Publications

2011
Working Paper

The Organization of Firms Across Countries

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

We argue that social capital as proxied by trust increases aggregate productivity by affecting the organization of firms. To do this we collect new data on the decentralization of investment, hiring, production, and sales decisions from Corporate Headquarters to local... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Performance Productivity; Trust; Asia; Europe; United States

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August 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Whole Foods: Balancing Social Mission and Growth

By: Christopher Marquis, Marya Besharov and Bobbi Thomason

In 2009, Whole Foods stands at a crossroads. Their incredible growth over the past 25 years has vaulted them into the ranks of the largest US supermarkets and they have arguably led to the widespread acceptance of natural and organic foods in the United States. Yet... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; United States

October 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Reactivity: A Case of Re-Invention

By: Myra M. Hart and Sylvia Sensiper

By the time Glenn Osaka joined Reactivity as its new CEO in January 2001, the Internet bubble had burst, the financial markets had turned, and the company's core businesses were drying up. He was not hired to lead a turnaround, but Osaka found that the firm's future... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Venture Capital; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Leadership Style; Product; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

April 2002
Case

In vivo to in vitro to in silico: Coping with Tidal Waves of Data at Biogen

By: Juan Enriquez-Cabot, Gary P. Pisano and Gaye Bok

Biogen is a successful biotech company facing a critical juncture. CEO John Mullen ponders how technological changes introduced into the research function will shape larger corporate decisions. This world in which biotechnology companies operated had changed... View Details

Keywords: Change; Decisions; Product Development; Research and Development; Expansion; Technology; Biotechnology Industry

June 2013 (Revised September 2016)
Supplement

Governance and Sustainability at Nike (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-he Hsieh and Lara Adamsons

Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details

Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland

07 Jul 2011
What Do You Think?

So We Adapt. What’s the Downside?

case. The prescription appears simple: "First, seek out new ideas and try new things; second, when trying something new, do it on a scale where failure is survivable; third, seek out feedback and learn from your mistakes as you go along." As Ken Iverson, the... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

03 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Cut Payroll Costs with Transparency, Fairness, and Compassion

2020 has been a challenging year for leaders, their companies, and their employees. When we asked 600 CEOs earlier this year what keeps them awake at night during this global pandemic, many cited the need to reduce expenses, including... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

21 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Are You Sabotaging Your Own Company?

at first company officials cited all kinds of outside influences that were doing damage, including the video game fad, increased global competition, and even dropping birth rates. But newly appointed 35-year-old CEO Jorn vig Knudstorp... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

24 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 24

selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many inside and outside the bank. Sharma changed the bank's hierarchical culture, strengthened the core team by appointing new talent where needed, sought to build its core processes and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 19, 2008

effects of asset-liability mismatches within and across institutions. Risk-adjusted CCA balance sheets facilitate simulations and stress testing to evaluate the potential impact of policies to manage systemic risk. Download paper:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Seven Negotiation Lessons from Amazon's HQ Disaster in Queens

neighbor” credible commitments. Failing to send CEO Jeff Bezos to New York to stroke the egos of local supportive politicians and learn firsthand of any qualms was a missed opportunity. Having identified and nurtured supporters, they can... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius; Real Estate; Construction

30 Apr 2020
Book

Fighting Climate Change Requires a New Capitalism

Rebecca Henderson spent her young adult years living two lives. At work, she preached the risks of resisting change to MBA students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, drawing on lessons she learned while watching factories close as a management consultant.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Energy

December 2022
Case

LIV Golf

By: Alexander J. MacKay

On March 17, 2022, Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, announced the 8-tournament schedule for the inaugural season of the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Norman, a retired professional golfer and former world #1, was helming the league to compete with the PGA Tour, which was... View Details

Keywords: Anti-trust; Golf; ＂Sports Organizations,; Sports Management; Competition; Competition Policy; Strategy; Strategy And Leadership; Competitive Strategy; Sports; Sports Industry

August 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Iluméxico: For Every Family to Have Power

By: Brian Trelstad, Isa Oliveres and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

In 2022, Manuel Wiechers, the CEO of Iluméxico, a for-profit social enterprise that provided off-grid solar energy services in rural Mexico, was finalizing his presentation for the company’s upcoming board meeting. In the 12 years since Wiechers had co-founded... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Social Enterprise; Energy; Energy Policy; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Business and Government Relations; Equity; Internet and the Web; Business Model; Energy Industry; Mexico; Latin America

January 2021 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Eaton Corporation: Portfolio Transformation and the Cost of Capital (Abridged)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, E. Scott Mayfield and Daniel Fisher

In 2000, Eaton Corporation was a broadly diversified industrial conglomerate. But its strategy was evolving and its focus was narrowing around “power management” and more recently on “intelligent power,” the use of digitally enabled products and services designed to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Cost of Capital; Corporate Finance; Value; Valuation; Industrial Products Industry; United States; Denmark; Republic of Ireland

December 2020
Supplement

Video Interview with Maxeme Tuchman

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Female Entrepreneur; Racism; Sexism; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Diversity; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias; City; Culture; Miami

October 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Women Entrepreneurs and Tech Ecosystems: One City, Two Realities, and Four Diverse Women

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural... View Details

Keywords: Female Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Inclusion; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Racism; Sexism; Start-up; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Diversity; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Innovation and Invention; City; Culture; Miami

November 2020
Case

Wilderness Safaris: Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

By: James E. Austin, Megan Epler Wood and Herman B. "Dutch" Leonard

This case is an epilogue to “Wilderness Safaris: Impact Investing and Ecotourism Conservation in Africa” (2-321-020), which ends with the emergence of the pandemic in March 2020. The final discussion area for that case can be “What should Wilderness Safari CEO Keith... View Details

Keywords: Communities; COVID-19; Ecotourism; Travel; Travel Industry; Conservation Planning; Reopening; Investor Relations; Project Strategy; Governance; Decision Making; Cash; Health Pandemics; Business and Shareholder Relations; Tourism Industry; Africa