Publications

15 Nov 2019
News

Purposeful Leadership

01 Jan 2002
News

June 2000 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Microsoft Office 2000

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Kerry Herman

Describes the history of Microsoft's Office product suite. Discusses evolution of the Office 2000 project. Set at the end of the project when Steven Sinofsky, Office vice president, must decide upon the direction for the next version of Office, as well as make changes... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Product Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Innovation and Management; Information Technology Industry

October 1988 (Revised May 1989)
Case

General Electric: Consumer Electronics Group

By: David J. Collis and Nancy Donohue

Highlights the General Electric takeover of RCA and the consolidation of the two companies' consumer electronic groups. Starting first with a history of the television industry in the United States, Europe, and Japan, and then a brief discussion of the main competitors... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Markets; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

Leslie A. Perlow is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. She leads the Crafting Your Life Special Project, dedicated to helping individuals make purposeful life choices while gathering... View Details

12 Feb 2016
News

Fast Fashion: Livia Firth Takes A Stand, Encouraging Eco-Conscious Clothing With #30Wears Campaign

2010
Book

Unilever'i Yenilemek: Dönüşüm ve Gelenek [Renewing Unilever: Transformation and Tradition]

By: Geoffrey Jones

Unilever's brands can now be found in one out of every two households in the world. This arresting and impressive fact shows the scope and scale of this unique global corporation. Geoffrey Jones, a leading business historian from the Harvard Business School, takes us... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business Growth and Maturation; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Globalization; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

September 2002
Case

Abercrombie & Kent

By: Frances X. Frei, Brian Corbett, Mark Partin and Daniel Rethazy

Describes Abercrombie & Kent, the outdoor adventure company that has provided services throughout the entire history of the outdoor adventure industry. Provides an opportunity to learn how the company successfully grown into a premier player in the industry by adapting... View Details

Keywords: History; Financial Management; Activity Based Costing and Management; Service Operations; Marketing Reference Programs; Product Development; Business Growth and Maturation; Balance and Stability; Marketing Channels; Transportation; Growth and Development Strategy; Travel Industry

June 2002 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Delphi Corporation (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch, Rakesh Khurana and Sonya Sanchez

The Delphi Corp.'s board of directors faces a transition as lead director Thomas Wyman approaches mandatory retirement. Chairman and CEO J.T. Battenberg reflects on Delphi's history and its successful reinvention by Wyman and Battenberg when it separated from its... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership; Management Succession; Management Teams; Relationships; Corporate Strategy

2007
Book

Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism

By: G. Jones and Rohit Daniel Wadhwani

These volumes demonstrates the importance of historical perspectives in the study of entrepreneurship. By exploring the role of entrepreneurship in the history of global capitalism, the authors show that historical knowledge can challenge widely accepted... View Details

Keywords: History; Diasporas; Economic Systems; Globalized Economies and Regions; Globalized Firms and Management; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues

Read Now

Research Summary

Directors Survey

By: Jay W. Lorsch

This project, which is just beginning, will be a questionnaire survey of directors of public companies in the U.S. The goal of the survey will be to understand the views of directors about their jobs and the changing legal, regulatory, and institutional climate in... View Details

August 2011 (Revised September 2011)
Background Note

U.S. Universities and Technology Transfer

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Josh Lerner and Phillip Andrews

Technology transfer from U.S. universities to industry has increased dramatically in the last 25 years. Reviews the history of technology transfer with particular emphasis on the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. It then examines how universities responded to Bayh-Dole, the... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Information Technology; Laws and Statutes; Education Industry; Technology Industry; United States

November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Marv Tseu at Active Reasoning

By: William A. Sahlman and Christina Darwall

Describes a set of decisions confronting the management team of an early-stage software company. The company has made considerable progress in developing its software but will need additional capital to move forward. Unfortunately, conditions in the capital market are... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Financing and Loans; Capital; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry

18 Mar 2019
Blog Post

"It's Important to Have a Compelling Story:" Jodi Glickman on Being Great on the Job

In our Q&A series, we talk with webinar presenters about their current roles, work-life balance and any helpful tips they may have for alumni. Tell us about yourself and your work. I'm the CEO and founder View Details

March 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

EnClean: Malcolm Waddell's Story (A)

By: David J. Collis

Describes, in the words of its cofounder, the history of EnClean, an industrial and environmental services company, from its origins in 1984. The company grew rapidly and diversified into new businesses and new geographies both through acquisition and internally. It... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Expansion; Restructuring; Corporate Strategy

Research Summary

Research overview

My research is principally focused on very recent contemporary history that relates to issues of current concern, with a continuing emphasis on the international petroleum industry. I am particularly interested in themes such as energy and the environment, resource... View Details

April 1998 (Revised April 2004)
Case

NEC: A New R&D Site in Princeton

In 1992, Daizburo Shinoda, a senior R&D manager at NEC, has to deal with a succession issue regarding the leadership of NEC's R&D site in Princeton, N.J. In deciding whom to appoint as the next leader of NEC's most important R&D site abroad, Shinoda has to consider a... View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Information Technology Industry; New Jersey

June 1996
Case

Pathfinder Capital

By: William A. Sahlman and Andrew S. Janower

Two former consultants have raised a search fund and are looking for a company to buy and run. After eight months of looking at deals, they have just signed a letter of intent to buy the second largest book retail chain in Canada in a turnaround situation. They must... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Leveraged Buyouts; Financing and Loans; Venture Capital; Change; Decisions

December 1986 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Scandinavian Airlines System

Discusses the fostering of entrepreneurship and innovation in the large corporation. It traces the development and history of Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) from 1946 to the present with particular emphasis on the leadership of Jan Carlzon, CEO from 1981 to the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Innovation and Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Air Transportation Industry; Scandinavia