Publications

June 2023 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Albert Einstein: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case traces the rise of Albert Einstein from a small town in Germany to a towering intellectual leader who revolutionized the field of physics. The case describes his early education and his penchant for individual thinking and non-conformity. A committed... View Details

Keywords: Science; Research; Personal Characteristics; Mission and Purpose; Success; Work-Life Balance; Higher Education; Power and Influence

January 2002
Case

IBM's Reinventing Education (B): West Virginia

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

Describes IBM's ongoing Reinventing Education initiative to improve K-12 public education via information technology developed by IBM's engineers and consultants. Focuses on one site, West Virginia, to reveal how IBM and the state created a mutually beneficial... View Details

Keywords: Programs; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Education; Business and Community Relations; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; West Virginia

12 Jun 2013
News

How the NSA Got So Smart So Fast

May 2006
Case

Esterline Technologies: Lean Manufacturing

By: Richard L. Nolan, Karen A. Brown and Subodha Kumar

Raises the issue of the appropriate role of IT in lean manufacturing. Most large manufacturing companies have implemented ERP IT systems to support lean manufacturing practices. The Kerry plant of Esterline Technologies attempted an ERP implementation and then... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Technological Innovation; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Systems; Production; Information Technology; Technology Adoption; Manufacturing Industry

November 1998 (Revised July 2000)
Case

Deere & Company: Sustaining Value

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Marlowe Dayley

The question facing Deere & Co. is whether or not to adopt some of the organizational technologies of private equity investors (decentralized equity holdings, use of leverage to control the disposition of cash flows, the externalization of the capital budgeting... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cash Flow; Private Equity; Wealth; Adoption; Manufacturing Industry

Article

How History Shaped the Innovator's Dilemma

By: Tom Nicholas

In 1993, four years prior to the publication of Clayton Christensen’s highly influential book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, the Business History Review (BHR) published an article by Christensen titled “The Rigid Disk Drive Industry: A History of... View Details

Keywords: Clayton Christensen; Impact; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Research

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June 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Eric Hawkins Leading Agile Teams @ Digitally-Born AppFolio (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley, Paul Leonardi and Michael Norris

Eric Hawkins, director of engineering at AppFolio—a digital technology firm that offered cloud-based business software to small and medium sized companies—was shocked by an unusual request from his senior leadership team. Could Hawkins and one of his agile teams build... View Details

Keywords: Values; Agile; Vision; Corporate Culture; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Transformation; Technology Industry; United States; California

29 Nov 2021
News

HBS Appoints Elizabeth Clark Chief Information Officer

10 Apr 2020
News

How to Be an Inclusive Leader Through a Crisis

October 2013 (Revised April 2018)
Technical Note

Non-Equity Financing for Entrepreneurial Ventures

By: Joan Farre-Mensa, Ramana Nanda and Piyush Jain

Young, and particularly high-growth ventures often need to raise significant external finance, since their internal cash flow is usually insufficient to support the investments needed to grow. Although raising equity from venture capital or angel investors is the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Financial Services Industry

August 1995 (Revised September 1995)
Background Note

Designing and Managing the Information Age IT Architecture

By: Lynda M. Applegate

The co-evolution of technology, work, and the workforce over the past 30 years has dramatically influenced our concept of organizations and the industries within which they compete. No longer simply a tool to support "back-office" transactions, IT has become a... View Details

Keywords: Design; Management; Organizations; Information Technology

April 1998
Case

Geffen Records

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Geffen Records faces new challenges due to emerging technologies, namely, streaming audio and CD-recordable drives. These technologies have the ability to reshape the foundation on which the music industry is founded. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Change Management; Distribution Channels; Music Industry

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, specializing in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change. Her strategic and practical insights guide leaders worldwide through teaching, writing, and direct... View Details

07 Nov 2014
News

Harvard Finds New Partner in City Hall's 'Urban Mechanics'

March 2019 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Accion's Fintech Strategy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael Chu and Tricia Gregg

Accion, an NGO, had been a pioneer in microfinance since its entry into that sector in the early 1970s. Its investments in Banco Compartamos paid off, when the microfinance bank went IPO in 2007, leaving an influx of $138 million for Accion. Under a new CEO, Michael... View Details

Keywords: Fintech; Impact Investing; Financial Inclusion; Technological Innovation; Strategy; Strategic Planning; Performance Effectiveness; Non-Governmental Organizations; Microfinance; Financial Institutions; Business Growth and Maturation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Industry Growth

June 2010
Case

The Shaw Group Inc.: Entrepreneurial Innovation

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Edward Watson

The case describes the founding and evolution of the Shaw Group through acquisition. The case is set at the time that the company is redesigning its business processes, organization, and information technology infrastructure to support aggressive growth and increased... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Infrastructure; Business Processes; Organizational Design; Information Technology

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May 2004 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Slingshot Technology, Inc. (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Slingshot Technology Inc. (STI) is a privately held software start-up founded in 1995 focused on identifying emerging spaces in the IT services industry and partnering with vendors selling promising but unproven technologies in those spaces. The vendors used STI to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Partners and Partnerships; Entrepreneurship; Applications and Software; Intellectual Property; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry

25 Aug 2016
Video

Jose Figueres responds to MOC class discussion in 2016

January 1990 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Monsanto's March into Biotechnology (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano

Very early in the history of biotechnology (about 1979), Monsanto made a major commitment to move into this field. This case recounts the history from the point of view of the eminent scientist hired to head up corporate R&D. He took Monsanto from a very traditional... View Details

Keywords: History; Transition; Biotechnology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry