Publications

10 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Do You Have Change Fatigue?

creating an environment in which employees don't even know that they're changing." Ricardo Semler, president of Semco, a privately held manufacturing and services company in São Paulo, Brazil, heartily agrees: by giving up the need... View Details

Keywords: by Nick Morgan

January 2017
Case

Danaher Corporation, 2007–2017

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On July 2, 2016, Danaher Corporation completed the spinoff of Fortive Corporation. The previous day, Danaher’s stock price had reached an all-time high. In 2015, Danaher had decided to split off its test and measurement, fuel and fleet management, and automation... View Details

Dow Chemicals began by producing bleaching powder as its main product. Through Dow’s inventiveness, Dow Chemical expanded dramatically, especially with the discovery of many uses for brine. Dow View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

July 2020
Case

Amanda and Kristen: Mented Cosmetics

By: Steven Rogers, Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Alterrell Mills

The co-founders (Black HBS alumnae) of an e-commerce beauty startup explore the unmet needs within the beauty industry. This case study examines the entrepreneurial opportunities that come from identifying an underserved market, specifically within the Black community... View Details

Mastin was instrumental in the development and commercialization of many of Lubrizol’s products, the world’s largest manufacturer of chemical additives for lubricants. Mastin was a published chemist who held... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

international cosmetic manufacturer based in France decided to support its 100,000+ clients—salons—across Western Europe to help them survive through the first phases of the COVID-19 crisis. The support included financial, operational,... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

Willard H. Dow

Dow grew the company his father had founded through acquisitions and mergers. He acquired a 75% interest in Midland Ammonia in 1930, partnered with Ethyl Gas in 1933, joined with Cleveland-Cliffs Iron in 1935, and acquired the Great Western Electro-Chemical Company... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

William B. Bell

Bell diversified American Cyanamid, developing the company into the 5th largest producer of chemicals in the U.S., manufacturing over 5,000 products. Bell developed new processes for the commercial... View Details

Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial

September 2013 (Revised August 2015)
Background Note

Leadership and Teaming

By: Ethan Bernstein

Small differences in the leadership of teams can have large consequences for the success of their efforts. Many initiatives fail not because of a fatal error in judgment or insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation, or capabilities to deliver a solution. They fail... View Details