Publications

31 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Where Can Digital Transformation Take You? Insights from 1,700 Leaders

decisions. Analytics are important, but judgment and critical thinking ultimately set the roadmap. All employees, not just the data scientists, use data to develop new insights and foresight instead of relying on past experience. Given the speed of change, hindsight... View Details

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

February 2015
Case

BlackRock: Diversity as a Driver for Success

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

In July 2014, the Global Executive Committee (GEC) for BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, held a two-day offsite to discuss the state of talent within the firm. A year prior, in 2013, Chairman and CEO Laurence (Larry) Fink had asked Global Head of HR Jeff... View Details

Keywords: Women And Leadership; Diversity; General Management; Leadership; Change Management; Human Capital; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Financial Services Industry; United States

March 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

ASOS PLC

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Launched in 2000, ASOS was one of the world’s largest online fashion specialists in 2018. Focusing on young consumers aged 16–25 years, the company offered over 85,000 items on its websites, many times more than the largest fashion stores, and added several thousand... View Details

Keywords: ASOS; AsSeenOnScreen; Online Fashion; Online Apparel; Nick Beighton; Nick Robertson; E-commerce; E-Commerce Strategy; Online Retail; Multichannel Retailing; Omnichannel; Social Media; Marketplaces; Shipping; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Startups; For-Profit Firms; Customer Focus and Relationships; Age; Gender; Currency Exchange Rate; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business History; Selection and Staffing; Journals and Magazines; Human Capital; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Succession; Brands and Branding; Marketing Channels; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Social Marketing; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Vertical Integration; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

March 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Traces changes in P&G's international strategy and structure, culminating in Organization 2005, a reorganization that places strategic emphasis on product innovation rather than geographic expansion and shifts power from local subsidiary to global business management.... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Trade; Globalization; Global Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Hong Kong; Japan; Taiwan; Europe

15 May 2024
Research & Ideas

A Major Roadblock for Autonomous Cars: Motorists Believe They Drive Better

may be bridling widespread acceptance of automation, says Julian De Freitas, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and one of the authors of the piece forthcoming in the Journal of the Association... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Transportation; Auto

March 2015
Module Note

Power and Influence in Society

By: Julie Battilana

This module aims to help students understand how power and influence are employed, both to reproduce the status quo and to effect change in society. It first helps them to understand why, more often than not, power is used to reproduce the existing way individuals and... View Details

March 2008
Case

Shangri-La Hotels

By: Dennis Campbell and Brent Kazan

In November 2006, Symon Bridle, the newly appointed chief operating officer of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, was thinking about a number of organizational issues that presented challenges to Shangri-La's rapid expansion strategy. There were three major issues at hand:... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Standards; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Accommodations Industry; China; Europe; North America

Web

Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship - Health Care

full-length therapeutic genes into desired genomic locations. As a scientist-entrepreneur, Erik combines extensive domain expertise in the genome editing space with a profound interest in life science company creation. He earned his PhD in bioengineering from ETH... View Details

November 2017
Case

The Digital Factory – Siemens: Electronic Works Amberg

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott F. Johnson

The Electronic Works Amberg (EWA) was Siemens' most advanced factory. The plant built industrial automation equipment using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. Siemens was considering creating a consulting business for its manufacturing clients. Given the EWA's... View Details

Keywords: Siemens; Internet Of Things; Industrie 4.0; Manufacturing; Consulting; Digital Factory; Ewa; Amberg; Electronic Works Amberg; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Technology Industry; Germany

28 May 2024
In Practice

Job Search Advice for a Tough Market: Think Broadly and Stay Flexible

capital fundraising markets are slowly improving. Prospects are likely to improve over the short run and perseverance is rewarded. Paul Gompers is the Eugune Holman Professor of Business Administration at HBS. David Fubini: Brace for... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

23 Aug 2006
Op-Ed

The Real Wal-Mart Effect

retailer destroyed more jobs in 2005 than it created. Indeed, from low wages to limited healthcare coverage, the company has a number of employee-related issues to tackle, as well as many nonmarket ones. (Wal-Mart announced August 8 an increase in starting wages View Details

Keywords: by Pankaj Ghemawat & Ken A. Mark; Retail

January 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

'GEnron'? Markopolos versus General Electric (A)

By: Jonas Heese and David Lane

In August 2019, Harry Markopolos—the forensic accountant known for uncovering Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme—alleged that General Electric had committed accounting fraud totaling $38 billion, coining the term “GEnron” for perceived similarities with the 2001 accounting... View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Communication; Energy; Financial Condition; Insurance; Performance; Planning; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Value; Insurance Industry; Financial Services Industry; Energy Industry

2018
Working Paper

Patent Trolls: Evidence from Targeted Firms

By: Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun and Scott Duke Kominers

We provide the first large-sample evidence on the behavior and impact of non-practicing entities (NPEs) in the intellectual property space. We find that on average, NPEs appear to behave as opportunistic “patent trolls.” NPEs sue cash-rich firms—and target cash in... View Details

Keywords: Patent Trolls; NPEs; PAEs; Innovation; Patents; Ethics; Lawsuits and Litigation; Innovation and Invention; Corporate Finance

Read Now

Web

Introduction – The Human Relations Movement – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

HBS Home HBS Index Contact Us A New Vision An Essay by Professors Michel Anteby and Rakesh Khurana Next Introduction The Human Relations Movement: Harvard Business School and the Hawthorne Experiments (1924-1933) In the 1920s Elton Mayo, a professor of Industrial... View Details

April 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

GE and the Industrial Internet

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Marco Iansiti and Kerry Herman

CEO Jeff Immelt considers whether GE is moving fast enough on its new Industrial Internet initiative. The undertaking includes building out an Industrial Internet, connecting machines and devices, collecting their data and operations, and providing services to clients... View Details

2022
Book

Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World

By: George Serafeim

The roadmap and best practices to reap the enormous value that can emerge when your business prioritizes social and environmental goals—such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability—right alongside the pursuit of profit.

We not only... View Details

Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Profitability; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Organizational Change and Adaptation

October 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Exercise

Electric Maze Exercise, The

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

This team-based exercise uses an educational tool called "The Electric Maze," developed by Interel Corp., to teach insights about the social and psychological challenges facing employees who must engage in collaborative learning. The tool is a grid-patterned rug with... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leadership; Learning; Groups and Teams; Risk and Uncertainty