Publications

March 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Reawakening the Magic: Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Buzz Lightyear strolled down Main Street at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disney in the fall of 2005, pausing to snap selfies with enthusiastic children in Mickey Mouse ears. Bob Iger, newly appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company,... View Details

Keywords: Franchise Management; Brand Management; Culture Change; Business Units; Acquisition Strategy; Technological Change; Disney; ESPN; Cord-cutting; Bob Iger; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Integration; Media; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Consumer Products Industry

September 2023 (Revised September 2024)
Technical Note

Measuring and Managing Social Impact

By: Brian Trelstad, Gerald Chertavian and Susan Pinckney

A brief overview of how to measure social impact at nonprofits, social organizations, and impact investments. View Details

Keywords: Analysis; Change; Transformation; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Public Sector; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Fairness; Entrepreneurial Finance; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Policy; Innovation and Management; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Measurement and Metrics; Standards; Strength and Weakness; Mission and Purpose; Success; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Strategic Planning; Programs; Risk and Uncertainty; Social Enterprise; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Issues; United States

Research Summary

Overview

By: Lynda M. Applegate

My current research builds on past research on the role of information, analytics and technology in transforming business and society. Over the past two years, this research focuses on how organizations partner to build innovation ecosystems that accelerate the... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Ecosystems; Leadership And Change Management; Organizational Adaptation; Innovation and Invention; Energy; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Organizations; Technology; Strategy; Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; Information Industry; Africa; North and Central America; Middle East

September 1991
Case

Rethinking the Corporate Workplace: Case Managers at Mutual Benefit Life

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr.

In early 1991, a spirit of innovation and organizational change was in the air at Mutual Benefit Life, with the success of the new "case manager" program its most concrete manifestation. Using powerful computer workstations, case managers could see insurance... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Change Management; Information Technology; Insurance; Human Resources; Insurance Industry

30 Sep 2013
News

Mark Fields Steps into the Limelight

Keywords: automotive industry; change management; Ford Motors; Manufacturing

July 1995
Background Note

Reengineering Design Is Radical; Reengineering Change Is Not!

Discusses the two stages of an organization's reengineering effort--the design and implementation. While the design phase needs to be revolutionary, an organization must assess whether the appropriate path to implementation should be evolutionary or revolutionary.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Restructuring

12 Mar 2012
News

Crowded at the Top: The Rise of the Functional Manager

Web

Podcasts - Managing the Future of Work

continuous assessment 18 JUN 2025 | Managing the Future of Work The flagship firm is pushing the boundaries of testing, from K-12 through career. What are the implications for the workforce and society? And how does AI View Details

20 May 2020
News

How Will COVID-19 Change Demand for Office Space?

20 Feb 2014
News

Managing the World’s Trouble Spots

problem, not the root cause,” he says. To learn more about the private sector, Goodwin left the air force to work for a multinational company and to prepare for business school. But his path changed course in early 2001 when President... View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken

23 Apr 2014
News

Leading strategic changes in a large family-owned business

Vinita Bajoria (GMP 10, 2011 AMP 183, 2012), senior vice president of Titagarh Wagons Ltd. In India, talks about how her studies at HBS helped her make strategic changes within her family-owned company. (Published April 2014) View Details

05 Oct 2015
Working Paper Summaries

Online Network Revenue Management Using Thompson Sampling

Keywords: by Kris Johnson Ferreira, David Simchi-Levi & He Wang; Retail

01 May 2024
Podcast

Wharton’s Peter Cappelli on changing the talent equation

What are the consequences of treating employees as an expense rather than an asset? Cappelli argues that this “penny wise and pound foolish” practice hurts the bottom line by discouraging investments in a skilled workforce and prioritizing downsizing, irrespective of... View Details

September 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Managing Multi-Media Audiences at WHDH (Boston)

By: Thales Teixeira and V. Kasturi Rangan

WHDH's Channel 7 News rose to the #1 position in Boston-area news broadcasting through its embrace of an innovative format and for affiliating with NBC. Since the early 2000s, however, other news programs had copied their format, and young audiences had begun to use... View Details

Keywords: Online News; Television Advertising; Attention Economics; Cross-media Efforts; Competition; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Marketing; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Boston

21 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

People Trust Business, But Expect CEOs to Drive Social Change

Public trust in business remains relatively unshaken amid economic turbulence and a lingering pandemic, even as faith in the media and government falters, but leaders could do more to address social issues, a new global opinion survey shows. However, not everyone... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

25 Sep 2024
Podcast

Collective counsel: Corporate law's changing workforce and culture

Vinson and Elkins' Keith Fullenweider on recruiting team players, boosting collaboration and soft skills through targeted training and mentorship, prioritizing mental health and work-life balance, automating judiciously, and making return-to-office work. View Details

July 8, 2013
Column

Greening Is Not Enough: 4 Steps to Corporate Leadership on Climate Change

By: Michael W. Toffel and Auden Schendler

Environmental sustainability usually means greening operations and products, but that's not nearly enough to stop climate change. Corporate leadership on climate change also requires urging action by governments, trade associations, and suppliers — and marketing these... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability