to Make Money…No, Really, It’s Okay

Keywords: by Robert D. Austin & Lee Devin; Entertainment & Recreation

10 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

Become a Value Creator

argues that managers who adopt a value-creating mindset hold the key to becoming truly successful leaders. "Business is a team sport. It's soccer, not golf. Nobody plays by themselves and wins in business," Hall said during a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Program

Competing in the Age of Digital Platforms

platform by businesses, governments, and/or consumers Understand the influence of data privacy laws, antitrust policy, and regulations Manage platforms as a successful business Maximize value for your business by interacting with the... View Details

29 Nov 2021
News

How to Create a Culture of Appreciation at Your Office

November 1991 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Nucleon, Inc.

By: Gary P. Pisano

Nucleon is a small biotechnology company whose first potential product is about to enter clinical testing. Before Nucleon can begin clinical trials, however, its management must decide how and where to manufacture the product. Three options are being contemplated: 1)... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Entrepreneurship; Health Testing and Trials; Rights; Product Development; Production; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry

June 2016
Teaching Note

N12 Technologies: Building an Organization and Building a Business

By: David A. Garvin

N12 Technologies was a startup founded in 2010 that employed nanotechnology to manufacture a patented material to improve the performance of carbon fiber composites, which were used in a wide variety of products, ranging from bicycles to automobiles to aircraft parts.... View Details

Keywords: Startup; Organizational Structure; Nanotechnology; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Management Systems; Commercialization; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Bicycle Industry; Transportation Industry; United States