Publications

21 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The New Math of Customer Relationships

customers. And they take time. So it's not surprising that not all of the organizations that have implemented parts of the concept have utilized it as a driving force for an entire business. Hardest of all is the cultural View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

October 1991 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, Inc.: Keeping the Mission(s) Alive

Ben & Jerry's is an anti-establishment, values-driven company that has become a successful venture. The dominant founder, Ben Cohen, is not an effective manager, but he brings creative marketing and product skills that have been important to the company's success. He... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Entrepreneurship; Compensation and Benefits; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2002 (Revised May 2005)
Case

GE's Digital Revolution: Redefining the E in GE

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Meg Glinska

This case details the implementation of the e-business initiative--the last of Jack Welch's four company-wide strategic thrusts. First, it summarizes the 20-year change process that Welch led, detailing the initiatives he put in place. It then traces how Gerry Podesta,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership Style; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Performance Effectiveness; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web

April 2008 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

By: Robert G. Eccles and David Lane

As CEO of leading executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles for the past 18 months, Kevin Kelly was pleased with his accomplishments so far but concerned about threats he perceived to Heidrick's position at the highest levels of the executive search business. In... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Recruitment; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Employment Industry; Service Industry

04 Jul 2016
Research & Ideas

Is Your Org Chart Stuck in a Rut? Try a Scientific Experiment

Digital Initiative and the HBX Live virtual classroom, the o-Lab aims to help businesses solve their problems by changing the way their company is organized, and to make that change by introducing a more... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

October 2018
Case

Recipe for Success: Growth and Evolution at Cafe Cupcake

By: Anthony Mayo and Heather Beckham

Café Cupcake (CC) is a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers artisan cupcakes and light fare throughout the southeastern United States and Texas. This case chronicles the growth and evolution of Café Cupcake. It also considers the specific human resource challenges... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Human Resources; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

November 1991 (Revised June 1992)
Case

AT&T: The Dallas Works (A)

Describes the organizational challenges facing an AT&T plant a few years after the breakup of AT&T. In an effort to empower workers and to unite the factory behind change, management proposes an unusual team-based approach to driving the change. Teaching Objective: To... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Telecommunications Industry; Texas

Find at Harvard

August 2021
Case

Mylestone: Can Multiple Pivots Preserve the Life of a Death Tech Startup?

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Marilyn Morgan Westner

Dave Balter and Jim Myers co-founded Mylestone, a death tech startup that applied technology to transform how grieving people memorialize the dead. The startup addressed a cultural problem and promised to solve a pressing need in the antiquated, multi-billion dollar... View Details

Keywords: Pivot; Startup; Business Model; Cryptocurrency; Ethical Decision Making; Emotions; Growth and Development Strategy; Ethics; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Relationship Management; Loss; Change Management; Relationships

07 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 7

Course MaterialsDemand Media John Deighton and Leora KornfeldHarvard Business School Case 511-043 Google search had helped Demand Media grow to be a $1.9 billion online publisher. Then, social media and smartphone apps began to change the... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Don’t Just Survive—Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate & J. Bruce Harreld

July 2013 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Collaborating for Growth: Duane Morris in a Turbulent Legal Sector

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Annelena Lobb

By the late 2000s, the law firm Duane Morris had transformed itself from a growing U.S. law firm to a significant global player. The firm's uniquely collaborative organizational culture, which featured a transparent, data-driven compensation system, practice-group... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Collaboration; Performance Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Competition; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Performance; Cooperation; Globalized Firms and Management; Compensation and Benefits; Volatility; Growth and Development Strategy; Legal Services Industry; United States

Article

Design Physical and Digital Spaces to Foster Inclusion

By: Eric Anicich, Jon M. Jachimowicz, Merrick Osborne and L. Taylor Phillips

Often, strategies around making organizations more anti-racist focus on changing hearts and minds. Sometimes this isn’t enough, however, and can result in backlash or increased self-segregation among white employees. In these situations, leaders should consider using... View Details

Keywords: Anti-racism; Inclusion; Work Environment; Organizational Culture; Diversity; Change Management

Register to Read

December 2008 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Hema Hattangady and Conzerv (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman and David Kiron

This case describes the evolution of a fast-growing Indian energy firm. It illustrates both leadership change as Hema is evolving as a leader, as well as how organization architecture (culture, systems, incentives, and human resources) is evolving. The case highlights... View Details

Keywords: Change; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Energy Industry; India

11 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

The First 90 Hours: What New CEOs Should—and Shouldn't—Do to Set the Right Tone

additional changes three months in. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Signal your values. You might see mountains of food go to waste at your welcome receptions and decide that all food budgets should be slashed in half.... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

06 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

What the World Could Learn from America's Immigration Backlash—100 Years Ago

mobs rose up against migrants from other parts of Africa in March 2023, a few weeks after President Kais Saied delivered an inflammatory speech blaming the Black foreign-born population for bringing crime to the country and changing its... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Tabellini

May 2008 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Kenny Kahn at Muzak (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

Founded in 1934, Muzak pioneered the industry of background music. Equipped with propriety technology and a vast music library, over the ensuing decades the Muzak franchise organization expanded geographically. Despite a history of innovation, by the late 1990s Muzak... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Design; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Franchise Ownership; Music Industry