Publications

June 2013 (Revised March 2014)
Case

Kvadrat: Leading for Innovation

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2013, Anders Byriel, CEO of the family-owned Danish textiles company, Kvadrat, considered the firm's strategic plan. In 2000, Byriel and Mette Bendix, Kvadrat's Product Director, had taken over management of the company from their fathers, who had founded Kvadrat... View Details

Keywords: General Management; Organizational Behavior; Strategy; Performance Management; Leadership; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Human Resources; Denmark; Europe; Asia

12 Feb 2021
News

How Dunkin’ Donuts Took Over the World

the lackluster progress and had decided that maybe they should seek a new CEO. Luckily, months before that, we really had come to understand, or at least I did as CEO, some of the problems I had in terms of wrong strategy and changed it,... View Details

Keywords: brands; leadership; management; strategy; operations; career; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

Apr 12 2019
Interview

Understanding the Job Design Optimization Tool

2014
Teaching Note

Bluestar's Acquisition of Adisseo (B) (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Donghong Li and Lei Li

This case describes the post-M&A integration of Adisseo of France in 2006 by Bluestar Group, the largest subsidiary of ChemChina (a Fortune 500 company) until 2013. Adisseo was mainly engaged in production of methionine, a feed additive, while China had no methionine... View Details

Keywords: Internationalization; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Postmerger Integration; Strategy; China; France; Chemicals; China; France

September 2023
Article

Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms

By: Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

Analyzing data from approximately 1.5 million employees across 1,108 established public and private US companies, we find that the strength of employee beliefs related to purpose is weaker in public companies. Among public companies, those beliefs are stronger for... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Culture; Corporate Culture; Public And Private Organizations; Hedge Fund; Executive Pay; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Employees; Attitudes; Executive Compensation; Ownership

Article

The Translucent Hand of Managed Ecosystems: Engaging Communities for Value Creation and Capture

By: Elizabeth J. Altman, Frank Nagle and Michael Tushman

Management research has increasingly explored the domains of ecosystems, platforms, and open/user/distributed innovation—governance structures focused on engaging with external communities. While these research areas include substantial empirical and theoretical work... View Details

Keywords: Ecosystems; Platforms; Open And User Innovation Strategy; Capabilities; Governance; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation

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March 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Governing OpenAI (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan and Will Hurwitz

In late November 2023, OpenAI’s new board of directors took stock of the situation. The company, which sought to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI)—computer systems with capabilities exceeding human abilities—was looking to regain its footing after a chaotic... View Details

June 2023
Supplement

Leading with Trust: Sarah Al-Suhaimi Video Supplement

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Sarah Livick-Moses and Dave Habeeb

This supplement features video interviews with Sarah Al Suhaimi, CEO of NCB Capital, the investment arm of Saudi's largest bank. View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Change Management; Women And Leadership; Women Executives; Stakeholder Management; Investment Banking; Growth and Development Strategy; Change Management; Strategy; Finance; Asset Management; Financial Services Industry; Saudi Arabia; Middle East

30 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Should Retailers Match Their Own Prices Online and in Stores?

to lose money if they grant price discounts in-store to inquiring customers—although some will do so to appease an angry customer or through a sense of fairness. In some cases, however, self-matching is the best strategy to earn higher... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

June 2023
Article

Gaining Organizational Adoption: Strategically Pacing the Deployment of Digital Innovations

By: Rebecca Karp

Scholars have long suggested that to foster adoption for their innovative products and services, entrepreneurs should engage with customers to better understand their unmet needs. Yet, customers frequently reside in organizations, and organizational members may not be... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Digital Innovation; Healthcare; Work And Organizations; Organizational Adoption; B2B; Customers; Technology Adoption; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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December 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

Cann: High Hopes for Cannabis Infused Beverages

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

Founded in 2018 by Jake Bullock and Luke Anderson, Cann sold “social tonics,” or cannabis-infused beverages. By 2022, the company had several notable celebrity investors and talent partners, had sold over 10 million beverages to consumers, was distributing in six... View Details

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

January 2015 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Jimmy Choo

By: Anat Keinan and Sandrine Crener

Jimmy Choo is a British luxury accessories brand, specializing in shoes, handbags, accessories, and fragrances. Founded in 1996 in London by couture shoe designer Jimmy Choo and Vogue accessories editor Tamara Mellon OBE, the brand enjoyed immediate success and rapidly... View Details

Felix Oberholzer-Gee is the Andreas Andresen Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. An award-winning instructor, his academic work and consulting are focused on competitive strategy and the effects of digital technology on corporate... View Details

Keywords: media; professional services; manufacturing; advertising

26 Sep 2023
Book

Digital Strategy: A Handbook for Managing a Moving Target

While most companies have embarked on some sort of digital transformation, many leaders still feel overwhelmed by the challenges of doing digital right. The new Research Handbook on Digital Strategy not only takes stock of current digital... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Information Technology; Technology

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: Willy C. Shih

Professor Shih has taught the Technology and Operations Management (TOM) course and FIELD Global Immersion in the first-year MBA required curriculum. He also has taught Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise (BSSE) in the second-year MBA curriculum, as well as... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Operations Management; Operations Strategy; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Competitiveness; Globalization; Trade; Operations; Manufacturing Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; China; Europe; Japan

January 2019 (Revised February 2019)
Supplement

The a2 Milk Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Daniel Fisher and Greg Saldutte

The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) became the most valuable company listed on the New Zealand stock exchange in 2018 by capitalizing on a biochemical discovery related to the protein composition of cow's milk. Because many people find the A1 protein difficult to digest, and... View Details

December 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Heavy Metal (A): Baosteel Enters Brazil

What is Baosteel, a top Chinese steelmaker, doing in Brazil? The company is responding to the Chinese government's "go global" policy and to the possible rise in iron ore input costs. But steel mills are complex, capital-intensive projects, and Brazil is an emerging... View Details