Publications

Summer 2012
Article

How to Become a Sustainable Company

By: Robert G. Eccles, Kathleen Miller Perkins and George Serafeim

Using field and survey data we identify the characteristics of sustainable companies, and we develop a two-stage model that can help companies develop a culture of innovation, trust, and the ability for transformational change. View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Innovation; Leadership; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Trust; Organizational Change and Adaptation

December 2010
Teaching Note

Corporate Strategy at Berkshire Partners (TN)

By: Julie M. Wulf

Teaching Note for 710-414. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Financial Services Industry

September 2010
Case

Freddie Mac: Managing in Conservatorship

By: Robert Steven Kaplan, Nitin Nohria and Ben Creo

Ed Haldeman has recently become CEO of Freddie Mac, one of three major government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) charged with supporting U.S. residential mortgage finance. The company was placed into conservatorship by the U.S. treasury on September 7, 2008.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

07 Sep 2016
What Do You Think?

How Can the Threat of Networks Be Reduced?

their control for leadership effectiveness. He suggested that tribal leadership, described in a book by the same name, is “a perfect fit for the fast moving networks of the Seventh Sense.” It describes organizations formed around natural... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

HBS Center Focuses on Europe

political leaders, educational institutions, and local alumni. In Europe, a group of executives and professionals, all HBS alumni, form the European Leadership Council (ELC), which provides advice on the work of the ERC. Cynthia... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Future of Boards

lead to dysfunctional group dynamics) and the perspectives brought to the table by board leaders and director. Finally, the benefits of two opposing leadership structures are debated: one chapter argues for electing a chairman who is... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

05 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 5

to balance its Chinese heritage claims with claims of modernity. The China skin care market is growing extraordinarily fast. Is that an asset or a liability? Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/511051-PDF-ENG Terror at the Taj Bombay:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

31 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 31

Struggles and Standard Chartered Bank: Managing Global Key Accounts Robert G. Eccles and Kerry HermanHarvard Business School Case 411-011 Daren Kemp, a partner at leadership consultancy and executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

10 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 10

potential risks and rewards, both financial and reputational, for Milliway, the partner, and Martin. Purchase this case:http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/product/810088-PDF-ENG Mekong Capital: Building a Culture of Leadership in Vietnam... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

06 Jan 2012
Op-Ed

Where Green Corporate Ratings Fail

restrictions. Ratings could reward companies that take leadership positions, such as when Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) quit the US Chamber of Commerce, citing its "extreme position on climate change". They could also... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler; Information; Publishing

June 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Climate Governance at Linde plc (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Innovation Strategy; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Business and Shareholder Relations; Chemical Industry; United States; Germany; Europe; North America; London

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

March 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Hippo: Weathering the Storm of the Home Insurance Crisis

By: Lauren Cohen, Grace Headinger and Sophia Pan

Rick McCathron, CEO of Hippo, considered how the firm’s underwriting model could account for the effects of climate change. Along with providing smart home packages, targeting risk-friendly customers, and using data-driven pricing, the Insurtech used technologically... View Details

29 Jan 2013
First Look

First Look: Jan. 29

"Client Development Centre (CDC)," an innovative idea and set of services launched by Dr. Jim Hever who holds a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership Development. The mission of the CDC is to improve the capabilities of clients'... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 8, 2012
Column

Henkel's Culture Shift

By: Robert Simons

This case descriibes a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Execution; Culture; New CEO; Change; Performance Measures; Accountability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Accountability; Leading Change; Competitive Strategy; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Consumer Products Industry; Germany

November 2010 (Revised January 2011)
Case

The Tzu Chi Foundation's China Relief Mission

By: Herman B. Leonard and YiKwan Chu

Tzu Chi is one of the largest charities in Taiwan, and one of the swiftest and most effective relief organizations internationally. Rooted in the value of compassion, the organization has many unusual operating features -- including having no long term plan. This case... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Crisis Management; Service Delivery; Mission and Purpose; Religion; Natural Disasters; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; China; Taiwan

November 2007 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Mubadala: Forging Development in Abu Dhabi

By: Rawi E. Abdelal and Irina Tarsis

In 2007, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the CEO of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), had every reason to be optimistic about the future of his home, Abu Dhabi, one of the emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tiny, sandy, and dry emirate with a... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Economy; Non-Renewable Energy; Globalization; Leading Change; State Ownership; Diversification; Abu Dhabi

July 2004 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Getting Participant-centered Learning to Work

By: Thomas R. Piper, James L. Heskett and Gustavo Herrero

The newly appointed dean of a South American business school is eager to transform the learning process from the traditional lecture method to one that actively engages students and contributes to the development of critical managerial skills, attitudes, and world... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Business Education; Leading Change; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Alliances; Education Industry; South America

September 1991 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Allegheny Ludlum: Research and Engineering Resource Allocation

By: Dorothy Leonard-Barton and Geoffrey K. Gill

Allegheny Ludlum's (AL) technical vice president, Jack Shilling faces the task of determining how to allocate engineering resources among five areas of technology. AL's technology organization has great strategic importance and has therefore been untouched by the... View Details

Keywords: Engineering; Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Policy; Leadership; Decisions; Competency and Skills; Projects; Joint Ventures; Strategy; Electronics Industry; Technology Industry