Publications

March 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Wilkerson Company

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The president of Wilkerson, faced with declining profits, is struggling to understand why the company is encountering severe price competition on one product line while able to raise prices without competitive response on another product line. The controller proposes... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Competition; Profit; Product; Consumer Products Industry

September 2019
Case

Nimbus Therapeutics

By: Peter Barrett, Karim Lakhani and Julia Kelley

This case focuses on Nimbus Therapeutics, a biotechnology startup based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as its leadership team tries to determine the company’s long-term strategy. The startup’s founders structured Nimbus as a limited liability company, which has given it... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Biotechnology Industry

Research Summary

Life Planning for Executives

In this relatively new field of research and course development, Davis is researching through in depth interviews how executives create successful and fulfilling lives. He is leading a faculty team in designing an executive program for individuals wanting to transition... View Details

Program

Leading in the Digital Era

that can transform your organization, deliver more value, and build competitive advantage, you will benefit from cutting-edge research into the culture of companies and leaders... View Details

14 Dec 2015
News

What Happens When Zambian Schoolgirls Receive Negotiation Training

February 2015 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Nokia's Bridge Program: Redesigning Layoffs (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Susan J. Winterberg

"Not another Bochum." Nokia Board Chairman Jorma Ollila was clear in the goals he set for the 2011 restructuring that Nokia's new CEO, Stephen Elop, had decided was necessary to address the dramatically changed competitive environment the company faced in smartphones... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Plant Closure; Outplacement; Shared Value; Business or Company Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Restructuring; Employee Relationship Management; Telecommunications Industry

20 Aug 2014
Research & Ideas

Dragging Patent Trolls Into the Light

that after an NPE lawsuit, a company on average produced fewer future patents and invested less in research and development than comparable... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Legal Services

September 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Pinduoduo

By: Feng Zhu, Krishna G. Palepu, Bonnie Yining Cao and Dawn H. Lau

Founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur, Colin Huang, Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) had become China’s fastest-growing e-commerce platform in history. PDD pioneered a new approach to online shopping that allowed shoppers to share products, invite friends to form shopping teams,... View Details

Keywords: Digital Platforms; Business Model; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Strategy; E-commerce

December 2022 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Circles.Life at a Crossroads of Growth

By: Juan Alcácer and Adina Wong

In June 2022, the founders of Singapore mobile operator Circles.Life had a crucial decision to make. Circles.Life developed a new business model in mobile telecommunications—a digital telco—built around its proprietary operating system. After expanding its brand in... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decisions; Technological Innovation; Applications and Software; Business Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; Singapore

Article

Understanding Boards of Directors: A Systems Perspective

By: Jay W. Lorsch

In this essay, my goal is to explore why, despite the tireless efforts of talented people, research on corporate governance has been slow and uneven, and where that research should turn to next to be most valuable to practitioners. My belief is that the most fruitful... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Boards; Business Admnistration; Social Systems; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; System

January 2007 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Organization 2005 (A)

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski and Alessandro L. Spadini

In response to a huge crisis in 2000, the new CEO of Procter & Gamble has to decide whether to continue with an unusual organizational design or to revert to the old matrix organization. Describes all the organizational designs used by Procter & Gamble from the 1920s... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure

30 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 30

PublicationsEmotion-induced Engagement in Internet Video Ads Authors:Thales S. Teixeira, Michel Wedel, and Rik Pieters Publication:Journal of Marketing Research (forthcoming) Abstract This study shows how... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 1997 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Corn Products International, Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Tom Clay

A firm that started in corn processing and moved up the value-added food chain decides to spin-off the original commodity part of the business. How does the new spin-off survive and how does it develop a strategy? Firms in the food system are separating out their... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Product Development; Service Delivery; Vertical Integration; Food and Beverage Industry

March 2024
Article

Being Together in Place as a Catalyst for Scientific Advance

By: Eamon Duede, Misha Teplitskiy, Karim R. Lakhani and James Evans

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated social distancing at every level of society, including universities and research institutes, raising essential questions concerning the continuing importance of physical proximity for scientific and scholarly advance. Using customized... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Power and Influence; Body of Literature; Research

Read Now

January 2007 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Roppongi Hills: City Within a City

By: Anita Elberse, Andrei Hagiu and Masako Egawa

Minoru Mori is the CEO of Mori Building, which has built Roppongi Hills, an ambitious large-scale, mixed-use development in Tokyo, Japan that includes high-end retail, restaurants, hotel, office, library, and art museum. A destination site for tourists and local... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Development Economics; Brands and Branding; Urban Development; Competition; Real Estate Industry; Tokyo

April 2015
Article

Measuring Teamwork in Health Care Settings: A Review of Survey Instruments

By: Melissa Valentine, Ingrid M. Nembhard and Amy C. Edmondson

Background: Teamwork in health care settings is widely recognized as an important factor in providing high quality patient care. However, the behaviors that comprise effective teamwork, the organizational factors that support teamwork, and the relationship... View Details

Keywords: Teamwork; Psychometric Properties; Survey Instruments:; Measurement and Metrics; Surveys; Groups and Teams; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

18 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 18

Quarterly (forthcoming) Abstract Socialization theory has focused on enculturating new employees such that they develop pride in their new organization and internalize its values. Drawing on authenticity... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 1997 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Elliot Lebowitz

By: Paul A. Gompers and Alexander Tsai

Elliot Lebowitz, president and CEO of BioTransplant, must decide on a strategy for this young biotechnology start-up. Among the issues to be resolved are focus of research and search for strategic alliance partners. View Details

Keywords: Alliances; Research; Business Startups; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; United States