Publications

June 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Ericsson: Leading in Times of Change

By: Das Narayandas, Vincent Marie Dessain, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Anders Sjoman

After its dramatic corporate turnaround, the Swedish telecom infrastructure company Ericsson hires a new CEO to bring the former Swedish flagship company back on track. Puts students in the shoes of Carl-Henric Svanberg, an industry outsider and CEO of locks group Assy... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Profit; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Sweden

21 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Employee Negativity Is Like Wildfire. Manage It Before It Spreads.

Reconstruing involves broadening the perceived scope of the situation, either by looking back at a longer history, forward at a longer time horizon, or by contextualizing it more broadly. For instance, this might involve looking at an... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

06 May 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Minutes After a Virtual Meeting That Can Build Up or Tear Down Teams

back to the Chinese team were rebuffed, which only increased his dissatisfaction. The dynamics became so problematic—and he became so disillusioned with working at a global business—that he decided to leave the company. In addition to the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

environment, participate in corporate decisions, and be ready to push back when executives head toward murky ethical or legal waters. Bagley's latest book, Winning Legally: How to Use the Law to Create Value, Marshal Resources, and Manage... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

disadvantaged geographies and nascent industries, and they exhibit more risk tolerance and patience. However, the authors also find employee satisfaction tends to decline once an impact investment is made. “In their mind, if they give a... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

September–October 2024
Article

Should a Family Business Accept a Returning Daughter’s Radical Proposal?

By: John D. Macomber

A family-owned and controlled conglomerate in Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, has to decide what titles and authority to give to a daughter who is being courted to leave a promising career in Europe to come back and join the business. The choices of role range from an... View Details

Keywords: Succession Planning; Power Grid; Family Business; Management Succession; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Côte d'Ivoire

August 2020
Case

Sheena Gupta (A)

By: Leslie Perlow and Matthew Preble

Sheena Gupta (A) is a first-person narrative of a Harvard Business School alumna (class of 2008) who has thoughtfully and purposefully crafted the various components of her life in a way that aligns with her personal values and needs. Gupta shares her life story, and... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance

August 2009 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Shenzhen Development Bank

By: Li Jin, Yuhai Xuan and Xiaobing Bai

Weijian Shan, Managing Partner of Newbridge Capital, faces a tough call in regard to his firm's investment in Shenzhen Development Bank, China's fifteenth-largest commercial bank listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Due to the aggressive lobby of the existing... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Commercial Banking; Investment; Emerging Markets; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; China

22 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Want Hybrid Work to Succeed? Trust, Don’t Track, Employees

to revert back to the old status quo of office life, but it could be a mistake to impose a pre-pandemic mentality on a post-pandemic reality, says Harvard Business School Professor Tsedal Neeley. She has been studying remote, virtual, and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

really your life. This is his story. And the question is, are you going to play your part? Are you going to write your chapter? So I do think that as an African American CEO in corporate America, I really have a responsibility looking View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

04 Apr 2023
Book

Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues

While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Consumer Products; Fashion; Retail; Green Technology

05 Oct 2020
Book

Want to Be Happier? Make More Free Time

or free time and family? Soon after settling into her dream job, Whillans worked and traveled constantly, but her partner was miserable, with no job or friends nearby. During one work trip, the couple was fighting long distance, and Whillans barely made it to Cornell... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

27 Nov 2006
What Do You Think?

What’s to Be Done About Performance Reviews?

category who may be given help or advised to leave the organization. Proponents of forced ranking claim that it is more humane and effective than most qualitative systems for employee appraisal in which employees don't receive frank appraisals because managers are not... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

19 Oct 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Should Global Beer Company Molson Coors Dive into the Cannabis Beverages Business?

Keywords: Re: Derek C. M. van Bever

08 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

Four Questions Fundraisers Must be Prepared to Answer

say no and turn down the opportunity to make a gift, said Stevenson, who also highlighted the rewards of philanthropy—namely, the satisfaction of “partnering with others to accomplish things that have a positive impact on the world around you now and in the future.” He... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

19 Oct 2010
First Look

First Look: October 19, 2010

suggest that helping others leads to higher levels of happiness, the existing evidence only weakly supports this causal claim: research in psychology, economics, and neuroscience exploring the benefits of charitable giving has been... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2023
Book

Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

By: Geoffrey Jones

Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase the challenges and upside of deeply responsible business. Should... View Details

February 2016 (Revised February 2018)
Case

The Battle over the Initiative and Referendum in Massachusetts (1918)

By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins

On Election Day in 1918, Massachusetts voters would have to decide not only on their preferred candidates for governor and U.S. Senator, but also whether or not to approve 19 proposed amendments to the state constitution. By far the most controversial of these would... View Details

Keywords: Political Elections; Government Legislation; Power and Influence; History; Massachusetts