Publications

December 2018
Case

Corporate Transformation at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany

By: Joseph B. Fuller, Amy C. Edmondson, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Tonia Labruyere

When Stefan Oschmann became CEO and chairman of the executive board of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, in 2016, the company had started its transformation from a mid-tier traditional German industry player to a global modern science and technology player. The... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance With Family Ownership; Transformation; Change Management; Restructuring; Corporate Governance; Family Ownership

March 1994 (Revised May 1994)
Case

Lisa Benton (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

Lisa Benton is in her fourth month as an assistant product manager at Houseworld, a leading consumer products company. She has been on the job since graduating from the Harvard Business School, and she has been frustrated from the start by a lack of responsibility, by... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Jobs and Positions; Power and Influence; Relationships; Consumer Products Industry

21 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

The Parable of the Bungled Baggage And the Unhappy Customer

I need to get on with my presentation, getting checked out and so forth. But, I'm a little happy too, because now I have something to talk about. And so I'm holding this little story in my back pocket waiting for the appropriate time in my presentation. As I did my... View Details

Keywords: by W. Earl Sasser

September 2007 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Still Leading (B6): Sherry Lansing—Producing Social Change

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Lance Pierce

Sherry Lansing, head of a Hollywood studio, left to start a foundation. Describes the issues in her transition. View Details

Keywords: Transition; Problems and Challenges; Personal Development and Career; Nonprofit Organizations; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Public Education Goes to School

an action plan to implement back home what they've learned on campus. We then visit each district a few months later to check on the progress of their action plans, and to identify topics to study in the next cycle. Then the knowledge development process View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark; Education

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Most Accountants Aren’t Crooks—Why Good Audits Go Bad

who never intend to do something wrong end up finding themselves in situations where they are almost forced to continue to commit fraud once they have started doing this. Otherwise, it will be revealed that they had used improper... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, George Loewenstein & Don A. Moore; Accounting; Financial Services

February 2021
Case

Digital Manufacturing at Amgen

By: Shane Greenstein, Kyle R. Myers and Sarah Mehta

This case discusses efforts made by biotechnology (biotech) company Amgen to introduce digital technologies into its manufacturing processes. Doing so is complicated by the fact that the process for manufacturing biologics—or therapeutics made from living cells—is... View Details

January 2008 (Revised February 2011)
Case

Rubbish Boys

By: Noam Wasserman and Rachel Galper

It looked like founder-CEO Brian Scudamore might not be able to pursue franchising as a growth option for his junk-removal business after all. Over the years, he had overcome many hurdles, including buying out his "too-fiery" co-founder, firing all of his employees so... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Problems and Challenges; Brands and Branding; Business Model; Partners and Partnerships; Business Growth and Maturation; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry; Canada; North America

February 2021
Background Note

Jobs to Be Done: A Toolbox

By: Derek C. M. van Bever, Bob Moesta, Iuliana Mogosanu, Shaye Roseman and Katie Zandbergen

The Jobs to Be Done methodology is both a theory and a practical approach for understanding customer behavior and why people make the choices they make. Many practitioners, whether they work for startups or incumbent businesses, find Jobs to Be Done useful because it... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Knowledge Acquisition; Attitudes; Perception; Theory; Behavior; Customer Relationship Management

17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

As much as 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. Source: Eivaisla After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry, solutions are View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

15 Aug 2024
Op-Ed

Post-CrowdStrike, Six Questions to Test Your Company's Operational Resilience

disaster, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Some research reports estimate that the cost of the CrowdStrike event could exceed $1 billion. Preparation for a crisis is just as crucial as the response. We recommend that leaders View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and Anita Lynch

2012
Book

The Founder's Dilemmas: Anticipating and Avoiding the Pitfalls That Can Sink a Startup

By: Noam Wasserman

Often downplayed in the excitement of starting up a new business venture is one of the most important decisions entrepreneurs will face: Should they go it alone or bring in cofounders, hires, and investors to help build the business? More than just financial rewards... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Partners and Partnerships; Social Psychology; Outcome or Result

Find at Harvard

August 2018
Case

Christine Lagarde (B): Being a Public Servant

By: Julie Battilana and Carin-Isabel Knoop

This case covers the career of Christine Lagarde from 2005 to 2011 after she joins the French Government. After serving several grueling years as Finance Minister during the financial crisis that started in 2007/2008, she is being considered as the next Managing... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Government and Politics; Financial Crisis; Power and Influence

February 2007 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Leadership at WildChina (A)

WildChina (A) tells the story of Mei Zhang, a Chinese-born HBS alumna, and her pursuit of a dream: to share her passion for travel, her appreciation of China's beauty and culture, and her desire to start her own business. Describes the startup of WildChina, a tour... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Leadership; Management Succession; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Tourism Industry; Los Angeles; Beijing