Publications

Research Summary

Current working papers

Organizational restructuring: the influence of formal and informal structure on tie formation. This paper considers how changes in formal structure and a key element of informal structure – the embeddedness of employee... View Details

March 2004 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Jack Smith (A): Career Launch at Toyota

Jack Smith had a stellar career at Chrysler managing major design teams and manufacturing plants before deciding to join industry leader and benchmark Toyota. It is his first day on the job; what will his orientation entail? Cursory walkthroughs and introductions... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry

February 2008 (Revised February 2008)
Case

University of Chicago Graduate School of Business

By: Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin and James Weber

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business offered a discipline-based, flexible MBA program to full time, evening, weekend, and executive MBA students. At a time when other MBA programs were introducing significant changes to their curricula, Chicago felt... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Higher Education; Training; Management Style; Problems and Challenges; Education Industry

Web

Race, Gender & Equity

Built For Change Advancing knowledge, educating leaders, and bridging research & practice Race, Gender & Equity Initiative The Race, Gender & Equity Initiative catalyzes and translates cutting-edge research to transform practice, enable... View Details

December 2021
Case

Danish Crown: Feeding the Future

By: David E. Bell, Damien P. McLoughlin, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

Danish Crown, one of the world’s largest exporters of pork meat and one of Europe’s top five producers of beef, faced increasing headwinds in 2021, making CEO Jais Valeur feel like the core of the meat business was under attack. As a cooperative and prominent player in... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Food; Environmental Management; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Nutrition; Cooperative Ownership; Change Management; Transition; Leadership; Leading Change; Marketing; Product Marketing; Corporate Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Denmark

Program

Leading Global Businesses

Management Excellence. Learn More Key Benefits Drawing on the diverse capabilities of a powerful faculty team, this highly personalized global leadership program develops both your global intelligence and your personal effectiveness in... View Details

2010
Casebook

Global Capital and National Institutions: Crisis and Choice in the International Financial Architecture

By: Laura Alfaro

All managers face a business environment in which international and macroeconomic phenomena matter. International capital flows can significantly affect countries' development efforts and provide clear investment opportunities for businesses. During the 1990s and early... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Capital; International Finance; Globalized Economies and Regions; Policy; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations

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June 2003 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Union City Schools: Sustaining The Turnaround

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Ryan Raffaelli

Under the leadership of Superintendent Thomas Highton, Union City Schools, New Jersey, underwent a 14-year turnaround. In 1989, the Union City School District was the second-worst-performing district in New Jersey. As Mr. Highton prepared to retire, 2002 student test... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Leading Change; Performance Consistency; Change Management; New Jersey

July 1998 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Champion International

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Richard Olson, a long-tenured employee, was named CEO of Champion in 1996. Champion had been conducting an organizational transformation since the early 1980s that could be considered successful on most operational and social measures. However, due to industry... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design

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01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Make Restructuring Work for Your Company

protection in Thailand, Alphatec Electronics Pcl had over 1,200 different secured and unsecured creditors, located in dozens of countries. And restructuring often produces wholesale changes in the firm's assets, business operations, and... View Details

Keywords: by Stuart C. Gilson

15 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Businesses Beware: The World Is Not Flat

International is increasingly cognizant of the need to adapt to local contexts—as evinced not only by the India entry strategy but by changes in merchandising policies, clearer definition of decision rights, and even the astonishing... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

2022
Article

Pills in a World of Activism and ESG

By: Guhan Subramanian and Caley Petrucci

Easterbrook and Fischel’s The Economic Structure of Corporate Law advances their now famous passivity thesis, which posits that managers should remain passive in the face of an unsolicited tender offer for the company’s shares. Consistent with the broader... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governance Controls; Business and Shareholder Relations

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March 2002 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Note on Regulatory Choices

For many firms, government interaction is expansive, influencing the conduct of firms and industry structure. The visible hand of government, in the form of a regulatory scheme, plays a role in firm affairs along with the invisible hand of market forces. Deregulation... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Governance Compliance

July 2018 (Revised March 2019)
Teaching Note

Hilti (A): Fleet Management?

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Jan Rivkin

This Teaching Note accompanies the case HBS No. 718-419, “Hilti (A): Fleet Management.” It provides guidelines for class discussion, as well as a board plan and transcripts of the associated videos, Hilti Fleet Management Video Supplements.
The associated case... View Details

January 1991 (Revised March 1992)
Case

USA Today

By: Robert L. Simons

USA Today is a national newspaper struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top managers--the Friday... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Labor and Management Relations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Journalism and News Industry; United States