Publications

July–August 2023
Article

Investing in Growth Through Uncertainty

By: Ranjay Gulati

When faced with disruptions and downturns, many leaders and companies instinctively focus on cutting costs to maintain profitability. But some identify opportunities and then take thoughtful action to emerge from crisis even stronger. That means not only planning for... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Strategic Planning

Find at Harvard

30 Oct 2019
Video

Kutayba Alghanim

Kutayba Alghanim, Chairman of Kuwait-based Alghanim Industries, a highly diversified business group, discusses how to create a corporate culture which motivates employees of many different nationalities to be... View Details

15 Aug 2018
News

Problem-solving techniques take on new twist

18 Mar 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Matching Firms, Managers, and Incentives

Keywords: by Oriana Bandiera, Luigi Guiso, Andrea Prat & Raffaella Sadun

April 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Case

CredEx Fintech: Business Model Transformation During the Digital Era

By: Laura Huang, Raphael Amit and Xu Han

Founded in 2010, CredEx has been a fast and constant innovator in the microfinance industry in China. Tang Xia, CEO and co-founder of CredEx, has led the company through a number of profound business model innovations in response to external environment changes, which... View Details

Keywords: Digitization; Fintech; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Transformation; Microfinance; Organizational Change and Adaptation

28 Sep 2021
News

Boston University Plans to Divest $2.4 Billion Endowment from Fossil Fuels

20 May 2016
News

The emporium strikes back

June 2001 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Sampa Video, Inc.

A video rental store is considering offering home delivery service. Management must value the project under different financing strategies and methods, specifically adjusted present value (APV) and weighted average cost of capital (WACC). View Details

Keywords: Expansion; Cost of Capital; Entertainment; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

2015
Working Paper

Toxic Workers

By: Michael Housman and Dylan Minor

While there has been a strong focus in past research on discovering and developing top performers in the workplace, less attention has been paid to the question of how to manage those workers on the opposite side of the spectrum: those who are harmful to organizational... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Human Resource Management; Misconduct; Worker Productivity; Superstar; Ethics; Performance Productivity; Personal Characteristics; Employees

SSRN

Read Now

July 2011 (Revised April 2012)
Case

The Clorox Company: Leveraging Green for Growth

By: Elie Ofek and Lauren Barley

The Clorox Company needs to decide on the marketing strategy going forward for its three sustainable brands, Brita, Burt's Bees and Green Works. These brands had fared differently over the past 3 years and each presents multiple courses of action heading into 2011.... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Sales; Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Arck Systems

By: Ian Larkin

The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Performance Effectiveness; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software; Information Technology Industry

Teresa M. Amabile

Teresa Amabile is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor, Emerita, at Harvard Business School. Originally educated and employed as a chemist, Teresa received her Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University. Her current research investigates how people approach and... View Details

John P. Kotter

John P. Kotter is internationally known and widely regarded as the foremost speaker on the topics of Leadership and Change. His is the premier voice on how the best organizations actually achieve successful transformations. The Konosuke... View Details

May–June 2018
Article

The Surprising Power of Questions

By: Alison Wood Brooks and Leslie K. John

Much of an executive’s workday is spent asking others for information—requesting status updates from a team leader, for example, or questioning a counterpart in a tense negotiation. Yet unlike professionals such as litigators, journalists, and doctors, who are taught... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Communication Strategy; Information; Knowledge Sharing; Performance Effectiveness

Find at Harvard

16 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

Why ‘Sleep on It’ No Longer Sounds Like Great Advice

As the holidays approach, we’ll all experience the temptation to overspend on gifts for our loved ones (and maybe a little on ourselves). When faced with difficult decisions like whether to spend $199 on a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

May 2009
Case

Ceres Gardening Company: Funding Growth in Organic Products

By: John H. McArthur and Sunru Yong

Ceres is a leading player in the growing organic gardening industry, selling seeds, small plants, and related items. Their distribution depends heavily on retail sales through independent nurseries and garden centers. Because these small dealers are unable to finance... View Details

Keywords: Accounting Procedures; Marketing; Business Growth; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Channels; Credit; Financial Statements; Sales; Retail Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Article

What Professional Service Firms Must Do to Thrive

By: Ashish Nanda and Das Narayandas

When the going gets tough, professional service firms (PSFs) often get desperate and chase all kinds of business just to keep the lights on. Consultancies, financial services firms, VC/PE firms, and the like offer services and sign up clients they should never have... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firms; Client Mix; Strategic Positioning; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness; Decision Making; Framework

Find at Harvard

Read Now

February 2019
Technical Note

Can Multiunit Organizations Remain Agile as They Grow?

By: Tatiana Sandino

This note discusses how multiunit organizations incorporate flexibility into their management control systems, some by authorizing all or a select number of their dispersed units to make input and process decisions, some by investing in data-analytic technologies to... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Flexibility; Management Systems; Business Units; Decision Making