Publications

16 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Weighing Digital Tradeoffs in Private Equity

When private equity (PE) firms buy a company, they typically follow a standard playbook to create value—streamlining operations, restructuring debt, changing management, and cutting costs. However, as digital technologies and artificial... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

December 1996 (Revised July 1997)
Case

USG Corporation

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Tara L. Nells

In 1988, USG was the world's largest gypsum producer and one of the world's largest building-products companies. On May 2, 1988, USG's board of directors announced a proposed leveraged recapitalization plan to thwart a hostile cash tender offer by Desert Partners. With... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Valuation; Cash Flow; Leveraged Buyouts; Restructuring; United States

19 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding Innovation: Is Your Firm Doing it Wrong?

common struggle for firms to get innovation investments right, says Josh Lerner, the Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School. On one hand, firms large enough to house their own research labs too often... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Privatization and the New European Economy

executive board of the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Deutsche Reichsbahn from 1991 to 1994, Heinz Dürr played a leading role in unifying the East and West German railroads into one national system that is scheduled to be fully privatized in 2004. Paul Reutlinger (a... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Air Transportation; Transportation

February 2010
Teaching Note

The Cleveland Clinic: Growth Strategy 2008 (TN)

By: Michael E. Porter, Elizabeth O. Teisberg, Jennifer F Baron and Carolyn Daly

Teaching Note for 709473. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Value; Restructuring; Groups and Teams; System; Transformation; Expansion; Integration; Alignment; Goals and Objectives; Leading Change; Customer Focus and Relationships; Health Industry; Cleveland; United States; Abu Dhabi; Canada

September 2006 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Providian Financial Corporation

By: John R. Wells

On October 3, 2005, Washington Mutual acquired Providian Financial Corporation, the ninth-largest credit card issuer in the U.S., for $6.5 billion. At the time, Providian had approximately 10 million customer relationships and a balance of $18.6 billion. For some... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Customer Relationship Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Credit Cards; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry; United States

April 2000 (Revised December 2005)
Case

Garanti Bank: Transformation in Turkey

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Maximilian Martin and Daniel Galvin

Discusses the complete transformation and turnover in every division of Garanti Bank. Describes the multiple change projects managed and cross-cultural issues confronted during the 1990s and the organizational challenge of transforming Garanti Bank into one of Turkey's... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Private Ownership; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Culture; Change Management; Expansion; Corporate Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Projects; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Turkey

23 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Psychology, Pathology, and the CEO

largely isolated from one another, and an inward focus among managers. Perpetual restructuring had created a culture of fear and had reduced employee initiative. When the new CEO asked executives individually to name the three people in... View Details

Keywords: by Rosabeth Moss Kanter

March 2007
Case

Hallstead Jewelers

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

A retail jeweler has relocated to a larger store and is experiencing losses for the first time. Sales and costs have increased along with the breakeven point. Changes in pricing and promotion must be explored. Alternative actions to return to profitability can be... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Transition; Marketing Channels; Outcome or Result; Performance Evaluation; Opportunities; Commercialization; Apparel and Accessories Industry

March 1996
Case

Ernst & Young United Kingdom (A) (Abridged)

By: John J. Gabarro and Samantha Graff

Intended to be a robust example of the challenges encountered during the early stages of a large-scale organizational transformation effort in a professional service firm. Describes a massive change program initiated and led by the new managing partner along with a... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leading Change; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Problems and Challenges; United Kingdom; London

Find at Harvard

August 1995
Background Note

Managing in an Information Age: IT Challenges and Opportunities

By: Lynda M. Applegate

The co-evolution of technology, work, and the workforce over the past 30 years has dramatically influenced our concept of organizations and the industries within which they compete. No longer simply a tool to support "back-office" transactions, IT has become a... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Management; Restructuring; Technological Innovation; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology Industry

Find at Harvard

02 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 2

Company Authors:Michael Beer and Magnus Finnstrom Publication:Leadership in Action, November-December 2009 Abstract Traditional leadership development programs often fail to achieve the desired results because they don't focus on learning linked to the company's View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Building ’Brandtopias’—How Top Brands Tap into Society

Customers value some of the most powerful brands in the world primarily for their "cultural value": They provide imaginative resources that people use to build their identities. These are what Harvard Business School professor... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

November 1995
Case

Ernst & Young United Kingdom (B)

By: John J. Gabarro and Samantha Graff

Discusses progress made by mid-1995 on the three challenges identified by the change leadership at the end of 1993. First, it describes the decision-making process that resulted in a general consensus to reorganize the huge London office, and it highlights certain... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leading Change; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Problems and Challenges; Decision Making; Adaptation; Perspective; United Kingdom; London

08 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part Two]

faculty member.) In the interview, he discussed his latest book, Can Japan Compete?, cowritten with Hirotaka Takeuchi and Mariko Sakakibara, as well as the book's implications for business practices beyond Japan. In this second part,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

08 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Is it Worth a Pay Cut to Work for a Great Manager (Like Bill Belichick)?

Are coaches worth the multimillion-dollar salaries they are offered? Is the same true of managers in the business world? Just what is the value of a top manager to the organization and employees? Do baseball managers improve performance?... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg & Abhijit Naik; Sports

15 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 15

continue to promote the firm's emphasis on global diversity and inclusion while it restructures its business and reduces its managerial workforce. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 17

with a dominant platform that earns more than under compatibility. We also find that incompatibility generates larger total welfare than compatibility when horizontal differences between platforms are small. Download the paper:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

November 2002 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Gary Rodkin At Pepsi-Cola North America (B) (Abridged)

By: David A. Thomas, Gina Carioggia and Ayesha Kanji

After assuming the position of CEO of Pepsi-Cola North America (PCNA), Gary Rodkin faces organizational problems within PCNA and external friction between PCNA and its largest bottler, the Pepsi Bottling Group. In addition to the challenge of organizational alignment,... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Situation or Environment; Conflict Management; Alignment; Food and Beverage Industry; North America