Publications

January – February 2008
Article

Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance

By: Zeynep Ton and Robert S. Huckman

We examine the impact of employee turnover on operating performance in settings that require high levels of knowledge exploitation. Using 48 months of turnover data from U.S. stores of a major retail chain, we find that, on average, employee turnover is associated with... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Governance Compliance; Retention; Standards; Service Operations; Business Processes; Retail Industry; United States

Read Now

2014
Book

Business History

By: Walter A. Friedman and Geoffrey Jones

This volume contains a selection of 42 foundational articles on the discipline of business history written between 1934 and the present day by scholars based in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. A wide-ranging editorial introduction describes the... View Details

Keywords: Economic History; Business History; History

February 2005 (Revised November 2006)
Case

InfoVision (A): Technology Transfer at Georgia Tech

InfoVision illustrates university technology transfer through the choices of a graduating doctoral student. Also explores the challenges of working across the scientific, business, and legal disciplines in the Georgia Tech transfer program. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Transformation; Higher Education; Science-Based Business; Commercialization; Research and Development; Education Industry; Georgia (state, US)

August 2002 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Gillette Company (B): Leadership for Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and James Weber

Describes the actions and behavior of a new CEO in his first days and weeks as he sets expectations for his top management team and introduces processes and disciplines to begin the turnaround of a global consumer products company. View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Policy; Change Management; Leading Change; Motivation and Incentives; Strategic Planning; Retail Industry

2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Strategy Reading: Introduction to Strategy

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

"Introduction to Strategy" provides a comprehensive overview of the strategy discipline and introduces the building blocks of strategy by providing overviews of fundamental conceptual frameworks. Students will learn how firms decide where to compete by exploring the... View Details

10 Dec 2019
Working Paper Summaries

A Journal-Based Replication of 'Being Chosen to Lead'

Keywords: by Erik Snowberg, Allan Drazen, Anna Dreber, and Erkut Y. Ozbay

August 2006 (Revised July 2007)
Background Note

Governance of the Family Business Owners

By: John A. Davis

Reviews the principal ways in which the owners of a family business achieve their governance objectives of a suitable identity and sensible direction and the discipline to achieve these. Covers the responsibilities and rights of owners, plus governance procedures,... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Goals and Objectives; Family Ownership

05 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting with Consumers Using Deep Metaphors

deeply enough about their customers or consumers. And they fail to think deeply enough partly because they lack deep insights to think about. Fortunately, recent advances in various disciplines are providing concepts and techniques... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products

2020
Book

Experimentation Works: The Surprising Power of Business Experiments

By: Stefan Thomke

Don’t fly blind. See how the power of experiments works for you. When it comes to improving customer experiences, trying out new business models, or developing new products, even the most experienced managers often get it wrong. They discover that intuition,... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Experiments; Market Research; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Customers; Research

March 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Case

The Home Depot, Inc.

For its first 20 years, Home Depot was known for its entrepreneurial spirit and focus on customer service. Merchandising, purchasing, and store operations were all decentralized. When the company hit $45 billion in sales, many believed that a more disciplined approach... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Profit; Leading Change; Six Sigma; Service Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Retail Industry

Article

The Integration of Psychological and Network Perspectives in Organizational Scholarship

By: Tiziana Casciaro, Sigal G. Barsade, Amy C. Edmondson, Cristina B. Gibson, David Krackhardt and Giuseppe Labianca

Although multiple disciplines have been applied to the study of organizations, organizational research is rarely interdisciplinary in the sense of two or more disciplines being linked in the joint analysis of organizational phenomena. The articles in this special issue... View Details

Keywords: Research; Organizations

2010
Book

Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice

By: Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana

The study of leadership suffers intellectual neglect and has yet to be considered a serious academic discipline. And though the mission statements of most business schools profess to "develop leaders who make a difference in the world," these same schools produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Interdisciplinary Studies; Leadership; Practice; Research; Theory

2012
Book

The Handbook for Teaching Leadership: Knowing, Doing, and Being

By: Scott Snook, Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana

The last 25 years have witnessed an explosion in the field of leadership education. This volume brings together leading international scholars across disciplines to chronicle the current state of leadership education and establish a solid foundation on which to grow... View Details

Keywords: Change; Business Education; Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Management Style; Organizational Structure; Perspective; Diversification; Technology

April 1974 (Revised June 1983)
Case

Robert F. Kennedy High School

By: John J. Gabarro

Presents the problem facing a newly appointed high school principal. Raises issues about interpersonal and group behavior including lack of open conflict resolution and the need to intervene in an interpersonal conflict. Also raises the issue of intergroup conflict... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Secondary Education; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Conflict Management; System

Article

Total Quality Management and the Human Resource Professional: Applying the Baldrige Framework to Human Resources

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Christopher L. Hart

The still evolving discipline of total quality management (TQM) has left many human resource professionals confused about their role. The authors believe that the HR function personnel should spearhead company quality efforts, as well as assess the performance of their... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Management Practices and Processes; Human Resources

22 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Mind of the Market: Extending the Frontiers of Marketing Thought

"What is the nature of loyalty?" HBS Professor Gerald Zaltman asks. But it's not brand loyalty he's concerned with: rather, it's loyalty in its most fundamental sense. "What is the anatomy of loyalty?" he continues. "What is the meaning of privacy? Of security? What is... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2024
Case

Deion Sanders: The Prime Effect

By: Hise O. Gibson, Nicole Gilmore and Alicia Dadlani

In 2023, Deion Sanders, known as “Coach Prime,” became head football coach of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). Sanders was tasked with leading CU’s struggling football program, which had only achieved one winning season in the last 15 years, back to glory. Many... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management Style; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Sports; Experience and Expertise; Sports Industry; United States; Colorado

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

October 22, 2015
Article

The Mayo Clinic Model for Running a Value-Improvement Program

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Derek A. Haas, Richard A. Helmers, March Rucci and Meredith Brady

Applying time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) in health care cannot be delegated to the finance function. The most successful implementations have had strong executive support, exceptional clinical leaders, and dedicated, multi-disciplinary project teams. The... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry