Publications

April 2020
Case

Cockpit Dynamics in Air France 447 and United 232

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Joshua Raymond

This case compares leadership and team dynamics between the cockpit crews in two renowned passenger airline crashes, twenty years apart: Air France 447 in 2009 and United 232 in 1989. The key dimensions of difference across the cases include organization and task... View Details

Keywords: Teams; Team Launch; Crisis Management; Groups and Teams; Leadership; Communication; Air Transportation Industry

31 Oct 2018
What Do You Think?

What is the Function of Fear in Leadership?

high standards, commanded great respect, and the fear he created was entirely purposeful and positive.” John Hudson stated, “(It is) hard to find a business without fear of something in its bag of incentives, be it fear of failure, fear of competitors, fear of missing... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Explore Our Programs

Whether you seek development opportunities for yourself or a colleague, explore our many offerings—from multi-week comprehensive leadership programs to short, topic-focused learning experiences. Each offers a challenging curriculum, a... View Details

March 2017 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Edwin Land: The Art and Science of Innovation

By: Tom Nicholas, Christopher T. Stanton and Matthew G. Preble

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Polaroid first invented—and then continuously reinvented—the field of instant photography. Under the leadership of its mercurial founder Edwin Land, the company regularly released new instant cameras and films, often... View Details

Keywords: Instant Photography; Company History; Change Management; Disruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Entrepreneurship; Business History; Innovation Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Intellectual Property; Patents; Product Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Development; Chemical Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

February 2001 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Amazon.com (C)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

At the end of 1998, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos ponders the next moves for his company. Having secured the leadership position as the leading online book seller in the United States, Amazon.com has now moved into the product categories of CDs and videos by... View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Internet and the Web; Business Growth and Maturation; Books; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Germany; United Kingdom; United States

18 Nov 2015
News

Seven Books for Working Relationships

05 Feb 2014
News

CVS’s smart no-smoking strategy

13 Apr 2022
News

Ranjay Gulati (Harvard Business School) - Finding a Deeper Purpose

30 Oct 2019
News

Celtics’s Allison Feaster joins Maura Healey, Jessica Gelman at Harvard to talk women in sports

31 Jan 2024
Video

Alumni Perspectives: Value of the HBS MBA

Web

Technology & Operations Management Faculty - Faculty & Research

of Business Administration Amy C. Edmondson Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management Chiara Farronato Glenn and Mary Jane Creamer Associate Professor of Business Administration Kris Johnson Ferreira Edgerley Family Associate... View Details

Web

Organizational Behavior Faculty - Faculty & Research

Organizational Behavior Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students Unit Head Joshua D. Margolis James Dinan and Elizabeth Miller Professor of Business Administration Unit Head, Organizational Behavior Chair, Program for View Details

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

were less likely to appoint a Black teammate to a leadership position, compared with those who weren’t exposed to this research. Those hearing the business case were also less likely to agree that racially diverse teams perform better. In... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

01 Nov 2017
What Do You Think?

What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?

leadership might begin by changing the Visions and Values section on the current company web page to read: “We believe in our vision and values more strongly today than we did the first time we put them on paper more than 20 years ago.... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Banking

2013
Working Paper

Who Is Governing Whom? Executives, Governance and the Structure of Generosity in Large U.S. Firms

By: Christopher Marquis and Matthew Lee

We examine how organizational structure influences strategies over which corporate leaders have significant discretion. Corporate philanthropy is our setting to study how a differentiated structural element—the corporate foundation—constrains the influence of... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; United States

SSRN

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Research Summary

The American Chief Executive from 1850 to 2000

By: Richard S. Tedlow

Richard S. Tedlow's research explores changes in the leadership strategies, styles, and backgrounds of corporate chief executive officers in the United States over the past century and a half. This project has both a qualitative and a quantitative component. The... View Details

August 2024
Case

Ashesi University: The Journey from Vision to Reality

By: Ranjay Gulati and Caroline de Lacvivier

In 1997, Patrick Awuah had a dream: to bring liberal arts education to Ghana. Amid the country’s declining economy and pervasive corruption problems, Awuah saw education as an opportunity to reverse its fortunes by investing in the next generation of African leaders.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Private Ownership; Education Industry; Ghana