Publications

June 2021
Case

Akira Fukabori and Kevin Kajitani at avatarin (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2016, Akira Fukabori and Kevin Kajitani, aeronautical engineers at All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., began to wonder why, in a world of accelerating globalization and digital connectivity, those who lived in far-remote villages or impoverished urban areas could not... View Details

Keywords: Agility; Ecosystem; Innovation Ecosystems; Crowdsourcing; Open Innovation; Partnership; Government; Collaboration; Co-creation; Purpose; Impact; Social Impact; Movement; Organizational Behavior; Organizational Ambidexterity; Ambidexterity; Culture; Culture Change; Global Teams; Experimentation; Space; Airline Industry; Start-up; Platform Business; Platform Strategy; Platform; Digital; Robotics; Robots; Mobility; Strategy; COVID-19; Intrapreneurship; Public-private Partnership; XPRIZE; Space Industry; Avatar; Telepresence; Innovation Lab; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Partners and Partnerships; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Alignment; Leadership; Leading Change; Diversity; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Digital Platforms; Transportation Industry; Aerospace Industry; Japan

2015
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Paul Lee and Asian Americans Advancing Justice

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Frank Jerome LaNasa and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Paul Lee and Asian Americans Advancing Justice 2013 AL Fellow, 2014 Senior AL Fellow
Two years after the formation of the Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ), a national affiliation of four independent Asian American civil rights groups, Paul Lee, who... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Skills; Asian; Asian Americans; Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Civil Rights; Asian Law Caucus; Asian Pacific American Legal Center; Asian American Institute; Asian American Justice Center; Immigration Issues; Immigration Reform; Affirmative Action; Coalition; Asian American Activism; Japanese; Chinese; Korean; Indian; Pakistani; Hmong; Cambodian; Laotians; Filipino; Vietnamese; Pacific Islanders; Ethnic Group; Model Minority; Anti-asian Prejudice; Pan-asian; Discrimination; Immigrants; Immigration Acts; Alien Land Laws; Sei Fujii; Naturalize; Interracial; Immigration And Nationality Act Of 1965; Refugees; War; Warfare; Vincent Chin; Bigotry; Chinatown; Boston; Social Impact; Asian American Lawyers Association; National Asian Pacific Bar Association; Asian Community Development Corporation; Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence; Southeast Asia; Mee Moua; Change Management; Demographics; Prejudice and Bias; Rights; Immigration; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Society; North and Central America

February 2017
Article

Resident Networks and Corporate Connections: Evidence from World War II Internment Camps

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit Gurun and Christopher J. Malloy

We demonstrate that simply by using the ethnic makeup surrounding a firm’s location, we can predict, on average, which trade links are valuable for firms. Using customs and port authority data on the international shipments of all U.S. publicly traded firms, we show... View Details

Keywords: Information Networks; Trade Links; Firm Behavior; Networks; Geographic Location; Ethnicity; Organizations; Trade

Find at Harvard

31 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 31

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-145.pdf The Task and Temporal Microstructure of Productivity: Evidence from Japanese Financial Services Authors:Bradley R. Staats and Francesca Ginos Abstract Sustaining workers' productivity is critical... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2018
Case

Hironobu Tsujiguchi and His Sweet Revolution

By: Boris Groysberg and Naoko Jinjo

Hironobu Tsujiguchi, a Japanese chocolatier, had chosen an unusual path to success as a pastry chef. Instead of spending most of his time in his kitchen and focusing on one or two confectionery categories like most pastry chefs, he chose to work on diverse projects and... View Details

Keywords: Relevance; Entrepreneurship; Diversification; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan

05 Mar 2020
News

The Life And Legacy Of Jack Welch

2018
Working Paper

Some Facts of High-Tech Patenting

By: Michael Webb, Nick Short, Nicholas Bloom and Josh Lerner

Patenting in software, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence has grown rapidly in recent years. Such patents are acquired primarily by large U.S. technology firms such as IBM, Microsoft, Google, and HP, as well as by Japanese multinationals such as Sony, Canon,... View Details

