Publications

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June 2004
Case

Aventis SA (A): Planning for a Merger

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Eight executives at Hoechst and Rhone-Poulenc must make four crucial decisions on the eve of merging their companies to become Aventis--what would become the world's third largest pharmaceutical firm. In addition to formulating a vision and strategy, the two firms must... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Mergers and Acquisitions; Horizontal Integration; Organizational Design; Organizational Culture; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

Educators

16 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

Is Your Workplace Biased Against Introverts?

employees in a changed workplace. “The problem we found is that we have stereotypical expectations of what it means to be passionate,” says Jachimowicz, who conducted the study with doctoral students Kai... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

Web

Browse All Articles, Research, & Case Studies - HBS Working Knowledge

the largest global companies. But the venture capital industry began facing new challenges in 2022, and investors were increasingly cautious. At that time Sequoia also began restructuring the firm and made other changes to their core... View Details

August 2019
Teaching Note

Back to the Roots

By: Elizabeth A. Keenan and Leslie K. John

Email mking@hbs.edu for a courtesy copy.

This Teaching Note explains the theory of the case and teaching plan for the case: Back to the Roots HBS case No. 518-073. Back to the Roots (BTTR) is a start-up with a... View Details

Keywords: Organic Food; Startup; Crowdfunding; Sustainability; Transparency; Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Product Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Making; Food; Food and Beverage Industry

20 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Tackle the First 90 Days of Your Next Role: A 5 Step Process for Success on the Job

Visualized, and Endpoint-focused. Understanding the meaning and the consequence – the why – behind a goal dramatically increases the chances of it being achieved. Spielman, who designed the ACHIEVE model, states “When we add View Details

2013
Article

Logic Pluralism, Organizational Design, and Practice Adoption: The Structural Embeddedness of CSR Programs

By: Mary Ann Glynn and Ryan Raffaelli

The institutional logics perspective highlights how organizations are embedded within broader systems of meaning and how this embeddedness activates salient institutional logics in organizations that can enable or constrain organizational decisions, practices, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

24 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 24

these effects are particularly strong in stable environments, and we identify empirical strategies that can tease out the true performance impact of high-level choices. Cases & Course MaterialsAdult View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2012
Chapter

China: The Indigenization of Insurance

By: Elisabeth Koll and David Faure

The concept of insurance was introduced to China in the early nineteenth century by Westerners trading in Guangzhou and practised essentially among them. We argue that indigenization of insurance, in particular life insurance, was a slow process that stretched from the... View Details

Keywords: History; Insurance; Insurance Industry; China

May 2011
Article

Consequences and Institutional Determinants of Unregulated Corporate Financial Statements: Evidence from Embedded Value Reporting

By: George Serafeim

I analyze Embedded Value (EV) reporting by firms with life insurance operations to assess the impact of unregulated financial reporting on transparency and to examine the institutional characteristics that promote unregulated reporting. Under EV accounting the present... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Financial Reporting; Cash Flow; Contracts; Equity; Profit; Value; Corporate Disclosure; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Earnings

Read Now

15 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 15, 2009

Working PapersThe Global Networks of Multinational Firms Authors:Laura Alfaro and Maggie Chen Abstract In this paper we characterize the topology of global multinational networks and examine the macro and micro patterns of multinational... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Feb 2015 - 28 Feb 2015
Conference Presentation

Is That All There Is to Happiness?

By: J. Phillips, C. Mott, Julian De Freitas, J. Gruber and J. Knobe

Happiness researchers have started to converge on a conception of happiness that involves some combination of high positive affect, low negative affect, and high life satisfaction. We present three studies which demonstrate that the ordinary understanding... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Happiness; Personal Characteristics

21 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Employee Negativity Is Like Wildfire. Manage It Before It Spreads.

Repurposing can also be effective for managing interpersonal problems. When personality clashes rise to the level of aggression, a leader can repurpose those emotions in the pursuit of a more positive outcome. “The leader could say, ‘The... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

August 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Dirk Nowitzki: Changing the Game

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt and Evan M.S. Hecht

NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki was unsure whether the 2018–2019 season would be his last as an NBA player. He had not faced such uncertainty since 1998, when he had navigated a difficult decision regarding the timing of his move to the NBA. He also did not know what he... View Details

Keywords: Career Decisions; Career Journey; ＂Sports Organizations,; Mentoring; Retirement; Sports; Performance; Training; Personal Development and Career; Sports Industry; United States

Educators

Program

Women on Boards

corporate director. Focused on the critical issues facing boards today, you will learn how to approach board selection strategically, raise your profile—and find your best match. Key Benefits Preparing to take your place on a corporate board View Details

November 2006 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Liz Claiborne and the New Working Woman

By: Anthony Mayo and Mark Benson

At age 47, with two decades of experience as a lead designer for a Fortune 500 fashion company, Liz Claiborne put her life savings on the line to form Liz Claiborne, Inc., a partnership that included her husband. A decade later, in 1986, Claiborne was CEO of her own... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Leadership; Gender; Brands and Branding; Personal Development and Career; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Educators

September 2018
Article

Religious Shoppers Spend Less Money

By: Didem Kurt, J. Jeffrey Inman and Francesca Gino

Although religion is a central aspect of life for many people across the globe, there is scant research on how religion affects people’s non-religious routines. In the present research, we identify a frequent consumption activity that is influenced by religiosity:... View Details

Keywords: Religion; Spending; Consumer Behavior; Values and Beliefs

January 2017
Article

The Dark Side of Going Abroad: How Broad Foreign Experiences Increase Immoral Behavior

By: Jackson G. Lu, Jordi Quoidbach, F. Gino, Alek Chakroff, William W. Maddux and Adam D. Galinsky

Due to the unprecedented pace of globalization, foreign experiences are increasingly common and valued. Past research has focused on the benefits of foreign experiences, including enhanced creativity and reduced intergroup bias. In contrast, the present work uncovers a... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Globalization; Behavior

20 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Creating a Positive Professional Image

social identity-based impression management (SIM) to create a positive professional image. SIM refers to the process of strategically presenting yourself in a manner that communicates the meaning and... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

July 2014 (Revised October 2014)
Supplement

McKinsey & Co. - Protecting its Reputation (B)

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

On Tuesday March 15, 2011, all 1,200 global Partners of McKinsey & Co. gathered at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center near Washington, DC for their annual Partners' conference. The atmosphere was tense as Partners, in addition to their normal agenda,... View Details

Keywords: Board; McKinsey; CONSULTING Firms; Risk; Risk Assessment; Partnerships; Insider Trading; Confidentiality; Personal Investing; Reputation; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Management Practices and Processes; Risk Management; Construction Industry; United States; California