Publications

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September – October 2011
Article

Manage the Culture Cycle

By: James L. Heskett

Organizational culture—the shared assumptions, values, and behaviors that determine "how we do things around here"—can be measured and shaped. In organizations with large numbers of customer-facing employees, it can account for up to half of the difference in operating... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Value; Behavior; Retention; Customer Focus and Relationships; Change Management; Learning; Innovation and Invention; Labor

January–February 2019
Article

The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures

By: Gary P. Pisano

Innovative cultures are generally depicted as pretty fun. They’re characterized by a tolerance for failure and a willingness to experiment. They’re seen as being psychologically safe, highly collaborative, and nonhierarchical. And research suggests that these behaviors... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Performance Expectations; Leadership

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01 Jan 2014
News

IDEO’s Culture of Helping

01 Oct 1999
News

Culture Clash: Exploring Cross Cultural Conflicts in Business

"As different cultural traditions meet in the marketplace and inside organizations, managers face tough choices about the values that they and their organizations will live by," HBS professor Lynn Sharp... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

February 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Culture in Changing Times

By: Michael Beer, Rakesh Khurana and James Weber

HP had been a highly successful and respected company for decades. It was well known for its company culture and management practices--the HP way--which emphasized both profits and people. Changing markets, strong competitors, and the growth of its computer business,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Human Resources; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Adoption; Competition

13 Feb 2012
News

Your Brain on Culture

1992
Book

Corporate Culture and Performance

By: J. P. Kotter and J. L. Heskett

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Performance

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February 2012
Case

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case illustrates a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Performance Appraisals; Human Resource Management; Values; Organizational Transformations; Pay For Performance; Strategy Execution; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits

22 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture

excerpt, the authors outline the top 10 lessons of the best practitioners, from ING Direct to Build-A-Bear Workshop to Harrah's Entertainment.We can learn a great deal from organizations whose strong and adaptive ownership View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser & Joe Wheeler

February 2003
Supplement

Silvio Napoli Cross Cultural Management

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Presents an interview with Silvio Napoli regarding cultural aspects of an Italian manager in a Swiss company opening an Indian subsidiary. Issues range from personal and family adjustment to management style, corporate culture, and differences in national... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Business Subsidiaries; Nationality; Organizational Culture; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Italy; Switzerland; India

September 2019
Case

Netflix: A Creative Approach to Culture and Agility

By: Ranjay Gulati, Allison Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

By 2018, Netflix had been credited for revolutionizing how viewers consumed entertainment—shifting from ad-fueled linear network programming to a highly personalized, on-demand, all-you-can-consume, ad-free model. The company was riding a long wave of revenue and... View Details

Keywords: Digital Technologies; Streaming; Video On Demand; International Expansion; Leadership; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Leadership Style; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Entertainment; Media; Change Management; Expansion; Technology Industry; United States

14 May 2018
News

Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

17 Dec 2018
News

The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures

April 2016 (Revised February 2018)
Teaching Note

Riot Games: Can Culture Survive Growth?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Norris

This teaching note gives instructors a guide for a discussion of Riot Games, a fast growing videogames firm with a strong, player-centric culture. It also offers references to research on culture that will allow students to decide whether or not Riot Games’ culture... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Video Game Industry

April 2023 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Dena Almansoori at e&: Fostering Culture Change at a UAE Telco Transforming to a Global Techco

By: Emily Truelove, Michelle Zhang and Alpana Thapar

Dena Almansoori, the first female and one of the youngest members of the United Arab Emirates-based e&’s leadership team, joined in 2020 just before e& began a strategic transition from being a regional telecommunications company to becoming a global technology... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Culture; Transformation; Technology; Telecommunications; Employee Mobility; Talent; Leading Change; Human Resources; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; United Arab Emirates

Winter 2020
Article

Unsubstantiated Allegations and Organizational Culture

By: Eugene F. Soltes

When organizations investigate allegations of misconduct, they routinely determine that some allegations are unsubstantiated. A variety of factors may contribute to the conclusion that an allegation does not warrant substantiation, including a lack of supporting... View Details

Keywords: Misconduct; Organizational Culture

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May 2024 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Leading Culture Change at Microsoft Western Europe

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Cat Huang

In 2023, Cindy Rose, President of Microsoft Western Europe, faced a critical decision. Rose grappled with the potential impact of widespread layoffs on psychological safety and the cultural transformation she had championed since her arrival. When Rose had first joined... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; Groups and Teams; Business or Company Management; Technology Industry; Europe

October 1990 (Revised September 1993)
Case

Changing the Culture at British Airways

By: John P. Kotter

In just 10 years, 1980-1990, British Airways turned around both its declining image and financial situation. Focusing on the paramount importance of customer service, British Airways went from "bloody awful" to "bloody awesome." Experiencing a financial crisis in 1981... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Customer Relationship Management; Corporate Strategy; Privatization; Air Transportation Industry; United Kingdom