Publications

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Cheap, Fast, and In Control: How Tech Aids Innovation

Innovation and experimentation are vital to the longevity of any organization, says Stefan H. Thomke in his new book Experimentation Matters: Unlocking the Potential of New Technologies for Innovation. In this interview, Thomke, an associate professor of technology and... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild

05 Jun 2000
What Do You Think?

What’s Happening to Our Patience?

front of the pump instead of paying in slower, more conventional ways, did 2.7 million people sign up for the program and increase their loyalty to Mobil by one extra visit to the pump per month? The... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Will Machine Learning Make You a Better Manager?

increasingly using ML to manage many aspects of their business operations. “There’s been an explosion,” Teodorescu says. “It’s becoming less of a field in itself and more and more of a tool for people in other fields to use.” In a new... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information Technology

December 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Ben & Jerry's: Preserving Mission & Brand within Unilever

By: James E. Austin and James Quinn

In the months after Ben & Jerry's was acquired by Unilever, Ben & Jerry's head social mission faces challenges and opportunities unique in the company's history, including: how to manage employee morale; whether to include synthetic ingredients to meet consumer... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Management Teams; Governing and Advisory Boards; Value Creation; Corporate Governance; Employee Relationship Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Retail Industry; United States

21 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Parable of the Bungled Baggage And the Unhappy Customer

presentation to their top management group. I was going to give the presentation right at the airport. First class flight from Boston to that location. It was really a great meal, great service. Everything was perfect. As we pulled into... View Details

Keywords: by W. Earl Sasser

01 Jun 2024
News

Research Brief: Ahead of the Game

the effect is both real and widespread: His 2023 working paper, “No Revenge for Nerds? Evaluating the Careers of Ivy League Athletes,” examined the career paths of 401,785 graduates and found that by many measures the athletes... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; illustration by Antonio Pinna

16 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ‘The Strategist’

be a key facet of leadership. Leadership and Strategy Are Inseparable From The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs By Cynthia A. Montgomery Many leaders today do not understand the ongoing, intimate connection between leadership... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia A. Montgomery

29 Jun 2016
News

Women of Wall Street Tell Their Story

financed by women, in an industry where women have been largely underrepresented in all of these roles,” says Mandelli, who is managing director of the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. “And the... View Details

Keywords: Constantine von Hoffman; photography by Chris Taggart; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

23 May 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Board Games: Timing of Independent Directors’ Dissent in China

Keywords: by Juan Ma & Tarun Khanna

19 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Empathy: The Brand Equity of Retail

business of rationality or emotionality?” To kick off the conversation, Raman relayed what happened when Cleveland Clinic CEO Delos "Toby" Cosgrove visited a class at HBS a few years ago to discuss a case study on the renowned hospital.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System

must have built-in tests that signal problems immediately. And it is the continual response to those problems that makes this seemingly rigid system so flexible and adaptive to changing circumstances. The Experiments Of The Toyota Production System When organizations... View Details

Keywords: by H. Kent Bowen & Steven Spear; Manufacturing; Transportation; Auto

31 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

The Diseconomies of Queue Pooling: An Empirical Investigation of Emergency Department Length of Stay

Keywords: by Hummy Song, Anita L. Tucker & Karen L. Murrell; Health

Linda A. Hill

Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and Faculty Chair of the Leadership Initiative. Hill is regarded as one of the top experts on leadership and innovation. Hill is... View Details

01 Jun 2025
News

Making Difficult Decisions: The General Manager’s Job

One of the most essential roles of the general manager is to be the person who can move an organization forward through the most tangled of circumstances, says Professor Amy Edmondson, “where there is uncertainty, different points of view, and high stakes, whether... View Details

Keywords: Jen Mcfarland Flint; Illustration by Peter Arkle; Educational Support Services; Educational Services

June 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Kathy Giusti and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Joshua D. Margolis and Matthew G. Preble

What do you do when your rising professional career is cut short by an unexpected cancer diagnosis? Kathy Giusti shifted careers, built a new organization that transformed how cancer research is done, and now faces the challenge of sustaining the organization and its... View Details

February 2003 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan

A young Italian MBA working for a Swiss multinational is sent to India to establish a subsidiary and implement the strategy he prepared at headquarters as a strategic planner. This case focuses on three core strategic decisions he must make as his plan is challenged by... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Decisions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Employees; Management Teams; Strategic Planning; India; Switzerland

03 Apr 2014
News

Sir Alex Ferguson To Teach In Harvard Business School's Executive Education Programs

spring 1991
Article

Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett

Most managers recognize that good service is a direct result of having effective, productive people in customer contact positions. However, most service companies perpetuate a cycle of failure by tolerating high turnover and expecting employee dissatisfaction. This... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Service Delivery; Success; Failure; Management Skills; Service Industry

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