Publications

October 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Symbian: Setting the Mobility Standard

By: Fernando F. Suarez and Thomas R. Eisenmann

Symbian, a joint venture owned by companies who collectively sold a dominant share of the world's cell phones, faced competition from Microsoft in developing the operating system for "smartphones," which integrated mobile communications and computing functions. In... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Joint Ventures; Information Technology; Software; Wireless Technology; Mobile Technology; Information Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry

April 2025
Case

Campbell's Recipe for Advancing School Nutrition

By: Hise O. Gibson, F. Christopher Eaglin and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

In 2021, The Campbell’s Company launched Full Futures, a collective impact initiative aimed at advancing school nutrition environments in underserved communities. The program started in Camden, NJ—home to Campbell’s headquarters—and later expanded to Charlotte, NC, and... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Education; Health; Nutrition; Social Enterprise; Relationships; Business and Community Relations; Decision Making; Operations; Food and Beverage Industry; New Jersey; North Carolina; Pennsylvania

October 2016
Supplement

Moshe Kahlon: Telecommunications Reform and Competition in Israel's Cellular Market (B)

By: Joshua Margolis, Amram Migdal and Kerry Herman

The case complements “Moshe Kahlon: Telecommunications Reform and Competition in Israel’s Cellular Market (A),” HBS case number 417-017, which addresses reforms to regulations in Israel’s telecommunications industry initiated and implemented under the leadership of... View Details

September–October 2013
Article

Discretion Within Constraint: Homophily and Structure in a Formal Organization

By: Adam M. Kleinbaum, Toby E. Stuart and Michael Tushman

Homophily in social relations results from both individual preferences and selective opportunities for interaction, but how these two mechanisms interact in large, contemporary organizations is not well understood. We argue that organizational structures and geography... View Details

Keywords: Familiarity; Interpersonal Communication; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Social and Collaborative Networks; Gender; Information Technology Industry

January 2024
Supplement

Accounting Red Flags or Red Herrings at Catalent? (B)

By: Joseph Pacelli, ZeSean Ali and Tom Quinn

GlassHouse Research identified accounting red flags at Catalent. Fiat Lux Partners countered most of GlassHouse’s claims. Who was right? This update explores the aftermath of the short seller duel. View Details

February 2024
Article

Conveying and Detecting Listening in Live Conversation

By: Hanne Collins, Julia A. Minson, Ariella S. Kristal and Alison Wood Brooks

Across all domains of human social life, positive perceptions of conversational listening (i.e., feeling heard) predict well-being, professional success, and interpersonal flourishing. But a fundamental question remains: Are perceptions of listening accurate? Prior... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Behavior; Perception

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2012
Article

Evidence for the Pinocchio Effect: Linguistic Differences Between Lies, Deception by Omissions, and Truths

By: Lyn M. Van Swol, Michael T. Braun and Deepak Malhotra

The study used Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count and Coh-Metrix software to examine linguistic differences with deception in an ultimatum game. In the game, the Allocator was given an amount of money to divide with the Receiver. The Receiver did not know the precise... View Details

Keywords: Communication Intention and Meaning; Cognition and Thinking

August 2020
Teaching Note

Sesame Workshop (C): Mission Critical Responses to Global and National Crises

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Teaching Note for Case No. 321-016. Beginning in March 2020, Sesame Workshop navigated a global pandemic, which caused unemployment, businesses shutdowns, school closures, and remote work environments along with a racial justice crisis, with a renewed mission that led... View Details

Keywords: Pandemic; Children; Health Pandemics; Social Issues; Crisis Management; Mission and Purpose; Education; Leadership; Education Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

November 2010
Case

Bling Nation

By: William A. Sahlman and Liz Kind

Bling Nation, a Palo Alto, CA startup, was founded in 2007 as a mobile payment service provider that bypassed industry participants such as Visa and MasterCard. Bling Nation partnered with local community banks and merchants in small towns. The banks provided their... View Details

Keywords: Culture

January 2002 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Space Data Corporation

By: Alan D. MacCormack and Jay Wynn

Space Data Corp. plans to partner with the U.S. National Weather Service to place transceivers on weather balloons and thereby create a national mobile communications network. The company is in the late development stages and is planning to launch a regional test that... View Details

Keywords: Wireless Technology; Business Startups; Business Processes; Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships; Opportunities; Telecommunications Industry; Public Administration Industry; United States

August 2022
Case

In-Q-Tel: Innovation On A Mission

By: Joshua Lev Krieger and Josh Lerner

In 2022, the leaders of In-Q-Tel (IQT) considered what was next for the unique mission-driven organization. Since 1999, IQT had one mission: to be the most sophisticated source of strategic technical knowledge and capabilities to the U.S. government and its allies. IQT... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; National Security; Technological Innovation; Research; Geopolitical Units; Risk Management; Recruitment; Growth and Development Strategy; Venture Capital; Knowledge Management; Information Industry; Banking Industry

23 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

How Corporate Responsibility is Changing in Asia

Noting how companies often partner with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to carry out social improvement projects, HBS assistant professor Regina M. Abrami nevertheless contended "something has gone wrong with the spirit of... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

June 2023
Article

Are You Listening to Me? The Negative Link between Extraversion and Perceived Listening

By: Francis J Flynn, Hanne Collins and Julian Zlatev

Extraverts are often characterized as highly social individuals who are highly invested in their interpersonal interactions. We propose that extraverts' interaction partners hold a different view-that extraverts are highly social, but not highly invested. Across six... View Details

Keywords: Extraversion; Listening; Self-monitoring; Sociability; Interaction; Interpersonal Communication; Perception

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2015
Book

MOVE: Putting America's Infrastructure Back in the Lead

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Americans are stuck. We live with travel delays on congested roads; shipping delays on clogged railways; and delays on repairs, project approvals, and funding due to gridlocked leadership. These delays affect us all, whether you are a daily commuter, a frequent flyer,... View Details

February 2023
Case

SIMmersion: Simulating Crucial Conversations

By: Alison Wood Brooks, Julian Zlatev and F Katelynn Boland

This case introduces readers to SIMmersion, a company founded in 2002 that creates and sells training programs to firms, government agencies, educational institutions, and individuals (B2B and B2C). Their training programs are built around simulations (“sims”) that... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Interpersonal Communication; Training

March 2014
Teaching Note

The Weather Company

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

New CEO David Kenny transformed The Weather Company in less than two years from a primary identity as a cable television channel to a multi-platform digital company innovating in the uses of weather data. He assesses progress and considers strategic choices and... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Strategic Change; Technology; Digital; Weather; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Change Management; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Industry; Service Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

March 2025
Article

Boomerasking: Answering Your Own Questions

By: Alison Wood Brooks and Michael Yeomans

Humans spend much of their lives in conversation, where they tend to hold many simultaneous motives. We examine two fundamental desires: to be responsive to a partner and to disclose about oneself. We introduce one pervasive way people attempt to reconcile these... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Motivation and Incentives; Perception; Behavior