Publications

October 1993 (Revised September 1994)
Case

Becton Dickinson: Worldwide Blood Collection Team

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Kathleen Scharf

Describes Becton Dickinson's evolving attempt to develop products and strategies to meet worldwide competitive and market needs. Traces the evolution of a classic parent company-led product-market strategy to truly transnational product and strategy development.... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Product Development; Innovation and Management; Competitive Advantage; Multinational Firms and Management

Research Summary

General research interests

Implications of information technology for strategy and operations
Organizational knowledge, learning, and information processing
Business growth and scalable organizational architectures
Japanese busines
High technology... View Details

07 Apr 2015
News

The Skills Doctors and Nurses Need to Be Effective Executives

Thomas J. DeLong

Thomas J. DeLong is a Baker Foundation Professor of Management Practice and the former Philip J. Stomberg Professor of Management Practice in the Organizational Behavior Department at the Harvard Business School. He is an expert in leader development, organizational... View Details

06 Oct 2023
Book

Yes, You Can Radically Change Your Organization in One Week

The biggest, thorniest organizational problems can be solved in just one week, say Frances Frei and Anne Morriss, coauthors of the new book Move Fast and Fix Things. Armed with decision-making power and the right change-management... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

January 1971 (Revised May 1984)
Case

Vlasic Foods, Inc.

The chairman of a successful pickle company is concerned with the organizational implications of continued growth. Affords an opportunity to analyze the corporate strategy and the management style of the chief executive. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Growth Management; Corporate Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

20 Dec 2006
Working Paper Summaries

The Demise of Cost and Profit Centers

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

February 1999
Case

PDVSA & Citgo (B): Fully Integrated?

By: Ashish Nanda

Concerned that Citgo investments are not yielding sufficient returns, PDVSA constrains Citgo management's autonomy, leading to Citgo senior management turnover. The case closes with Citgo's new CEO reflecting on what he needs to do to align Citgo's strategy and... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Mergers and Acquisitions; Alignment; Energy Sources; Energy Industry

Robin Ely is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. She conducts research on race and gender relations in organizations with a focus on leadership, identity, and organizational culture change.... View Details

November 2017
Teaching Note

Reinventing Best Buy

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-455. On March 1, 2017, Best Buy Company, Inc., North America’s largest retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, announced a third year of comparable-store sales increases and a 20.8% increase in domestic comparable online sales.... View Details

Keywords: Best Buy; Hubert Joly; Renew Blue; Showrooming; Webrooming; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Marketplaces; Turnaround; Consumer Electronics; Consumer Electronics Accessories; Appliances; Stores-within-stores; Store Experience; Store Size; Store Pickup; Store Management; Delivery; Delivery Models; Amazon; Amazon.com; Pricing Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Price; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Business History; Cost; Selection and Staffing; Reports; Technological Innovation; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Human Capital; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Consumer Behavior; Demand and Consumers; Media; Distribution; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Channels; Infrastructure; Product; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Programs; Groups and Teams; Sales; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Technology; Hardware; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Search Technology; Software; Web; Web Sites; Wireless Technology; Resource Allocation; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; Minnesota; Minneapolis; Saint Paul; St. Paul

November 2003 (Revised July 2006)
Case

STAR 2003

By: Thomas R. Piper

A shift in strategy from broadcasting standardized programs throughout its footprint to localized programming necessitates a review of STAR's organizational structure. Growing complexity and a need for local responsiveness point toward adoption of a country-based... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Organizational Structure; Management Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Design; Complexity; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Service Industry

Research Summary

Research Interests

Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Sustainability and Capital Markets, Climate Change and Organizational Incentives, National Institutions and Corporate Social Performance, Stakeholder Engagement, Green Strategies, Business Strategy, Strategy... View Details

August 2003 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Elizabeth Parker (A)

By: Tiziana E. Casciaro, Wickham Skinner and David Krackhardt

A new political appointee with years of volunteer experience takes over a highly responsible job in the state government and is met with bureaucratic inertia. Describes a successful strategy to overcome organizational resistance to change. View Details

Keywords: Public Sector; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence

Julie Battilana is the Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior unit at Harvard Business School and the Alan L. Gleitsman Professor of Social Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School, where she is also the founder and faculty... View Details

March 2011
Teaching Note

Calveta Dining Services, Inc.: A Recipe for Growth? (Brief Case)

By: James L. Heskett and Patricia Girardi

Teaching Note for #4261. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Vision; Employee Empowerment; Service Management; Family Businesses; Growth Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Family Business; Employee Relationship Management; Communication; Organizational Structure; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy

2011
Casebook

Transnational Management: Text Cases and Readings in Cross Border Management

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Paul W. Beamish

Transnational Management focuses on the management challenges associated with developing strategies and managing the operations of companies whose activities stretch across national boundaries. The purpose of this book is to provide a conceptual framework showing the... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Economy; Framework; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Global Strategy; Management; Problems and Challenges; Situation or Environment; Strategy; Competition

September 2012
Article

The Size and Composition of Corporate Headquarters in Multinational Companies: Empirical Evidence

By: David J. Collis, David Young and Michael Goold

Based on a six-country survey of nearly 250 multinationals (MNCs), this paper is the first empirical analysis to describe the size and composition of MNC headquarters and to account for differences among them. Findings are as follows: MNC corporate headquarters are... View Details

Keywords: Headquarters; Subsidiaries; Multinational Corporations; Organization Design; Administrative Heritage; International Strategy; Business Subsidiaries; Organizational Design; Multinational Firms and Management; Size; Business Headquarters; Global Strategy

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January 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Trouble at Tessei

By: Ethan Bernstein and Ryan W. Buell

In 2005, Teruo Yabe is asked to revive Tessei, the 669-person JR-East subsidiary responsible for cleaning its Shinkansen ("bullet") trains. Operational mistakes, customer complaints, safety issues, and employee turnover are at or near all-time highs, even as the... View Details

Keywords: Service Management; Employee Engagement; Employee Motivation; Leadership And Managing People; Quality Improvement; Efficiency; Japan; Operational Transparency; Employee Coordination; Transparency; Leadership; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Employees; Quality; Transportation Industry; Japan

August 2009
Case

SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Christopher Marquis, Kwang Y. Ryu, Philip H. Mirvis and Bobbi Thomason

Since 2006, SK Telecom has worked to develop strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that are aligned with its business operations and corporate mission. The case tracks the original assessment process the company went through and successive... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; South Korea