Publications

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2003
Book

When You Say Yes But Mean No: How Silencing Conflict Wrecks Relationships and Companies

By: Leslie Perlow

“Saying yes when you really mean no” is a problem that haunts organizations from start-ups to multi-nationals. It exists across industries, levels, and functions. And it’s exacerbated by a down economy, when the fear of losing one’s job is on everybody’s mind and the... View Details

Keywords: Conflict and Resolution; Relationships; Business Ventures

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03 Nov 2023
News

Global Networking Night; Sweden Club Holds Climate Forum

Club of Sweden, in partnership with the climate action organization We Don’t Have Time, hosted its first annual Stockholm Climate Leadership Forum on October 4. The event, which featured a series of discussions with Swedish View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Mrs. Fields Cookies

By: James I. Cash Jr.

Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Information Management; Organizational Structure; Customer Relationship Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Networks; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Information Technology Industry

July 2003 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Mitchells/Richards

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim

Describes a small, luxury retail chain's operational sophistication achieved through the use of technology and high-touch customer service. A family-run business, Mitchells has built its success with a customer service strategy know internally as "hugging." The term is... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Expansion; Family Business; Attitudes; Organizational Culture; Luxury; Customer Focus and Relationships; Retail Industry

September 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

pymetrics: Early Days

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2013, CEO Frida Polli was contemplating the next steps for her start-up business, pymetrics. After receiving her PhD in neuropsychology and MBA from HBS, she was determined to put her scientific and academic knowledge to work to build a business solving real world... View Details

08 May 2018
News

Microsoft Tries a New Role: Moral Leader

17 May 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Keywords: by Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim

28 Apr 2011
Op-Ed

While Waiting for Japan’s Recovery, Let’s Enhance Supplier Competitiveness at Home

distribution chains. Big companies also tap promising ideas for innovation through their relationships with entrepreneurial growth companies, whether as suppliers or as investment targets for corporate venture capital. To help small View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

16 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 16, 2018

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 14 Introducing Open Platforms and Business Ecosystems By: Baldwin, Carliss Y. Abstract—The purpose of this chapter is to lay the groundwork for a comprehensive... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Commuter Hell? You Can Still Be Productive

media on the train, may actually interfere with people’s ability to transition into work mode smoothly—which makes them feel gloomier about their jobs and more likely to quit. “I was surprised with this finding myself,” Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

18 Mar 2014
First Look

First Look: March 18

and training, as well as organ transplantation, is limited. Researchers disagree about how to increase the number of whole-body bequeathals, citing a shortage of donations from the one group perceived as most likely to donate from... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2003 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Transforming Matsui Securities

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Masako Egawa, Jamie Ladge and Haruki Umezawa

Michio Matsui, president and CEO of Matsui Securities, transformed a small regional securities company into a leading player in the online broking industry in Japan. Discusses how he transformed the business model and culture of the company and took advantage of the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Model; Organizational Culture; Financial Markets; Competitive Advantage; Japan