Publications

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

one dimension or another—for instance, Dollar General lost its focus on the values in its culture and, as a result, recently had to restate its earnings. It's much easier to be a tumbler than it is to remain a winner. Our research found... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

14 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 14

launch of new products. A series of questions are presented that companies should keep in mind when poised to launch a product. Questions about advertising, pricing, and branding are explored, as well as who in a product's supply chain... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Thermax—Changing of the Guard

By: Christina R. Wing and Inakshi Sobti

Thermax is an engineering company in India that provides integrated solutions in energy, environment, and chemicals. The Aga family along with family trusts owns 62% of the company. Post a restructuring exercise in 2000, Thermax transforms itself from a small family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transformation; Business Conglomerates; Strategy; Management Succession; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture

February 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

GE's Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Follows the actions of GE CEO, Jeff Immelt, as he implements a growth strategy for the $150 billion company in a tough business environment. In four years, he reinvigorates GE's technology, expands its services, develops a commercial focus, pushes developing countries,... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Judgments; Global Strategy; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure

04 Aug 2017
News

Uber SVP of Leadership and Strategy Frances Frei live onstage on Recode Decode

October 2010 (Revised August 2016)
Case

On Weldon's Watch: Recalls at Johnson & Johnson from 2009 to 2010

By: Clayton S. Rose, Sandra J. Sucher, Rachel Gordon and Matthew Preble

In October of 2010, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) was unable to extricate itself from a year long recall crisis that had subjected the firm to criticism from Congress and regulators, resulted in the resignation of one of the firm's most senior officers, and cost hundreds of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Crisis Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Quality; Pharmaceutical Industry

June 2017
Teaching Note

IBM Transforming, 2012–2016: Ginni Rometty Steers Watson

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Ginni Rometty, who became IBM CEO in 2012, led efforts to transform the company around cognitive computing and the AI platform Watson. This Teaching Note helps instructors understand and teach the Harvard Business School case “IBM Transforming, 2012–2016: Ginni Rometty... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Technological Change; Artificial Intelligence; Data; IBM; Watson; Internet Of Things; Innovation and Invention; Management; Sales; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Transformation; AI and Machine Learning

July 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Athletic Brewing Company: Crafting the U.S. Non-Alcoholic Beer Category

By: Ayelet Israeli and Anne V. Wilson

Athletic Brewing Company (“Athletic,” for short) was founded by Bill Shufelt and John Walker in 2017. In creating Athletic, Shufelt and Walker opened the first U.S. brewery and taproom fully devoted to the production of non-alcoholic (NA) craft beer. By 2021, Athletic... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Product Design; Product; Competition; Marketing; Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

22 Jan 2019
News

Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace

November 2017 (Revised September 2020)
Supplement

Miami's Tech Future (B): Building the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

In 2017, Miami was rated #1 among U.S. cities for startups, but about 40th for “scale-ups” – growth companies. This case shows how leaders of incubators and accelerators supported startups and a culture of entrepreneurship, but also describes some factors limiting... View Details

Keywords: Scaling; Growth; Startup; Community Engagement; Community Impact; Community Relations; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Miami; Florida

24 Apr 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders

Source: guvendemir Courage is the quality that distinguishes great leaders from excellent managers. Over the past decade, I have worked with and studied more than 200 CEOs of major companies through board service, consulting, and research... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Auto; Food & Beverage

10 May 2021
Research & Ideas

Who Has Potential? For Many White Men, It’s Often Other White Men

them—a familiar scenario that plays out at a lot of companies. “Merely increasing the number of employees from underrepresented groups and trying to be inclusive isn’t enough,” Ely says. “Instead, companies that are intent on diversifying... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

10 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

Truth Be Told: Unpacking the Risks of Whistleblowing

do more to encourage employees to report misdeeds internally? Heese: Companies have to understand that their employees can be a big source of information for them, too. Whistleblower is a loaded term, but essentially what we’re talking... View Details

Keywords: by April White

04 Apr 2023
What Do You Think?

How Does Remote Work Affect Innovation?

team weren’t even on the ads team It was the culture that attracted . These five engineers . To the company in the first place. How would this story play out if Google had relied heavily on remote work at... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

The CEO Within

With rising CEO turnover, companies are increasingly looking outside for qualified candidates. Sure, externally recruited CEOs bring fresh perspectives and connections. But they lack the in-depth knowledge of the company s culture and history that they need to succeed.... View Details

21 Apr 2022
News

‘Workcations’ Aren’t an Escape. They’re Practice.

September 2020
Teaching Note

Miami's Tech Future (B): Building the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

In 2017, Miami was rated #1 among U.S. cities for startups, but about 40th for “scale-ups” – growth companies. This case shows how leaders of incubators and accelerators supported startups and a culture of entrepreneurship, but also describes some factors limiting... View Details

Keywords: Scaling; Growth; Startup; Community Impact; Community Relations; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Business and Community Relations; Miami; Florida