Keywords: Patents; Applications and Software; Technological Innovation; United States

SSRN

July – August 2011
Article

The Paradox of Samsung's Rise

By: Tarun Khanna, Jaeyong Song and Kyungmook Lee

Twenty years ago, few people would have predicted that Samsung could transform itself from a low-cost original equipment manufacturer to a world leader in R&D, marketing, and design, with a brand more valuable than Pepsi, Nike, or American Express. Fewer still would... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Research and Development; Marketing; Business Processes; Brands and Branding; System; Globalized Markets and Industries; Transformation; Cost; Forecasting and Prediction; Production; Quality; China; India; Turkey

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December 2023
Case

Food & Life Companies

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Akiko Saito

Founded in 1984 in Japan, Food & Life Companies Ltd. (F&LC) operated Sushiro, the largest conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain in Japan, and other types of restaurants that offered sushi and fish cuisine. F&LC was committed to offering high-quality sushi at an... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; Asia; United States

16 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Driven by Social Comparisons: How Feedback about Coworkers’ Effort Influences Individual Productivity

Keywords: by Francesca Gino & Bradley R. Staats; Banking

July 2019 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Momofuku Ando and the Globalization of Noodles

By: Geoffrey Jones and Megumi Takada

This case examines the entrepreneurial career of Momofuku Ando, the Taiwanese-born Japanese entrepreneur who pioneered instant boodles with his Chicken Ramen (1958) and Cup Noodle (1971) products. It begins by reviewing his many previous unsuccessful ventures,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Failure; Success; Globalization; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan

2016
Chapter

Envy and Interpersonal Corruption: Social Comparison Processes and Unethical Behavior in Organizations

By: Julia J. Lee and Francesca Gino

Book Abstract: Competition for resources, recognition, and favorable outcomes are all facts of life in professional settings. When one falls short in comparison to colleagues or subordinates, feelings of envy may arise. Fueled by inferiority, hostility, and resentment,... View Details

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October 2004 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Making China Beautiful: Shiseido and the China Market

By: Geoffrey G. Jones, Akiko Kanno and Masako Egawa

Describes the multinational growth of Shiseido, the world's fourth-largest cosmetics company, with a focus on its strategy in China since 1981. Explores the challenges facing firms in the globalization of a culturally specific industry such as cosmetics. The Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Competition; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; China; Japan

February 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Sekisui House and the In-Home Early Detection Platform

By: John D. Macomber and Akiko Kanno

To address an aging population and sales declines, a major Japanese homebuilder considers pivoting to provide and support an in-home health detection platform, in competition with tech companies. This case considers the point of view of major builders regarding how... View Details

Keywords: Voice Assistants; Architecture; Smart Home; Aging Society; Digitalization; Real Estate; Home Automation; Sensors; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Health Care and Treatment; Housing; Age; Real Estate Industry; Construction Industry; Health Industry; Japan

Article

B Corps: Can It Remake Capitalism in Japan?

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article examines the B Corporation movement that originated in the United States in 2006. The founders sought to create a new type of company whose governance structure mandated them to consider financial, social and environmental performance. A certification... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Sustainability; B Corporations; Stakeholder Capitalism; Governance; Organizational Structure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Japan

26 Jan 2009
Working Paper Summaries

The Decentering of the Global Firm

Keywords: by Mihir A. Desai

May 2025 (Revised June 2025)
Case

Daiichi Sankyo: Steering a Global Organization

By: Tiona Zuzul, Amy C. Edmondson and Cat Huang

In the spring of 2023, Sunao Manabe, CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, reflected on a pivotal decision. A large Western pharmaceutical company had made a bid to partner with Daiichi Sankyo to develop the next three products in its oncology pipeline. Daiichi Sankyo, a 125-year old... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Culture Change; Decision-making; Leadership; Culture; Innovation; Psychological Safety