Publications

04 Sep 2013
What Do You Think?

How Relevant is Long-Range Strategic Planning?

Christensen reminded us that the root cause of every business disaster is mistakenly pursuing short-term goals ahead of long-term ones." Daniel T. C. Lee commented, "Traditional or not, strategic planning has never restricted new View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Bill Gates and the Management of Microsoft

In July 1991, Microsoft has achieved record growth and profitability in the PC software industry. The case focuses on Microsoft's founder and CEO, Bill Gates, and his top management team, as they seek to retain the innovation and spirit of a small company in a rapidly... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Information Technology Industry; United States

January 1996
Case

Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center (Abridged)

Describes a manager's role in developing a staff group responsible for enhancing the efficiency of Xerox's worldwide logistics and inventory management systems. Illustrates a range of management strategies for upward and lateral influence in a complex organizational... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; Technology Industry

Research Summary

Overview

Navid has worked with different organizations across various industries, from the Federal Reserve to medical device manufacturers, heavy construction equipment sellers, and B2B software providers, to assemble proprietary datasets in studying organizational buying.... View Details

August 2014
Case

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee... View Details

26 Sep 2023
Book

Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

While most companies have embarked on some sort of digital transformation, many leaders still feel overwhelmed by the challenges of doing digital right. The new Research Handbook on Digital Strategy not only takes stock of current digital strategies, but looks forward... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology

27 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Building Businesses in Turbulent Times

Launching New Ventures: Jump-Starting Innovation for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners. Staff: Why is innovation important today? Lynda Applegate: The global financial crisis we are experiencing provides a... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

June 2000 (Revised October 2017)
Case

IDEO

By: Stefan Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes IDEO, the world's leading product design firm, and its innovation culture and process. Emphasis is placed on the important role of prototyping and experimentation in general, and in the design of the very successful Palm V handheld computer in particular. A... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Time Management; Product Design; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Creativity; Hardware

April 1991
Case

Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A) and (B) (Abridged)

Involves the design and creation of a company with no formally-defined hierarchy. Describes the steps the founder takes to avoid the organizational politics he perceives as crushing the human contributions they were designed to harness. Fifteen years later, the company... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Business or Company Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure

December 1990
Case

Allen-Bradley's ICCG: Repositioning for the 1990s

By: Nitin Nohria

Allen-Bradley's Industrial Computer and Communication Group (ICCG) underwent a period of rapid transformation in the 1980s, instituting a wide array of innovations from product development to information systems. In 1990 the Ohio-based group announced a major... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Culture; Business Organization; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry

August 2017
Case

RoboTech: Storming into the U.S. Market

By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Rachel Gordon and John J. Lafkas

This case describes the challenges facing the CEO of a small, Singapore-based industrial robotics company that decides to diversify away from its core industrial robot business by leveraging its expertise into the medical-devices industry. It launches an innovative... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Diversification; Product Launch; Competitive Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Technology Industry; Singapore; United States

March 2015
Case

Unilever: Combatting Global Food Waste

By: David F. Drake, Janice H. Hammond and Matthew G. Preble

The global consumer goods company Unilever was on pace to hit a number of aggressive targets by 2020 as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Project, including a goal to halve the waste associated with the disposal of its products. Unilever's chief supply chain... View Details

2012
Book

Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies face. I show that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Learning; Values and Beliefs; Innovation and Invention; Management; Performance Improvement; Groups and Teams; Research; Strategy; Complexity; Value

Find at Harvard

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

managing through the pandemic. The topics: people and personal management, strategy, marketing, and organizational design. PEOPLE AND PERSONAL MANAGEMENT Tip: Guide your team to create new norms, protocols, and purpose. Leaders need to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2012
Book

The Culture Cycle: How to Shape the Unseen Force That Transforms Performance

By: James Heskett

The contribution of culture to organizational performance is both substantial and quantifiable. This book presents the results of field research that demonstrates how an effective culture can account for up to half of the differential in performance between... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Learning; Framework; Policy; Retention; Books; Analytics and Data Science; Innovation and Invention; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Performance Expectations; Research

Find at Harvard

December 2022
Technical Note

Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework

By: George Serafeim

The transition to a low carbon economy introduces many risks and opportunities for businesses. Risks emerge from regulatory actions, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, technological innovation that develop alternatives for customers making existing... View Details

Keywords: Risk Assessment; Opportunities; Environmental Sustainability; Carbon Footprint; Risk Management; Competitive Dynamics; Business Analysis; Climate Change; Accounting; Finance; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technological Innovation; Transition; Product Positioning; Renewable Energy; Analysis

Teaching Interest

Advanced Management Program

By: Michael L. Tushman

Market volatility and disruptive innovation are changing the way companies compete in every industry—and increasing the demand for business leaders who can manage globally in the age of digital transformation. Whether you are looking to move up to the executive... View Details

2008
Article

Ambidexterity as a Dynamic Capability: Resolving the Innovator's Dilemma

By: Charles O'Reilly and Michael Tushman

How do organizations survive in the face of change? Underlying this question is a rich debate about whether organizations can adapt—and if so, how. One perspective, organizational ecology, presents evidence suggesting that most organizations are largely inert and... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Competency and Skills; Innovation and Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Performance Efficiency; Competitive Advantage