Publications

2023
Working Paper

Where Strategy Matters: Evidence from a Global Startup Field Study

By: Nataliya Langburd Wright

The role of strategy for innovative startups is theoretically ambiguous and much debated among practitioners. I interviewed executives of 253 scaling software ventures from 34 countries and scored the alignment of their market and organizational choices to detect... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Scaling Technology Ventures; Global Contextual Intelligence; Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Global Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy

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Linda A. Hill

Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and Faculty Chair of the Leadership Initiative. Hill is regarded as one of the top experts on leadership and innovation. Hill is... View Details

October 1987 (Revised March 1989)
Case

United Parcel Service (B)

With expansion into other countries (Germany), new areas of service (air express), and new ventures (two small acquisitions), UPS had to decide how to adjust its human resource policies to businesses and people which were substantially different from its traditional... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Service Industry; Germany; United States

March 2022 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting–and... View Details

2009
Working Paper

Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting

By: Lisa D. Ordonez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky and Max H. Bazerman

Goal setting is one of the most replicated and influential paradigms in the management literature. Hundreds of studies conducted in numerous countries and contexts have consistently demonstrated that setting specific, challenging goals can powerfully drive behavior and... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives

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December 2002 (Revised January 2014)
Case

Matt Leeds (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

A new associate in a consulting firm attempts to navigate his way through the norms and culture of a new setting and to manage his relationships with his superiors and peers, which got off to a poor start.

PLEASE NOTE: This case was revised in January 2014.... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Rank and Position; Organizational Culture; Consulting Industry

November 2008
Article

Winning the Race for Talent in Emerging Markets

By: Douglas A. Ready, Linda A. Hill and Jay A. Conger

"This war for talent is like nothing we've ever seen before," write the authors, who have spent decades studying talent management and leadership development. Recently they interviewed executives at more than 20 global companies to identify strategies for attracting... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Culture; Recruitment; Diversity; Developing Countries and Economies

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07 Jul 2023
Blog Post

How to Create a Psychologically Safe Workplace

organizational culture can be established and communicated. An organization may have an environment that encourages casual dress to promote individuality and comfort, it could fund advanced education and... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Program

Competing in the Age of AI—Virtual

inherent risks Create opportunities to build competitive advantage Reimagine your company's value propositions to create new revenue streams Redesign organizational systems, processes, and roles to be AI driven Build the skills,... View Details

November 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

The Globalization of Manchester City Football Group

By: Maria P. Roche, Tiona Zuzul, Exequiel Hernandez and Amy Klopfenstein

This case describes the efforts of City Football Group (CFG) to purchase Esporte Clube Bahia (Bahia), a Brazilian professional soccer club. CFG’s strategy was to acquire under-performing clubs worldwide, invest money in high-profile players, and improve the teams’... View Details

Program

General Management Program

are designed to broaden your business perspective, management expertise, and leadership skills. You will learn how to identify, frame, and solve complex business problems; build cooperation among disciplines; and drive innovation and View Details

November–December 2023
Article

Storytelling That Drives Bold Change

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

When tackling urgent organizational problems, leaders usually work hard to identify underlying causes, tap a wide range of knowledge, and experiment with solutions. But once they’ve mapped out a plan, there’s one more crucial step they must take: crafting a story so... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Emotions; Communication Strategy

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September 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Supplement

Children's Hospital and Clinics (B)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Ingrid M. Nembhard and Kate Roloff

Explores the numerous initiatives Children's Hospital and Clinics has undertaken to improve patient safety since the late 1990s--from the perspective of 2007. The case thus updates the A case by revisiting the hospital to find out what happened as a result of the... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Legal Liability; Leadership; Management Teams; Health Industry

14 Jul 2023
Blog Post

What You Can Do to Create an Anti-Racist Organization

and recommendations for action steps that will guide companies in creating anti-racist cultures within their organizations. STRATEGIES FOR BEING ACTIVELY ANTI-RACIST Manso-Brown’s anti-racism workshops offer three key elements for... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

December 1986 (Revised November 1990)
Case

Club Med (A)

The rapidly growing American subsidiary of an international resort company seeks to identify the factors underlying its success. The case describes the forces that shape the industry's structure, raising the issue of where it is possible for Club Med to establish a... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture; Tourism Industry; United States

November 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

By: Rory McDonald, Samir Junnarkar and David Lane

Five years on from the 2008 financial crisis, Goldman Sachs remained wounded. Revenues at the global investment bank had stagnated below pre-crisis levels, and the firm had yet to rebound from a substantial decline in securities-trading revenues. Marcus by Goldman... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Banks and Banking; Innovation Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

08 Aug 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurship and Business History: Renewing the Research Agenda

Keywords: by Geoffrey G. Jones & R. Daniel Wadhwani

April 2009 (Revised April 2012)
Case

Bono and U2

By: Nancy F. Koehn, Katherine Miller and Rachel Wilcox

This case traces the 30-year development of the rock band U2 and the development of its four members as artists, business leaders, and humanitarians (with particular attention paid to lead singer Bono's global humanitarian work). The case examines the beginnings of the... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Globalized Markets and Industries; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Personal Development and Career; Social Enterprise; Music Industry

2013
Working Paper

Historical Origins of Environmental Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s-1980s

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski

This working paper examines the growth of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. German business has been regarded as pioneering corporate environmentalism after World War II. In contrast, this study reveals... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Green Business; Pollution; Environmental Sustainability; Business History; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States