Publications

September 2015
Technical Note

The On-Demand Economy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery, James Weber and Elizabeth Anne Watkins

This note describes the emerging on-demand economy, also referred to as the sharing economy. The note highlights several companies including Uber and Airbnb that exemplify this new mode of competition, a model that threatens to disrupt traditional firms. Uber provides... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Reform; Disruption; Disruptive Innovation; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Labor; Employment; Working Conditions; Human Capital; Rights; Organizational Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Service Industry

16 Apr 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

Chris Christensen: Legend of the Classroom

"aware that business practices changed faster than academia could hope to capture in any sort of grand theoretical system," Cruikshank observes, "HBS professors tended to talk in terms of 'currently useful... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg; Education

30 May 2019
What Do You Think?

Is There a Distinctive West Coast Style of Management?

Jamie_Hall SUMMING UP: Does West Coast Management Need Adult Supervision? There is a distinctive West Coast style of management in the United States. It is characterized by, among other things, open-minded leadership, fast decision-making, View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

01 Aug 2012
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs Worry About ‘Too Big to Succeed?’

barrier is not new. It has been a concern for years because it often necessitates a change in leadership and form of organization, something many founders and their... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Financial Services

December 2022 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Applegate Farms

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Consumer Behavior; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Brands and Branding; Integration; Strategy; Change Management; Change; Organizational Structure; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

20 Jan 2015
First Look

First Look: January 20

Review The Art of Giving and Receiving Advice By: Garvin, David A., and Joshua D. Margolis Abstract—The article looks at giving and receiving advice as an element of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

What Leaders Need to Do To Restore Investor Confidence

involved with options. No one change by itself will be enough. CEOs must address the organizational architecture: the planning systems; the performance measurement and... View Details

Keywords: by Harvard Management Update

October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Case

The Transformation of Mudo

By: Anthony J. Mayo, Esel Çekin and Çiğdem Çelik

After 16 years in management consulting, Barış Karakullukçu left to become the CEO of Mudo in 2012, one of the best-known names in Turkey's retail industry. She was tasked with leading Mudo's transition from a family business to a more institutionalized, corporate... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Management Challenges; Emerging Market; Retail; Second-generation; Operational Efficiency; Performance Management; Corporate Culture; Growth; Leading Change; Family Business; Organizational Culture; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Transformation; Performance Improvement; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Turkey

May 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

IBM's Dynamic Workplace

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

IBM already competed for talent by being a best workplace. It was one of the first companies to provide paid vacations, health insurance, sick leave, job sharing, and domestic partner benefits. Its human resources portfolio included a full array of progressive policies... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Leading Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Social Enterprise

Find at Harvard

May 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Hakluyt: From Corporate Intelligence to Trusted Advisors

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Lena Duchene

Established in 1995 by a group of ex-British intelligence officers, Hakluyt & Company (Hakluyt) was a corporate advisory firm that generated insights by leveraging a unique blend of internal expertise and a global network of well-connected individuals. Since 2019, the... View Details

June 1999
Case

PDQ Manufacturing, Inc.

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A small manufacturer of car wash facilities has been unable to develop management systems because of rapid growth. Now size dictates the need for such systems because the current personal management style is proving inadequate. View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Personal Development and Career; Growth Management; Manufacturing Industry

19 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Do I Dare Say Something?

relevant ideas and concerns they have is the focus of this research. Upward voice refers to communications directed to someone higher in the organizational hierarchy with the perceived power or authority to... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

economic development, and time-invariant unobserved characteristics of origin and host countries. We further show that egalitarianism correlates in a conceptually compatible way with an array of View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

07 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 7, 2008

Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination within Organizational Studies Authors:Corinne Bendersky and Kathleen L. McGinn Abstract Phenomenological... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

25 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 25

as a separate marketplace, because each has its own legal requirements, cultural traditions, and business methods, and most have their own currencies. The dramatic changes in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 15

wants to adjust the company's business, headcount, and cost levels to adapt to changing economic conditions after one of the worst economic downturns in decades. His all-male... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2017
Case

Cantel Medical

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Cantel Medical Corporation provided infection prevention and control products and services for patients, caregivers, and other healthcare providers. In 2016, Cantel generated sales of $665 million and net profits of $60 million, double the levels of five years earlier.... View Details

Keywords: Cantel; Charles Diker; Furniture Industry; Matrix Organization; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Chemicals; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Problems and Challenges; Research and Development; Opportunities; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Information Technology; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; New Jersey