Publications

May 2013 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Novartis: Leading a Global Enterprise

By: William W. George, Krishna G. Palepu and Carin-Isabel Knoop

Novartis, the world's leading healthcare company, was formed in 1996 out of a merger of two very different, mid-tier Switzerland-based pharma companies. The case traces the company's evolution over the past 17 years, as it transformed into a truly global enterprise... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Talent and Talent Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Success; Globalized Markets and Industries; Management Teams; Change Management; Business History; Mergers and Acquisitions; Global Strategy; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; Switzerland

01 Sep 2017
News

City of Dreams

when it could mean the end of his business as he knows it. “One of the biggest challenges is these institutional changes,” he says. “It’s going to take time.” Some days, the time required to create real change wears on Mawilmada. Yet... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Alice Carfrae; Sri Lanka; Construction of Buildings; Construction; Administration of Housing Programs, Urban Planning, and Community Development; Government

May 2025
Case

Wilburn Medical USA

By: David Ager, Lynda M. Applegate and James Barnett

In September 2024, Emily Wilburn Andrews, CEO of Wilburn Medical USA, is five years into her tenure leading the medical equipment supply company since taking over for her father, the company’s founder. She considers approaches to grow the company while maintaining the... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Change Management; Decision Making; Values and Beliefs; Health; Medical Specialties; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Family Business; Health Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

30 Jun 2020
Book

Capitalism Is More at Risk Than Ever

updating the 10 disruptive forces identified in the first edition, showing how managers can address these challenges, and describing how public confidence in the market system could be rebuilt. The revised edition includes examples of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2004 (Revised February 2006)
Case

Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial (RJF) currently sells financial services through two channels. It is considering adding a third in the "middle" of the other two. The current strategy has one channel with employees and another with independent contractors. These attract very... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Salesforce Management; Marketing; Distribution Channels; Human Resources; Financial Services Industry; Service Industry

01 Jun 2001
News

A Match Made in Heaven

Back in the 1980s, while working as a high-priced management consultant, Jim Koch (MBA ’74) decided what this country really needed was an exceptional glass of beer. He drained his savings, maxed out his credit cards, and using an old... View Details

Keywords: Samuel Adams; The Boston Beer Company; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing

09 Apr 2025
News

The Working Parent Revolution

So big picture, how have you seen the environment change for parents in the workplace in that time? Stephen Kramer: The quick answer to how things have changed for working parents is that on the one hand,... View Details

22 Sep 2015
News

Turning Troubled Schools into High-Achievers

Through UP Education Network, founder Scott Given (MBA 2010) is helping to turn around chronically underperforming Massachusetts schools by making and managing significant changes in all areas, from... View Details

20 Aug 2024
Book

Why Competing With Tech Giants Requires Finding Your Own Edge

traditional businesses may struggle to adapt to the constantly changing nature of ecosystem strategies. In his book, Smart Rivals: How Innovative Companies Play Games That Tech Giants Can't Win, Feng Zhu provides principles to help... View Details

Keywords: by Feng Zhu; Technology; Information Technology

November 1997 (Revised May 2002)
Case

MicroAge, Inc.: Orchestrating the Information Technology Value Chain

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Kirk A. Goldman

MicroAge, Inc. started as a storefront in Tempe, AZ in 1976 selling personal computer kits to hobbyists. During their first year of operation, founders Jeff McKeever and Alan Hald sold $1.5 million worth of computer kits, priced at under $1,000 each. Twenty years... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Growth Management; Risk Management; Product; Opportunities; Horizontal Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; Arizona

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March 2017
Exercise

Designing Transformational Customer Experiences

By: Stefan Thomke

Anyone who has recently travelled, gone shopping, or tried to have a problem solved may have little recollection of the experience. Worse yet, some are frustrated by the lack of responsiveness or empathy that they encountered. The reality is that most customer... View Details

Keywords: Customer Experience; Exercise; Learning By Doing; LEGO; Storytelling; Customer Satisfaction; Design; Innovation and Management; Transformation; Service Delivery

09 Aug 2022
News

4 Strategies for Shifting the Power Balance in Your Business

April 2025
Supplement

Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion PowerPoint Supplement

By: Michael W. Toffel, Ken Pucker and Stacy Straaberg

The Allbirds: Decarbonizing Fashion (A) case introduces Allbirds as a footwear startup not only focused on simple design, comfort, and sustainable natural materials but on decarbonizing the wider fashion industry. Background material highlights the growing... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Climate Impact; Environmental Strategy; Innovation; Product Design; Supply Chain Management; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Product Development; Climate Change; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; United States; California

01 Dec 2003
News

Business Answers the Call

together an ambitious agenda for change and hired a charismatic leader named John Stanford, a former Army major general with no ed-ucation administration experience, to be superintendent. Stanford would die tragically of leukemia three... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Educational Support Services; Educational Services

February 2024
Supplement

Can Cities Beat the Heat? (B14): San Jose Climate Action Snapshot

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Hailey Chen and Jacob A. Small

Climate snapshots provide a summary of climate actions that occurred between 2018 and 2024, highlighting major green initiatives, innovations, carbon mitigation strategy, and action across multiple levels of government and the private sector. Snapshots also provide an... View Details

Keywords: Cities; Climate; Climate Impact; Innovation; Mitigation Policies; Carbon Footprint; Investing; Climate Finance; Mobility; Adaptation; Renewable Energy; Climate Change; Problems and Challenges; Sustainable Cities; Innovation and Invention; United States; San Jose

01 Jun 2005
News

McCance First to Serve as Entrepreneur in Residence

McCance: A veteran of venture capital shares his expertise with HBS faculty and students. Courtesy Greylock When Henry McCance (MBA ’66) joined Boston-based Greylock Management Corporation in 1969, venture capital was a cottage industry.... View Details

Keywords: entrepreneur in residence; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

17 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Why Global Brands Work

bureaucracy in which regional managers exaggerate the need for local adaptations to defend their turf; and a deteriorating market share, financial performance, and stock price. Fords worldwide should have a common look, feel, and brand... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Auto

January – February 2011
Article

Benchmarks as Limits to Arbitrage: Understanding the Low-Volatility Anomaly

By: Malcolm Baker, Brendan Bradley and Jeffrey Wurgler

Contrary to basic finance principles, high-beta and high-volatility stocks have long underperformed low-beta and low-volatility stocks. This anomaly may be partly explained by the fact that the typical institutional investor's mandate to beat a fixed benchmark... View Details

Keywords: Volatility; Stocks; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Risk Management; Performance Expectations

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Read Now

January 1973 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Tyler Abrasives, Inc.

Involves multinational pricing policy. Should a multinational industrial products supplier, with plants on several continents, grant a single worldwide price on given products to multinational customers who purchase on several continents? If so, what should the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Price; Multinational Firms and Management; Sales; Industrial Products Industry