Publications

04 Nov 2015
What Do You Think?

Why Does Gender Diversity Improve Financial Performance?

Does Gender Diversity in Management Enhance Performance? Why? A variety of explanations for the positive correlation between gender diversity and better business performance found in a recent McKinsey study were advanced in responses to this month’s column. Possible... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

12 May 2022
News

Why Digital Is a State of Mind, Not Just a Skill Set

June 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Sober Sidekick

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Kumba Sennaar

Case on the nascent business model of a mobile health IT startup. In particular, should they pivot away from their successful lead generation business model to charging health plans. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Operations; Business Startups; Business Model; Health Industry; United States

10 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Do You Have Change Fatigue?

know-it-all leaders unnecessary for successful change, they often muck it up. Echoing Garvin, Rosabeth Moss Kanter notes that it's very difficult for leaders to spell out in advance precisely what the future state should look like—so many... View Details

Keywords: by Nick Morgan

What Does It Take to Safeguard a Legacy in Asset Management?

Diverse hiring, deep research, and a collaborative culture have defined Brown Capital's successful investment approach. But would those qualities endure after its founder retires? A case study by Luis Viceira and Emily... View Details

13 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Your Company Wants to be a 'Cognitive Referent' (Hint: SpaceX)

©iStock/maislam To find out, McDonald fixed his sights on the emerging market of online investing, studying five unnamed competitors at the beginning of their race to the top and following their actions and success as the market developed... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Aerospace; Food & Beverage; Retail

August 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Euro Disney: The First 100 Days

By: Gary W. Loveman and Leonard A. Schlesinger

The Walt Disney Co. theme parks historically have thrived on the basis of a formula stressing excellent customer service and a magnificent physical environment. The formula has proven successful in Japan, as well as the United States. With the controversial opening of... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Corporate Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; France; United States

29 Sep 2021
News

For Entrepreneurs, Blown Deadlines Can Crush Big Ideas

18 Feb 2019
Book

What’s Really Disrupting Business? It’s Not Technology

If women wanted to shake up their makeup regimen 10 years ago, Sephora was the place to go. Beauty product junkies loved Sephora’s candy store-like display of sample-size face creams, glittery lip glosses, and eyeshadows in every shade imaginable, allowing them to test... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Beauty & Cosmetics; Insurance; Service; Retail

May 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2015

By: David B. Yoffie and Eric Baldwin

At the end of 2014, Apple Inc. recorded the most profitable quarter of any firm in history, and its market capitalization soon topped $700 billion. 'Apple Inc in 2015' explores the history of Apple, its successes under Jobs, its continued growth under Tim Cook, and the... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Innovation; Market Positioning; Marketing Implementation; Planning; Products; Strategy; Strategic Positioning; Technology; Information Technology; Strategic Planning; Product Positioning; Leadership; Communication; Competitive Advantage; Product; Innovation and Invention; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry

March 2022
Supplement

Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

2022
Working Paper

Transferable Skills? Founders as Venture Capitalists

By: Paul A. Gompers and Vladimir Mukharlyamov

In this paper we explore whether or not the experience as a founder of a venture capital-backed startup influences the performance of founders who become venture capitalists (VCs). We find that nearly 7% of VCs were previously founders of a venture-backed startup.... View Details

Keywords: Founders; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Performance; Personal Development and Career; Success

Find at Harvard

Read Now

13 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

How 'Small C' Change Can Beat Large-Scale Rebuilding

perhaps more so than in any other industry, as the right answer to improve performance. Owners look to their team managers (coaches) to be game changers and bring back success to the organization, especially when the manager is hired in a... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, and Sebastian Flegr; Sports

2018
Book

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth

By: Amy C. Edmondson

The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth offers practical guidance for teams and organizations who are serious about success in the modern economy. With so much riding on innovation,... View Details

Keywords: Psychological Safety; Knowledge Economy; Teaming; Management; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Management; Learning

Find at Harvard

October 2002 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Emerging Giants: Building World-Class Companies in Emerging Markets

By: Tarun Khanna and Krishna G. Palepu

Presents a conceptual framework to examine successful companies in emerging markets and what enables them to avoid traditional emerging market obstacles. Examines those characteristics that allow these successful local companies to overcome market voids and become... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Emerging Markets; Success

09 Jan 2012
Research & Ideas

Location, Location, Location: The Strategy of Place

is whether the business can afford to spend the required resources—especially when it means siphoning time and attention away from an existing successful business. "When you open a new operation, it requires not only money but also... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

spring 1991
Article

Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett

Most managers recognize that good service is a direct result of having effective, productive people in customer contact positions. However, most service companies perpetuate a cycle of failure by tolerating high turnover and expecting employee dissatisfaction. This... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Service Delivery; Success; Failure; Management Skills; Service Industry

Find at Harvard