Publications

August 2011 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Language and Globalization: 'Englishnization' at Rakuten (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley

Hiroshi Mikitani, the CEO of Rakuten, (Japan's largest online retailer), is at the helm of an organization that is rapidly expanding into global markets. In a critical stride toward becoming the world's No. 1 Internet services company, Mikitani announces... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Human Capital; Change Management; Transformation; Social Enterprise; Communication Strategy; Internet and the Web; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Leadership; Global Strategy; Technology Industry; Retail Industry; Japan

2 Sep 2021
Interview

Amy Edmondson

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Deepak Jayaraman

Amy C. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. Amy has been recognized by the biannual Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, and most recently was ranked #3 in 2019. She studies teaming,... View Details

Keywords: Psychological Safety; Organizational Culture; Communication; Performance Effectiveness

September 1999 (Revised November 2000)
Case

Swatch Group, The: On Internet Time

By: Luc R. Wathieu, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

Under the leadership of Nicholas Hayek, the Swatch Group, makers of the Swatch watch, is widely credited with revitalizing the Swiss watch industry by offering a consistent set of brands addressing all segments of the global watch market. New opportunities beyond the... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

May 2025 (Revised June 2025)
Supplement

Michael Ku and Global Clinical Supply at Pfizer Inc.: Bringing Hope to Patients (D)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

This fourth installment in the Pfizer Global Clinical Supply (GCS) transformation case series highlights how over a decade of cultural and digital evolution positioned GCS to meet unprecedented global challenges. In 2011, Michael Ku became the Vice President of GCS and... View Details

25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

How Transparency Sped Innovation in a $13 Billion Wireless Sector

which a supplier could act independently of a buyer. Potential innovations were also achieved through a very specific mechanism: expansion of firms’ ability to do business with... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Technology

13 Mar 2023
Op-Ed

How Leaders Should Leave

Even the most loyal, long-serving employee may consider resigning from a job once or twice in a career in order to reboot or get ahead. Large organizations can offer more lateral opportunities to further your development, but the higher up the executive pyramid you... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

06 Jun 2016
Research & Ideas

Skills and Behaviors that Make Entrepreneurs Successful

serial entrepreneurs versus first-time founders. “We’ve always had a hard time being able to identify the skills and behaviors of entrepreneurial leaders,” says HBS Professor Lynda Applegate, who has spent 20 years studying View Details

Keywords: by HBS Working Knowledge

October 2019
Case

Street Symphony: Making Human Connections Through Music

By: Rohit Deshpandé

To Vijay Gupta, music was sacred. A highly accomplished and renowned violinist with The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gupta believed the act of making and performing music was a deeply spiritual practice — one that had the power to heal audiences and musicians... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Music Entertainment; Human Needs; Music Industry; Los Angeles; California; United States

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

spur them to innovate. I will provide a menu of techniques you can use to generate creative tension to ensure that everyone is thinking and acting like a winning competitor. 6. How Committed Are Your... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

2015
Book

Shadow Cold War: The Sino-Soviet Competition for the Third World

By: Jeremy Friedman

The conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War has long been understood in a global context, but Jeremy Friedman's Shadow Cold War delves deeper into the era to examine the competition between the Soviet Union and the People's... View Details

Keywords: Competition; War; International Relations; China; United States; Soviet Union

Find at Harvard

19 Apr 2016
First Look

April 19, 2016

forthcoming Journal of Marketing Research Does 'Liking' Lead to Loving? The Impact of Joining a Brand’s Social Network on Marketing Outcomes By: John, Leslie K., Oliver Emrich, Sunil Gupta, and Michael I.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

want from the airline.” The strategy also made good business sense because after all, Bastian told his managers and executives, “If you take care of your people, they take care of your customers.” In... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

[This is the sixth installment in a monthly series on management issues in the time of COVID-19.] We recently asked 600 CEOs: What is keeping you awake at night during this global pandemic? A major and multifaceted concern that emerged is how to keep employees... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

26 Oct 2021
News

What Companies Want Most in a CEO: A Good Listener

November 2004 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Kodak and The Digital Revolution (A)

By: Giovanni M. Gavetti, Rebecca Henderson and Simona Giorgi

The introduction of digital imaging in the late 1980s had a disruptive effect on Kodak's traditional business model. Examines Kodak's strategic efforts and challenges as the photography industry evolves. After discussing Kodak's history and its past strategic moves in... View Details

Keywords: History; Information Technology; Business Model; Leadership; Disruption; Industry Growth; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry