Publications

20 Nov 2019
Video

Shinta Widjaja Kamdani

Shinta Kamdani, owner of Indonesian-based consumer products and energy company Sintesa Group, describes the changes she made to the organizational structure and culture of the company when she took over leadership from her father. View Details

October 2015 (Revised September 2016)
Case

The Transformation of Mudo

By: Anthony J. Mayo, Esel Çekin and Çiğdem Çelik

After 16 years in management consulting, Barış Karakullukçu left to become the CEO of Mudo in 2012, one of the best-known names in Turkey's retail industry. She was tasked with leading Mudo's transition from a family business to a more institutionalized, corporate... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Management Challenges; Emerging Market; Retail; Second-generation; Operational Efficiency; Performance Management; Corporate Culture; Growth; Leading Change; Family Business; Organizational Culture; Emerging Markets; Family Ownership; Transformation; Performance Improvement; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Turkey

08 Aug 2014
News

Seeing what leaders miss

July 1995 (Revised September 1995)
Background Note

Technology for Teams

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Geoffrey Bock

The importance of groups in organizations has long been recognized but, until recently, groups were always "tacked onto" organizations that were designed around individuals. It was not just the logic of classical organizational theory that perpetuated this focus on the... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Groups and Teams

Find at Harvard

16 Nov 2012
News

2 years after returning to stock markets, reborn GM piles up cash but faces turbulence

January 2020
Teaching Plan

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group: Acquisition of Volvo Cars and Volvo Cars: Acquisition by Geely

By: Willy Shih

This teachning plan is for the two cases 619-041 which describes Geely's acquisition of Volvo Cars, and 619-042 which describes Volvo Cars' acqusition by Geely. The case is designed to illustrate the different sides of an M&A transaction and the organizational culture... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Mergers and Acquisitions; Auto Industry; China; Sweden

24 Jun 2020
News

Silicon Valley can no longer 'tinker around the edges' to fix its diversity problem

Research Summary

The Meaning-Making of Meaningful Work

This stream of research considers cultural processes of meaning-making. In an ongoing inductive case study of a consulting firm, I examine what makes certain kinds of work meaningful and what role the interpretation of organizational communications plays in this... View Details

Research Summary

My research draws upon social and cultural theories to address three important topics in marketing: branding strategy, organizing to deliver creative content, and cultural consumer behavior:

1)Branding Strategy: How are iconic brands built?

I have... View Details

April 2014
Case

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bethany S. Gerstein and Melissa Valentine

In 2006, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals was a fast-growing biotechnology company. Its leadership team was divided over whether to keep R&D organized in functional departments or transition to interdisciplinary teams. As a small company, Merrimack's R&D organization had... View Details

Keywords: Teamwork; Interdisciplinary Collaboration; R＆D; Biotechnology; Complexity; Innovation Management; Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

May 2012
Case

Quietly Brilliant: Transformational Change at HTC

By: Michael L. Tushman and Kerry Herman

The case examines smartphone maker HTC's 2006 decision to become a branded company. The case focuses on the cultural and organizational shifts HTC underwent to successfully make the transition from an ODM, founded in 1997, to a leading branded manufacturer (7% market... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Telecommunications Industry; Taiwan

01 Nov 2017
What Do You Think?

What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?

control, questionable organizational (particularly human resource management) practices, and human behavior traits in general. As “Former Employee” put it, “much of the language in the Visions and Values about caring for team members and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Banking

David A. Thomas

David Thomas is H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His research addresses issues related to executive development, cultural diversity in organizations, leadership and organizational change. He recently served as a... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; consulting; consumer products; education industry; financial services; media

Megan Gorges

Megan is a doctoral student in Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School. She is interested in identity and the relationship between people's work- and non-work lives, and is currently conducting a longitudinal qualitative study of people's experiences as they... View Details

May 2005 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Arctic Timber AB: Engineered Woods Division (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman, David Kiron and Wendy Smith

Describes the leadership challenges involved in managing strategic innovation and change in a highly mature business unit. Allows systematic exploration of organizational structures, incentives, competencies, and culture that impede innovation. Pivots on a new leader's... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure

September 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Keeping Google 'Googley'

By: Boris Groysberg, David A. Thomas and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

This case, set in 2008, examines how Google has worked to avoid potential negative byproducts of rapid growth such as bureaucracy, slow decision-making, lack of visibility, and organizational inconsistency. When the case protagonist, Kim Scott, started with Google in... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Internet; Information Technology Industry

September 2005
Case

Whitbread PLC (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Describes the change process Whitbread employed in transforming its organization and culture from a single underperforming business operating in a relatively stable environment to a multibusiness, high-commitment, and high-performance corporation operating in more... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business or Company Management; Leadership; Diversification

November 2018
Case

Governance Transition at Anadolu Group

By: Paul M. Healy and Esel Y. Cekin

Kamil Yazici and Izzet Ozilhan founded and built Anadolu Group Holding—a family business that grew into a multi-billion-dollar regional powerhouse. For 57 years they were equal partners in running the company. They then handed over a leadership role to a next... View Details

May 2017
Supplement

Buffer.com (B)

By: Susanna Gallani, Tiffany Y. Chang, Brian J. Hall and Jee Eun Shin

Buffer decided to release its salaries and compensation calculation formula to the public, and the public reaction was greater and more positive than they would have imagined. The company experienced both an increase in volume and a change in the kinds of inbound... View Details

Keywords: Compensation; Compensation Design; Company Values; Culture; Transparency; Attraction; Selection; Performance Measurement; Performance Measures; Performance Metrics; Startup Management; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics