Publications

22 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Student Loan Debt Leads to Better Jobs, Stronger Consumers

more freedom to make a change with their careers and get their acts together financially. “We do see a risk-taking angle to this, where people are willing to pursue a higher-paying job that might or might not pay off,” he says. “They have... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

April 1998
Case

Becton Dickinson: Worldwide Blood Collection Team (Abridged)

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Becton Dickinson's Vacutainer business was largely based in the United States, but in 1980 management determined to grow the business aggressively first in Europe and then Japan. These areas demanded new products that were tailored to local markets. Despite the change... View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Growth and Development Strategy; Change Management; Product Development; Global Strategy; Expansion; Innovation and Invention; Multinational Firms and Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; Europe; Japan

2020
Working Paper

Design in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

By: Roberto Verganti, Luca Vendraminelli and Marco Iansiti

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is affecting the scenario in which innovation takes place. What are the implications for our understanding of design? Is AI just another digital technology that, akin to many others, will not significantly question what we know about... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Design Thinking; Technological Innovation; Design; Change; Theory; AI and Machine Learning

Read Now

Earl Sasser is a Baker Foundation Professor at Harvard Business School and has been a member of the faculty there since 1969. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from Duke University in 1965, an MBA from the University of North Carolina in 1967, and a Ph.D. in... View Details

November 2008
Article

Getting off the Hedonic Treadmill, One Step at a Time: The Impact of Regular Religious Practice and Exercise on Well-Being

By: Daniel Mochon, Michael I. Norton and Dan Ariely

Many studies have shown that few events in life have a lasting impact on subjective well-being because of people's tendency to adapt quickly; worse, those events that do have a lasting impact tend to be negative. We suggest that while major events may not provide... View Details

Keywords: Health; Religion; Behavior; Happiness; Welfare

Read Now

December 2008
Supplement

Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette (Abridged)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

A.G. Lafley and P&G leaders decided to approach the Gillette integration differently from previous mergers. Using P&G's purpose, values, and principles (PVP) it treated the acquisition as a merger which sought to take the "best of both" from each company. In the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

31 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why the Largest Minority Group Faces the Most Hate—and How to Push Back

misery of being surrounded by an ever-increasing number of “competitors.” Therefore, they theorized, whites might become more inclusive toward smaller groups they deemed less threatening. “Changes in the composition of society due to View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

Web

Podcasts - Managing the Future of Work

Good Business Lab cofounder Anant Nyshadham on demonstrating the ROI of better worker conditions and getting from academic exercise to large-scale implementation. Collective counsel: Corporate law's changing workforce and culture 25 SEP... View Details

February 1986 (Revised March 1990)
Supplement

Copeland Corp.: Evolution of a Manufacturing Strategy--1975-82 (C)

By: David A. Garvin

In the preceding case, Copeland had to choose between two alternative plant layouts for organizing its Sidney plant. Now it must get work force approval for a change in "bumping" rules before proceeding with the change. Management must decide how to proceed--to... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Production; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Labor and Management Relations; Restructuring; Decisions; Change Management; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio

May 2022
Article

Investment as the Opportunity Cost of Dividend Signaling

By: Zach Kaplan and Gerardo Pérez Cavazos

We provide evidence that firms with weak investment opportunities (those whose current earnings justify a greater valuation than firms with strong investment opportunities) signal their permanent earnings level through their dividends. In the cross-section, we show... View Details

Keywords: Dividends; Earnings; Investment Opportunities; Payout Policy; Signaling; Capital Structure; Business Earnings; Investment; Opportunities

August 2017 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Accounting for Political Risk at AES

By: Gerardo Pérez Cavazos and Suraj Srinivasan

As a global energy generating company, AES frequently faces challenges from political changes and instability. This is exacerbated by the fact that in many instances AES' primary customer is the government, which is also in charge of law-making. For example, AES'... View Details

Keywords: Political Risk; Asset Impairment; Risk Factors; Fair Value; Fair Value Accounting; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Energy Industry; Bulgaria; Dominican Republic; United States; Venezuela

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

2022
Book

Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies

By: Ranjay Gulati

This book offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Culture

22 Oct 2018
Blog Post

HBS Marketing Club Presents: The Brand Summit

and a competitive edge in the market. Of course, this is easier said than done. In a world of rapid technology advancements and changing consumer preferences, marketers are constantly tested on how quickly they can adapt and reassess... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

14 Jun 2023
Op-Ed

Every Company Should Have These Leaders—or Develop Them if They Don't

offer the leader the opportunity to remodel a specific process or lead a cross functional team in the integration of a new system. BTLs are more challenging to develop because they need to adapt to changes in both internal and external... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson

September 1991 (Revised October 1991)
Background Note

LIFO or FIFO? That Is the Question

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Excerpts from annual reports of Blount, Inc., Penn Central Corp., and Quaker Oats. Shows changes in inventory valuation from FIFO to LIFO and LIFO to FIFO. Intended to promote a discussion of assumed cost flows through inventory accounts, accounting method changes, the... View Details

Keywords: Accounting

March 2010
Case

Sonoco Products Company (A): Building a World-Class HR Organization (Abridged)

By: David A. Thomas and Boris Groysberg

Describes the steps the vice-president of human resources takes in revamping an HR function that was noncooperative and, at times, competitive and introducing the company to the notion of HR as a strategic business partner. Explores changes made to the company's... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Organizations; Restructuring; Partners and Partnerships; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Performance