Publications

December 2012 (Revised September 2022)
Case

BabbaCo

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Gaurav Jain

Having just raised a Series B financing, the case protagonist is faced with a tough decision: should she "step on the gas" and scale the customer base, or continue focusing on fine-tuning the product and business model. The case describes the various marketing channels... View Details

Keywords: Subscription; Marketing; Scaling; Product-market Fit; Online Marketing; Customers; Decisions; Expansion; Marketing Channels; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Marketing; Marketing Strategy

Career Coach

Philippe Taieb

internationally. He was a consultant at Braxton Associates, a strategy consulting firm, in London and Paris and then led business units for Swiss company SGS, the world leader in certification View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products; Education; Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship; Government; Health Care; Manufacturing; Social Enterprise; Sports; Clean Technology; Energy

February 2017
Case

GE Digital

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott Johnson

Known for manufacturing industrial equipment, GE has decided to invest in software and analytics capabilities to become a digital industrial company. They have also created a software platform that they hope will power the Industrial Internet. GE executives forecasted... View Details

Keywords: GE; General Electric; Manufacturing; Industrial Internet; Wind Power; Digital Manufacturing; Renewable Energy; Energy; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Transformation; Green Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; North America

February 2022 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Lilium: Preparing for Takeoff

By: Navid Mojir, Vincent Dessain, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emer Moloney

Lilium is a German company focused on developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs) that can be used to offer air taxi services. The company went public in September 2021 through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal, raising more than... View Details

October 2005 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Reactivity: A Case of Re-Invention

By: Myra M. Hart and Sylvia Sensiper

By the time Glenn Osaka joined Reactivity as its new CEO in January 2001, the Internet bubble had burst, the financial markets had turned, and the company's core businesses were drying up. He was not hired to lead a turnaround, but Osaka found that the firm's future... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Venture Capital; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Leadership Style; Product; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Consulting Industry

11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

quick, and (3) learn and adapt. Axiom #1: Make A Bump Plan Military strategist Carl von Clausewitz coined the term friction, "the force that makes the apparently easy so... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

19 Jan 2023
Blog Post

11 Ways to Reengage Employees in the New Year

The new year is here and it’s time to “circle back,” reset, and reengage with your teams for 2023. To help you kick off the year on the right foot, here are eleven ways to keep employees motivated View Details

Keywords: All Industries

March 2011 (Revised October 2011)
Case

If We Ran the World

By: Hanna Halaburda, Radka Dohnalova and Aldo Sesia

Cindy Gallop launched IfWeRanTheWorld (IWRTW) in February 2010, as what the tech world called minimum viable product, in order to real-world test Gallop's "business of the future" concept while development was ongoing. IWRTW was conceived to bring together human good... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Outcome or Result; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Network Effects

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Disruption: The Art of Framing

used. Separation seemed to help companies untangle the contradictory imperatives of threat and opportunity. Released from obligations to the parent organizations, freestanding ventures were more likely to view the new business as an... View Details

Keywords: by Clark Gilbert & Joseph L. Bower

11 Dec 2017
News

Growing from Within

and the competitive landscape. This led us to the comprehensive multi-year growth plan we are rolling out today. Our customers have responded very well to new menu offerings we... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; Food Services and Drinking Places; Food Services and Drinking Places

January 2000 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Officenet (A): Making Entrepreneurship Work in Argentina

Describes the creation and financing of Officenet, an office supply distributor in Argentina. The company serves the business-to-business market through a catalog (combined with phone orders) and also through an Internet-based catalog. Officenet is a pioneer in both... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Distribution Industry; Argentina

12 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Can Our Parenting Struggles Make Us Better Leaders?

I’m not just a professor and business consultant; I’m also a parent to two kids. As I’ve often mused, the challenges leaders face at home and at work aren’t necessarily all that different. In particular,... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati; Air Transportation

28 May 2013
First Look

First Look: May 28

chosen strategy. By enabling an honest, organization-wide, and public conversation, senior management teams, working collaboratively with scholar-consultants and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 19

table. Just as negotiation theory could be enriched by principles of maneuver warfare, military doctrine offers officers and soldiers a potentially useful foundation to better understand and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2009 (Revised March 2011)
Case

Qualcomm Incorporated 2009

By: David B. Yoffie, Andrei Hagiu and Elizabeth A. Kind

Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, smiled as he reflected on the success of Qualcomm's code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. By the summer of 2009, CDMA was the basis for all third generation technologies available for cellular... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Diversification; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Telecommunications Industry