Publications

December 26, 2014
Article

Mergers & Acquisitions: Before a Merger, Consider Company Cultures Along with Financials

By: David G. Fubini

Not everything can be accounted for on a spreadsheet. View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Mergers and Acquisitions; Accounting

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November 2014 (Revised March 2016)
Background Note

Mental Health and the American Workplace

By: John A. Quelch and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Mental illness has been described as an epidemic affecting nearly a quarter of all Americans in their lifetimes, often during their most productive working years. Managers who can design organizations that maximize mental health can minimize these risks and boost... View Details

Keywords: Public Health; Productivity; Competitiveness; Stress Management; Depression; Absenteeism; Presenteeism; Work Culture; Business or Company Management; Work-Life Balance; Performance Productivity; Organizational Culture; Medical Specialties; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; United States

October 2014
Teaching Note

MuMaté

By: Thomas Eisenmann

This teaching note is designed for use with "MuMaté: Funding Growth," "MuMaté (B-1): Confidential for Maxwell," "MuMaté (B-2): Confidential for Cantor," HBS Nos. 814-063, 813-149, 813-150, to help faculty deepen student comprehension of business issues and energize... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Growth Management; Negotiation; Expansion; Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Business Startups; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2014
Case

Teckentrup: A Door to Managing Difference

By: Clayton Rose, Jerome Lenhardt and Daniela Beyersdorfer

For Kai Teckentrup, the owner and co-CEO of the German "Mittelstand" door manufacturer Teckentrup, balancing competitive pressures, demographic realities and values were at the heart of the diversity program that he had started and championed at the company. Beyond... View Details

September 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling

By: Ethan Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley Staats and Luke Hassall

With 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace its entirely manual labor scheduling system with an automated software solution from Reflexis. Belk hoped the upgrade would simplify scheduling, reduce time employees spent in non-customer-facing roles,... View Details

Article

What's Your Language Strategy?: It Should Bind Your Company's Global Talent Management and Vision

By: Tsedal Neeley and Robert Steven Kaplan

Language pervades every aspect of organizational life. Yet leaders of global organizations—where unrestricted multilingualism can create friction—often pay too little attention to it in their approach to talent management. By managing language carefully, firms can hire... View Details

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August 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Teaming at Disney Animation

By: Amy C. Edmondson, David L. Ager, Emily Harburg and Natalie Bartlett

Jonathan Geibel, Director of Systems at Walt Disney Animation Studios (hereafter referred to as Disney Animation), walked through the workspace occupied by the group he had been tasked to lead. Geibel knew he was part of a creative and magical environment. The Disney... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Creativity; Organizational Structure; Animation Entertainment; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

August 2014
Case

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee... View Details

August 2014 (Revised August 2015)
Supplement

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (B)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee... View Details

July 2014
Teaching Note

Rebecca S. Halstead: Steadfast Leadership

By: Boris Groysberg and Deborah Bell

The case reviews Rebecca Halstead's career history, detailing how, through her personal attributes, skills, experiences, challenges, and organizational practices she developed into a successful leader and commander in the U.S. Army. The teaching note discusses... View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Leadership; Leadership And Managing People; Working Conditions; Groups and Teams; Competitive Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Gender; Power and Influence

June 2014
Article

Collective Genius

By: Linda A. Hill, Greg Brandeau, Emily Truelove and Kent Lineback

Competitiveness depends in great part on the ability to innovate. The perennial challenge, then, is to build an organization capable of innovating again and again. Traditional, direction-setting leadership can work well when the solution to a problem is known and... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Culture

2014
Book

Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation

By: Linda A. Hill, Greg Brandeau, Emily Truelove and Kent Lineback

Why can some organizations innovate time and again, while most cannot? You might think the key to innovation is attracting exceptional creative talent. Or making the right investments. Or breaking down organizational silos. All of these things may help—but there's only... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention

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2014
Other Article

Communicating Change: When Identity Becomes a Source of Vulnerability for Institutional Challengers

By: Ryann Elizabeth Manning, Julie Battilana and Lakshmi Ramarajan

Social movements challenge institutions through two related communication processes: articulating collective action frames and constructing collective movement identity. We argue that frames not only express movement identity, but also provide openings through which... View Details

Keywords: Identity Threat; Institutional Change; Social Movements; Framing; Social Issues; Identity; Organizational Culture; Change

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May 2014
Case

Groupon, Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Blythe J. McGarvie and James Weber

Internet coupon site "Groupon" grew revenues rapidly and went public, but struggled to impress investors or operate profitably. Did it have a sustainable business model? Groupon sold coupons called Groupons which purchasers used to acquire goods or services at... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Corporate Governance; Entrepreneurship; Financial Management; Financial Reporting; Financial Statements; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Web Services Industry; United States

April 2014
Case

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bethany S. Gerstein and Melissa Valentine

In 2006, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals was a fast-growing biotechnology company. Its leadership team was divided over whether to keep R&D organized in functional departments or transition to interdisciplinary teams. As a small company, Merrimack's R&D organization had... View Details

Keywords: Teamwork; Interdisciplinary Collaboration; R＆D; Biotechnology; Complexity; Innovation Management; Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

April 2014
Supplement

Interview: Man Jit Singh at Sony Entertainment Television

By: Linda A. Hill and Allison J. Wigen

Contains excerpts from an interview with Man Jit Singh. Singh discusses the results of events covered in the case "Man Jit Singh at Sony Entertainment Television," including his decision to begin evaluating employees on values as well as performance.
This short... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisals; Leading Change; Leadership; Emerging Markets; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Groups and Teams; Change Management; Media and Broadcasting Industry; India

April 2014
Supplement

Managing Change at Axis Bank (B)

By: Paul Healy and Rachna Tahilyani

Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Valuation; Finance; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; India

March 2014
Case

Managing Change at Axis Bank (A)

By: Paul Healy and Rachna Tahilyani

Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider, was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Valuation; Finance; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; India

2014
Article

Notes from the Search for Deep Indicators in Services

By: James L. Heskett

Much of the research in the service sector over the last four decades has concerned itself with the search for deep indicators that explain service performance. This paper provides a brief retrospective of some of this research and illustrates the directions that this... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Performance; Service Industry