Publications

07 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

What Customers Need to Hear from You During the COVID Crisis

the crisis without offering solutions and hope to their consumers. And, brands should keep their consumers fully informed about how to continue to gain access to their products and services during the crisis, particularly for those deemed View Details

Keywords: by Jill Avery and Richard Edelman

29 Mar 2022
Book

5 Qualities That Help Companies Thrive for Decades—Even Centuries

in influencing younger generations of leaders. In numerous instances, so did the continuing influence of the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi. “[In India], our protagonists talked, unprompted actually, about a sense of mission for society, the... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

2015
Working Paper

The Impact of Funds: An Evaluation of CDC 2004-12

By: Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, Steve Dew and Dong Ik Lee

CDC was founded in 1948 as part of the U.K. government's efforts to develop the economic resources of Britain's remaining colonies. Since then, CDC has pursued a series of strategies to "do good without losing money," as its original mission was phrased. Its approach... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Great Britain

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June 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Kathy Giusti and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Joshua D. Margolis and Matthew G. Preble

What do you do when your rising professional career is cut short by an unexpected cancer diagnosis? Kathy Giusti shifted careers, built a new organization that transformed how cancer research is done, and now faces the challenge of sustaining the organization and its... View Details

09 May 2017
What Do You Think?

Should Management Be Primarily Responsible to Shareholders?

Shareholder value is easy to measure. Agency theory simplifies the mission for managers; they need only serve one primary master. Theorists have been hard-put to come up with notions as easy to understand and implement. Now, Friedman’s... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

21 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

The Pandemic Conversations That Leaders Need to Have Now

effective. This type of conversation can provide the clarity needed to personalize our work’s purpose better than an organization’s vision or mission statement, which is often so grand that employees have difficulty connecting it to their... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Robin Abrahams, and Katherine Connolly Baden

May 2011
Article

The Power of Small Wins

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer

What is the best way to motivate employees to do creative work? Help them take a step forward every day. In an analysis of knowledge workers' diaries, the authors found that nothing contributed more to a positive inner work life (the mix of emotions, motivations, and... View Details

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2023
Book

Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

By: Geoffrey Jones

Corporate social responsibility has entered the mainstream, but what does it take to run a successful purpose-driven business? This book examines leaders who put values alongside profits to showcase the challenges and upside of deeply responsible business. Should... View Details

January 2010 (Revised April 2011)
Case

Google Inc.

By: Benjamin Edelman and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Describes Google's history, business model, governance structure, corporate culture, and processes for managing innovation. Reviews Google's recent strategic initiatives and the threats they pose to Yahoo, Microsoft, and others. Asks what Google should do next. One... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Business Model; Growth and Development Strategy; Network Effects; Mission and Purpose; Expansion; Internet and the Web; Information Technology Industry

January–February 2023
Article

Rethink Your Employee Value Proposition: Offer Your People More Than Just Flexibility

By: Mark Mortensen and Amy C. Edmondson

A lot of leaders believe that the formula for attracting and keeping talent is simple: Just ask people what they want and give it to them. The problem is, that approach tends to address only the material aspects of jobs that are top of employees’ minds at the moment,... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Recruitment; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Satisfaction

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November 2023
Case

Tata Group in 2021: Pursuing Profits through Purpose

By: Tarun Khanna, Krishna G. Palepu and Vidhya Muthuram

October 8, 2021: Tata Sons won a bid to acquire India’s national carrier Air India, marking the airline's return to its original owners after 68 long years. The winning bid of $2.4 billion gave Tata Sons full ownership of the airline and its coveted network of 6,200... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Emerging Markets; Mergers and Acquisitions; Ownership; Air Transportation; Air Transportation Industry; India

28 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

The Profit Power of Corporate Culture

Corporate culture is often thought of as a hard-to-define, or soft concept in management circles. Soft not in the sense that it isn't important—most CEOs will tell you that their ability to inculcate values and mission into the DNA of a... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2022
Book

Innovation Isn’t Just for Startups: How Big Companies Can Succeed

Although Carol was a scientist by background, along with many of the leaders she hired, it had not been her vision that started the unit. She focused intensely on the mission and vision for the venture, engaging organizational consultants... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

23 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

8 Strategies to Sustain Business Innovation

a same-day reply by phone or email. The rules aren’t mission statements, but rather a way to make learning experiences easier to adopt and follow. McDonald adds, “Even simple rules can outlive their usefulness.” 6. Make the new look... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Decision Rights: Who Gives the Green Light?

extraordinarily difficult and controversial management task." And therein lies a big problem, because how effective an organization is at making high-quality decisions consistent with its mission and objectives, the experts note, is... View Details

Keywords: by Peter Jacobs

11 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Strategy Execution and the Balanced Scorecard

mission and vision statements, strategy formulation, target-setting, dynamic budgeting and resource allocation, process improvement, quality methodologies (Six Sigma, lean management, catchball), dashboards, the learning organization,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

12 Sep 2022
Research & Ideas

When Experts Play It Too Safe: Innovation Lessons from a NASA Experiment

for the US space agency’s Astrobee system in 2018. Entries proposed solutions to technical issues with a robotic arm for Astrobee, a free-flying robot that handles inventory, documents astronauts’ experiments, and moves cargo. Astrobee is key to NASA’s View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Aerospace

August 2020 (Revised May 2021)
Case

PayPal: The Next Chapter

By: Michael Porter, Mark Kramer and Annelena Lobb

Can a social purpose and stakeholder capitalism confer a powerful competitive advantage in the age of COVID-19? For PayPal, the answer is yes. After spinning off from eBay in a 2015 IPO, the company declared its purpose as "democratizing financial services" by ensuring... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Finance; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Social Entrepreneurship; Competitive Advantage; Financial Services Industry