Publications

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September 2013 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Antoine Leboyer and GSX

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Antoine Leboyer (HBS '92) acquired the Swiss-based software company GSX in February 2008. He managed through the recession of 2008–2009, dealt with a tumultuous separation from the founder/owner, rebuilt the management team, and upgraded the company's software... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Small Business; Finance; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; France; Switzerland

Rob Markey is a Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Unit at Harvard Business School.

In addition to teaching at HBS, Professor Markey is an advisory partner in Bain &... View Details

09 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 9

differences appear to be associated with different models of development—open, distributed organizations developing systems with smaller cores. We find that core components are often dispersed throughout a system, making their detection and View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Teaming in the Twenty-First Century

is the engine of organizational learning," says Edmondson. From Theory To Practice In the book, Edmondson makes the case for managers to shift from holding a static view of teamwork to this dynamic one. Real-world examples drawn from her... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

December 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (B)

By: Michael L. Tushman, Wendy Smith and Daniel Radov

Focuses on Pierre Urech's efforts to change the division structure at Ciba-Geigy to facilitate the marketing of the new product. Details the relationships Urech cultivates and the strategy he pursues as "product champion." Also describes the restructuring of the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Research and Development; Marketing Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Product Development; Pharmaceutical Industry; Switzerland

01 Dec 2023
News

The Imposter Among Us

significant number of corporate clients. —Ellie Luce (PMD 30, 1975) The Right Answer I had been working for Helene Curtis for one year right out of college when they promoted me to the company headquarters in Chicago, to rapidly build up... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training

October 1988 (Revised October 1989)
Background Note

Aspects of Marketing Organization: An Introduction

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Discusses the typical strengths, vulnerabilities, and key management skills associated with three common forms of marketing organization: a product-focused organization, a market-focused organization, and a functionally-focused organization. It considers how the nature... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy

December 1998 (Revised January 2001)
Case

Acer, Inc.: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Anthony St. George

Describes the strategic, organizational, and management changes that led Acer from its 1976 startup to become the world's second-largest computer manufacturer. Outlines the birth of the company, the painful "professionalization" of its management, the plunge into... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Competitive Advantage; Global Strategy; Transformation; Computer Industry; Taiwan

Web

Interviews - Creating Emerging Markets

field. We make mistakes, and a lot of things still need improving, but corporate social responsibility is a major corporate concept.” Download Transcript India Anu Aga Thermax Private, Ltd. (Engineering... View Details

October 1998
Case

Farallon Capital Management: Risk Arbitrage (B)

By: Andre F. Perold and Robert Howard

Farallon Capital Management, an investment firm that specializes in risk arbitrage, has taken significant long and short positions in MCI Communications and British Telecommunications, respectively, in the belief that the proposed merger of these firms will be... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Capital Markets; Investment; Risk Management; Strategy; Financial Services Industry

John Gourville is the Albert J. Weatherhead, Jr. Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He joined the HBS Marketing Unit in 1995 after receiving his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in marketing and behavioral research. His most... View Details

Keywords: agribusiness; biotechnology; consumer products; health care; high technology; medical supplies; pharmaceuticals; retailing

14 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Curiosity, Not Coding: 6 Skills Leaders Need in the Digital Age

require digital transformations to be more iterative than other forms of corporate change. Leaders need to catalyze change rather than plan for it. That means creating the initial conditions for the organization to achieve its ambitions... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards; Technology

2014
Working Paper

Higher-Ambition CEOs Need Higher-Ambition Boards

By: Edward Ludwig, Elise Walton and Michael Beer

Over the past years, forward-looking CEOs have adopted a higher-ambition approach to strategy and leadership. These "higher-ambition CEOs" are driven by a sense of purpose that goes beyond achieving financial success. They aspire to build organizations that succeed in... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Leadership Style; Management Teams

SSRN

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September 2013 (Revised February 2016)
Case

GlaxoSmithKline: Sourcing Complex Professional Services

By: Heidi K. Gardner and Silvia Hodges Silverstein

Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) uses an innovative new approach to procuring outside legal counsel: it replaces relationship-based selection and law firms' traditional time-based billing with data-driven decision making and an online reverse auction. In... View Details

Keywords: Legal Industry; Procurement; Professional Service Firms; Pricing; Competition; Change Management; Supply Chain Management; Legal Liability; Business Processes; Legal Services Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

2009
Book

Supercorp: How Vanguard Companies Create Opportunity, Profits, Growth, and Social Good

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Supercorp is based on a 3-year study involving more than 350 interviews in 20 countries to identify the leadership practices and operating methods of major companies seeking profitable growth through innovation that benefits society. For example, when the tsunami and... View Details

Keywords: Profit; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Opportunities; Welfare

Find at Harvard

June 2011 (Revised October 2012)
Case

IBM China Development Lab Shanghai: Capability by Design

By: Willy Shih, Kamen Bliznashki and Fan Zhao

When IBM shifted from a traditional territory-based multinational organization to what it called a globally integrated enterprise, it established its headquarters for "Growth Markets" in Shanghai and "Established Markets" in New York. This positioned its China... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Global Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Research and Development; Emerging Markets; Product Development; Information Technology Industry; China

October 1984 (Revised March 1999)
Case

NIKE (E)

Provides the background for a discussion of Nike (E1), (E2), and (E3). Outlines Nike's senior management group's early program to deal with the company's increasingly difficult competitive circumstance. View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Competition; Situation or Environment; Management Teams; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

November 2020
Teaching Note

Valuing Celgene's CVR

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 221-031. When Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) acquired Celgene Corporation in November 2019, Celgene shareholders received cash, BMS stock, and a contingent value right (CVRs) that would pay $9 if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Value; Judgments; Decision Making; Cash Flow; Financial Instruments; Cognition and Thinking; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

2014
Chapter

Payout Policy

By: Joan Farre-Mensa, Roni Michaely and Martin Schmalz

We survey the literature on payout policy, with a particular emphasis on developments in the last two decades. Of the traditional motives of why firms pay out (agency, signaling, and taxes), the cross-sectional empirical evidence is most persuasive in favor of agency... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Investment; Financial Services Industry