Publications

17 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

policy makers. The skills, know-how, and capabilities underpinning an industrial commons accumulate over time. Both government policies and the investment decisions of private enterprises determine what... View Details

Keywords: by Gary P. Pisano & Willy C. Shih; Manufacturing

26 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

Best Practices of Global Innovators

organizational practices. Production and innovation are different activities. While the former seeks to replicate an existing product at low cost, the latter seeks to discover something entirely new and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2009
News

Losing Our Competitive Edge

critical components of solar panels, among others. How did this happen? A big part of the reason is the outsourcing of development and manufacturing work to companies abroad. The result: a damaging... View Details

Keywords: Gary P. Pisano; Manufacturing

March 2012
Background Note

Managing the Layoff Process: The United States

By: Sandra J. Sucher

This note is an overview of the context for managing layoffs in the United States. It describes the legal responsibilities of managers in conducting layoffs, recent unemployment trends, and the financial, health, training, job placement, and other benefits that... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; Ethics; Management; Employees; Governance Compliance; United States

15 Aug 2024
Blog Post

Navigating the Future of Renewable Energy at Port Esbjerg

Commercial Officer, and Dr. Dennis Jul Pedersen, CEO of Port Esbjerg. Their insights painted a vivid picture of the port's strategic role in supporting nearly 60 offshore wind projects, with over 90% of... View Details

March 10, 2025
Article

How Gen AI Could Change the Value of Expertise

By: Joseph Fuller, Matt Sigelman and Michael Fenlon

In the near future, gen AI is likely to affect some 50 million jobs, automating away elements of some jobs and augmenting workers’ abilities in others. The extent of those changes will compel companies to reshape their organizational structures and rethink their talent... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Structure; Talent and Talent Management; Personal Development and Career

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October 2000 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Nick Fiore: Healer or Hitman? (A)

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Tara Donovan

Many general managers face this predicament at one time or another: if I don't deliver the numbers, senior management won't invest in our growth. But what it takes to deliver the desired numbers may include layoffs and other undesirable solutions. Is it better to back... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Strategic Planning; Decision Choices and Conditions

31 Jul 2014
Research & Ideas

A Scholarly Crowd Explores Crowdsourcing

When Clayton Christensen and Derek van Bever prepared to write The Capitalist's Dilemma for the June issue of Harvard Business Review, they took an approach rarely tried on the same scale: They outsourced it... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2024
Chapter

Broadening Ownership for a Responsible Digital Revolution

By: Nien-hê Hsieh

The chapter explores how broadening ownership of business enterprises provides a response to three concerns raised by the digital revolution. The first is the potential for widespread job displacement and unemployment due to automation. The second relates to the harms... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Industrial Policy; Work; Ownership; Technology Adoption; Job Cuts and Outsourcing

Read Now

April 2004 (Revised July 2007)
Case

OfficeTiger

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall

OfficeTiger was founded in late 1999 with an innovative approach to global outsourcing. The company's employees, located primarily in India, provided services for corporations, investment banks, and professional services firms throughout the United States, Europe, and... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Globalized Markets and Industries; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; India

26 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Where is Home for the Global Firm?

outsourcing operation of General Electric and was the largest outsourcing operation in India. In 2005 GE decided to partially divest this subsidiary to a number of private... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

06 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 6

and Maggie Chen Abstract—The explosion of multinational activities in recent decades is rapidly transforming the global landscape of industrial production. But are the emerging clusters of multinational production the rule or the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Nov 2011
First Look

First Look: Nov. 1

"domestic" (i.e., carbon-regulated) firms and "foreign" (i.e., unregulated) firms, where domestic firms have the option to offshore production and the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Stanley O'Neal at Merrill Lynch (A)

By: David A. Thomas and Ayesha Kanji

In the late 1970s, Stanley O'Neal joined Merrill Lynch as an investment banker. Profiles O'Neal's ascent at Merrill to CEO. O'Neal put Merrill through a comprehensive restructuring program, cutting costs and significantly reducing the work force. As CEO, O'Neal faces... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Race; Cost Management; Investment Banking; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Leadership; Management Succession; Performance Effectiveness; Personal Development and Career

Find at Harvard

27 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research, March 27, 2018

forthcoming Harvard Journal on Legislation From the Digital to the Physical: Federal Limitations on Regulating Online Marketplaces By: Edelman, Benjamin, and Abbey Stemler Abstract—Online marketplaces have transformed how we shop, travel,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2024 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Leading Culture Change at Microsoft Western Europe

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Cat Huang

In 2023, Cindy Rose, President of Microsoft Western Europe, faced a critical decision. Rose grappled with the potential impact of widespread layoffs on psychological safety and the cultural transformation she had championed since her arrival. When Rose had first joined... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; Groups and Teams; Business or Company Management; Technology Industry; Europe

July 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Bradley Marquez: Reduction in Force (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan

The Bradley Marquez advertising agency had created a successful niche delivering ethnic markets to their clients, corporate giants like Compaq, Sprint, Texaco, and British Airways. The company was operating in aggressive growth mode when, in 2000, the stock market... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Crisis; Price Bubble; Human Resources; Employees; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Advertising Industry

July–August 2023
Article

Case Study: How Should a Start-Up Cut Its Burn Rate?

By: Nitin Nohria, Katie Josephson, Sophia Wronsky and Elizabeth Rha

Tyler Smith, the founder and CEO of the enterprise software firm Puck.io, is facing a hard decision. Just three months earlier the company laid off 20% of its employees to reduce its burn rate amid growing economic uncertainty and a suddenly unattractive funding... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business or Company Management; Business Startups