Publications

11 Dec 2018
Blog Post

Recap of the 4th Annual Women in Investing Summit

peers. At HBS, the case method provides an opportunity to distill work experience and hundreds of cases into one’s own leadership philosophy. HBS also offers distinguished faculty, many of whom have run companies, led investment firms, or... View Details

November 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Jeanette Clough at Mount Auburn Hospital

Jeanette Clough, the CEO of Mt. Auburn Hospital, successfully leads a turnaround for the struggling local hospital. When she assumed leadership of Mt. Auburn in 1998, the hospital had recently suffered a $10 million loss. During her first six months, several members of... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Leading Change; Expansion; Health Care and Treatment; Business and Community Relations; Health Industry; Cambridge

16 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Insights and Inspiration: A Look Back at the Summer Venture in Management Program

experience, expand my knowledge of business and leadership education, and enhance my tangible skills that could be applied to my future work experiences. What surprised you the most about SVMP? I was most surprised by the authenticity of... View Details

22 Sep 2016
News

Innovation Under Constraint: Constructing a Turnaround at Lego

Article

Timing is Everything: The Importance of Finding the Right Moment in Leading Teams

Great team leaders have superb timing. We explore in this article two different types of timing that leaders need to help their teams. First, they understand when teams are naturally open to help, and what kinds of help to give teams at predictable times in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Groups and Teams; Leadership Style

June 2014
Article

Collective Genius

By: Linda A. Hill, Greg Brandeau, Emily Truelove and Kent Lineback

Competitiveness depends in great part on the ability to innovate. The perennial challenge, then, is to build an organization capable of innovating again and again. Traditional, direction-setting leadership can work well when the solution to a problem is known and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Culture

May 2025
Case

Dell Med: Transforming Care Delivery & Payment

By: Robert S. Kaplan, David N. Bernstein and Mary L. Witkowski

Health care in the U.S. and globally continues to undergo massive transformation, surging towards a system that rewards value for patients. However, widespread adoption of value-based health care remains a challenge. This case study focuses on the care delivery... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Practice Units; Outcomes Measurement; Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Health Care and Treatment; Business Strategy; Leading Change; Decisions; Transformation; Service Delivery; Adoption; Value; Health Industry; United States; Texas

October 2019
Supplement

Impax Laboratories: Executing Accretive Transactions (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Impax Laboratories was a technology-based pharmaceutical company that used a “dual platform” strategy to sell both generic and branded treatments. While Impax had grown organically for most of its history, it was beginning to use major acquisitions for growth. In the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Financial Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

October 2019
Case

Impax Laboratories: Executing Accretive Acquisitions (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Impax Laboratories was a technology-based pharmaceutical company that used a “dual platform” strategy to sell both generic and branded treatments. While Impax had grown organically for most of its history, it was beginning to use major acquisitions for growth. In the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Structure; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Thermax—Changing of the Guard

By: Christina R. Wing and Inakshi Sobti

Thermax is an engineering company in India that provides integrated solutions in energy, environment, and chemicals. The Aga family along with family trusts owns 62% of the company. Post a restructuring exercise in 2000, Thermax transforms itself from a small family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transformation; Business Conglomerates; Strategy; Management Succession; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture

March 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy

The Posse Foundation selected high-potential, non-traditional students to attend selective colleges as part of a group of 10 from the same city. The organization had developed an ambitious growth plan, but because it focused on the most selective colleges, the pool of... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Higher Education; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Personal Development and Career; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry

February 2003 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Large Scale Change at The WSSC

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim

Describes the organizational transformation occurring at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), a public utility. Faced with the possibility of privatization after decades of providing service in the absence of competition or performance pressures, the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Change Management; Restructuring; Privatization; Resignation and Termination; Utilities Industry

08 Jan 2010
News

Multinational firms, agglomeration, and global networks

Video

FIELD 3 Montage video

October 2008
Article

Creativity and the Role of the Leader

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Mukti Khaire

In today's innovation-driven economy, understanding how to generate great ideas has become an urgent managerial priority. Suddenly, the spotlight has turned on the academics who've studied creativity for decades. How relevant is their research to the practical... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Commercialization; Managerial Roles; Creativity; Innovation and Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Diversity

Web

Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

shining a spotlight on the people, ideas, and happenings in the SEI community. Three urgent challenges for leaders in financial inclusion today Robert Abare 25 Jun 2025 Insights from participants of the 2025 HBS-Accion Program on Strategic View Details

2009
Book

High Commitment, High Performance: How to Build a Resilient Organization for Sustained Advantage

By: Michael Beer

Integrating knowledge from strategic management, performance management, and organization design, strategic human resource expert and Harvard Business School Professor Michael Beer outlines what the high-commitment, high-performance organization looks like and provides... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Leadership; Management; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Performance; Practice; Business Strategy; System

August 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Management Levels at Staples (A): Company and Organization

By: David A. Garvin and Lynne Levesque

One of six cases that describe the roles and responsibilities of managers at each of the hierarchical levels of management within the U.S. Stores business unit of Staples, the world's largest office supply company. Together, the cases form a complete integrated... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Operations; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Perspective; Retail Industry