Publications

March 2021 (Revised March 2024)
Case

M-KOPA: Empowering Lives

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Wale Lawal and Pippa Tubman Armerding

The Pay As You Go solar power company in East Africa had sales of $71 million in 2019. It wished to grow to $300 million by 2025. M-KOPA, founded by three entrepreneurs in 2011, had grown nicely in Kenya and Uganda to reach nearly 750,000 households with an innovative... View Details

Keywords: Mobile Payment; Go-to-market Strategy; Business At The Base Of The Pyramid; Business Growth; Social Entrepreneurship; Renewable Energy; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Marketing Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Kenya; Uganda; Nigeria

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

protocols, often unilaterally deciding to adopt the most restrictive version of the protocols to reassure their employees. And, to limit the threat of future possible liabilities, they worked hard to make sure that protocols were... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

30 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

How to Recover Gracefully After Shutting Down Your Startup

$60 million from investors that included Kleiner Perkins—didn’t close for another two years. No one wants to be a quitter. Psychology professor Angela Duckworth tapped into the zeitgeist with her famous TED Talk and best-selling book, Grit: The View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

06 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Leaders Lose Their Way

of relying on external gratification for fulfillment. There is nothing wrong with desiring these outward symbols as long as they are combined with a deeper desire to serve something greater than oneself. Leaders whose goal is the quest for View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

31 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

How Ben Franklin’s ‘Way to Wealth’ Introduced American Capitalism to the World

policies” Intrigued by the lasting power of Franklin’s treatise on industry and frugality and its influence on capitalism as we know it today, Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Sophus Reinert delves into the history of the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

07 Jul 2021
Book

Good News for Disgraced Companies: You Can Regain Trust

new book The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It, Sucher and her coauthor, HBS research associate Shalene Gupta, highlight those social media examples along with a global list of companies that have either... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

01 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

Good Leadership Is an Act of Kindness

"They have been shown to increase morale, decrease absenteeism and retain employees longer. Kind bosses may even prolong the lives of their employees by decreasing their stress levels which improves cardiovascular health." "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson

09 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 9

by reconstructing what some of those anticipations were. Power, Competitiveness, and Advice Taking: Why the Powerful Don't Listen Authors:L.P. Tost, F. Gino, and R. Larrick Publication:,Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Feb 2020
Book

Open Your Organization to Honest Conversations

defense against hearing the truth because it’s hard to have your assumptions and practices disconfirmed,” Beer says. “But it’s important to listen.” Reflect, diagnose, and develop a plan. The leadership team needs to reflect on the truth,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

28 Jan 2020
Book

Advanced Leadership Requires More Than Outside-The-Box Thinking

innovation, but you argue that just as important is “thinking outside the building.” What’s the difference between the two? Rosabeth Moss Kanter: One difference is in scope, and thus the power of the resulting innovation. Thinking outside... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

August 2011
Case

Martha Rinaldi: Should She Stay or Should She Go?

By: Linda A. Hill and Mark Renella

Martha Rinaldi has been an assistant product manager at leading beverage company Potomac Waters since graduating from business school. Rinaldi is frustrated by her relationships with her boss and a close co-worker. Even though she works hard to please her manager, she... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Relations; Management Styles; Managing Up; Career Planning; Conflict; Management Style; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Food and Beverage Industry

July 2014 (Revised December 2016)
Case

EcoMotors International

By: John D. Macomber and Hermes Alvarez

Eco-Motors, funded in part by Khosla Ventures, has to decide how to go to market with a new technology for internal combustion engines for automotive and industrial use. The OPOC engine has opposed pistons and is a two-stroke engine, as compared to a more traditional... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Model; Customer Value and Value Chain; Engineering; Manufacturing Industry; Green Technology Industry; Auto Industry

January–February 2021
Article

Compensation Packages That Actually Drive Performance

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah Abbott, Michael R. Marino and Metin Aksoy

By aligning executives’ financial incentives with company strategy, a firm can inspire its management to deliver superior results. But it can be hard to get pay packages right. In this article four experts break down the key elements of compensation and explain how to... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy; Performance

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October 28, 2021
Article

Creating a Meaningful Corporate Purpose

By: Hubert Joly

Today, most company leaders believe that their companies’ larger purpose is to make a positive difference in the world—not just to maximize shareholder value. Defining a corporate why and making sure it guides decisions and operations has therefore become a cornerstone... View Details

Keywords: Corporations; Purpose; Meaningfulness; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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June 2021
Case

Bozoma Saint John: Leading with Authenticity and Urgency

By: Francesca Gino and Frances X. Frei

In this multimedia case, Bozoma Saint John recounts numerous defining moments from her childhood and work experiences. We learn what empowered and inspired her to be her authentic self, to be vulnerable and open to new experiences, to find commonality with others, to... View Details

Keywords: Biases; Personal Development and Career; Identity; Interests; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Opportunities; Leadership Style; Diversity

16 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Peeling Back the Global Brand

idea has been dampened by the preponderance of outsourcing. Citizenship—Transnationals ride a see-saw on citizenship in the eyes of consumers. Transnationals may be either admired or derided for their perceived power as social forces.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Consumer Products; Retail

June 2017
Teaching Note

IBM Transforming, 2012–2016: Ginni Rometty Steers Watson

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Ginni Rometty, who became IBM CEO in 2012, led efforts to transform the company around cognitive computing and the AI platform Watson. This Teaching Note helps instructors understand and teach the Harvard Business School case “IBM Transforming, 2012–2016: Ginni Rometty... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Technological Change; Artificial Intelligence; Data; IBM; Watson; Internet Of Things; Innovation and Invention; Management; Sales; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Transformation; AI and Machine Learning