Publications

May 1999 (Revised December 2007)
Case

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Despite revenues in excess of $93 million in 1998, world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute constantly faces an operating shortfall and looks to its highly successful development office to help cover the deficit. The development office raises money annually (with a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital; Revenue; Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations

September 2006 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Board of Directors of Medtronic, Inc.

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak

The board of directors of Medtronic, Inc., a company known for its commitment to effective corporate governance, must prepare for the departure of Chairman and CEO Bill George and the retirement of four long-time directors. The company had experienced rapid growth in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Succession; Organizational Culture

01 Jun 2010
News

Faculty Books

emerging markets’ potential and crafting strategies for succeeding in those markets. Government and Markets: Toward a New Theory of Regulation edited by Edward J. Balleisen... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools

May 1995 (Revised May 1996)
Teaching Note

AES Honeycomb Series TN

By: Lynn S. Paine and Charles A Nichols, III

1eaching Note for (9-395-132) and (9-395-122). View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Ethics; Organizational Design

April 2002 (Revised May 2005)
Case

GE's Digital Revolution: Redefining the E in GE

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Meg Glinska

This case details the implementation of the e-business initiative--the last of Jack Welch's four company-wide strategic thrusts. First, it summarizes the 20-year change process that Welch led, detailing the initiatives he put in place. It then traces how Gerry Podesta,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership Style; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Performance Effectiveness; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web

28 Aug 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: History Matters

Handbook of Business History carries an even larger mission: bring the lessons of business history to current research in other disciplines and to the practice of business management itself. A Q&A with... View Details

Keywords: Re: Geoffrey G. Jones & Anthony Mayo

05 Apr 2016
First Look

April 5, 2016

are consistent with economic theory and reconcile conflicting evidence from an extensive literature on the effects of competition on innovation, with implications for R&D policy, competition policy,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

14 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Should You Bring Advertising Expertise In-House?

reasons include structural changes in the advertising industry such as the unbundling of agency services, and improved communication tools that make it easier and more cost efficient for firms to View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

December 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Blockbuster Inc. & Technological Substitution (D): The Threat of Direct Digital Distribution

Examines the emergence of technologies for delivering video content to consumer homes via direct digital distribution and investigates the strategic options facing video rental giant Blockbuster Inc. as it tries to respond to the new technological substitutes. Examines... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Competition; Change Management; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

Article

Economic Impacts of Immigration: A Survey

By: Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

This paper surveys recent empirical studies on the economic impacts of immigration. The survey first examines the magnitude of immigration as an economic phenomenon in various host countries. The second part deals with the assimilation of immigrant workers into... View Details

Keywords: Surveys; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Immigration; Economic Systems; Human Capital; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Fluctuation; Situation or Environment; Labor and Management Relations; United States; Europe

Read Now

May 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Motorola-Elma

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

Motorola's old automative electronics plant in Arcade, outside Buffalo, New York, faced the prospect of closure in the mid-1980s, but leading customers persuaded Motorola to give the plant a second chance. The new plant manager, Dennis Fiehn, recognized that existing... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business Exit or Shutdown; Customers; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; New York (state, US)

June 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Herman B. Leonard and Melissa Tritter

Dana Hall is a private all-girls school in New England facing a crisis in its mission. As social norms shift away from single-sex education, the school's enrollment is falling and deficits are becoming the norm. At the same time, the modern vision for girls' education... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Financing and Loans; Nonprofit Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Education Industry; England

March 1997 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Hospital Equipment Corporation

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Rory McDonald

Hospital Equipment Corp. is a very successful maker of hospital beds. Due to outstanding performance in new product development, it grew to dominate its primary market and is searching for other opportunities to grow through new product development. It discovers that... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Management; Opportunities; Business Processes; Product Development; Technological Innovation; Expansion; Markets; Problems and Challenges; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

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

01 Jun 2008
News

Faculty Books

The Oxford Handbook of Business History edited by Geoffrey Jones and Jonathan Zeitlin (Oxford University Press) This handbook surveys research in business history, a broad area of study generating empirical data that have sometimes... View Details

24 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Want People to Save More? Send a Text

real interest rate, compared to the standard 0.3 percent, and was announced as "the best option in the market" for saving. Groups were randomly assigned to one of the three savings options and... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

the design commons organization was robust, although it displayed some areas of fragility. We conclude with the rudiments of a contingency theory describing when and why a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Resolving Patent Disputes that Impede Innovation

says. "It's not just an isolated technical issue. Standards are really important to US competitiveness. This line of research is about trying to figure out what's gone wrong, and whether there is a way to try to fix it." Fair,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology; Legal Services

February 1998 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Burma Pipeline, The

By: Debora L. Spar and Lane LaMure

In 1996, Unocal Corp. joined forces with the French Total company to construct an ambitious natural gas pipeline from the Andaman Sea across the southern tip of Burma and into Thailand. At an estimated cost of $1.2 billion, the pipeline was designed to bring sorely... View Details

Keywords: Political Risk; Risk Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Foreign Direct Investment; Energy Industry; Asia

March 2008
Case

Ujjivan: A Microfinance Institution at a Crossroads (A)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Pamela Freed

Samit Ghosh, the CEO and founder of Ujjivan, a major microfinance provider in Bangalore, wants to grow his business rapidly and become financially sustainable, but he's struggling with staff fraud, high costs, and how to stay true to Ujjivan's mission of poverty... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Microfinance; Ethics; Mission and Purpose; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Bangalore