Publications

April 2010 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Mercadona

This case presents the predicament of a company trying to do right by its customers and its employees as the economic crisis of 2008 hits home. Fifteen years earlier, this Spanish supermarket chain had adopted its own version of total quality management, called the... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Service Operations; Business Processes; Retail Industry; Spain

May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Motorola: Institutionalizing Corporate Initiatives

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

Motorola became a recognized quality leader in large part by becoming a leader in employee education and by encouraging "participative management." Through the Motorola Training and Education Center, later Motorola University, the company invested substantial resources... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Satisfaction; Training; Human Resources; Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Corporate Strategy; Education Industry

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

Do relationships between colleagues raise the bar? A new analysis of how physicians who know each other provide better patient care could impart wide-ranging lessons for the business world. Specialists who received referrals from primary care physicians (PCPs) with... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

28 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

Can Apprenticeships Work in the US? Employers Seeking New Talent Pipelines Take Note

that the added investment to train young people may not offer enough of a return. The report, however, offers a very different picture of apprenticeships that potentially alleviates concerns of both parents and employers, focusing on the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

December 2020 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Responsive Working at PepsiCo UK (A): Designing a Turnaround

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Nancy Boghossian Staples

Facing a significant decline in revenues in 2016, David Gwilliam, Head of Transformation at PepsiCo UK introduced a new way of working (“Responsive Working”), which encompasses a set of work practices and some new team structures. The work practices comprise a set of 9... View Details

Keywords: SLAM Teams; Turnaround; Groups and Teams; Employees; Training; Decision Making; Planning; Performance Improvement; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United Kingdom; Europe

June 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Driving Towards a Disruption?

By: Willy Shih and William Noble

As Clayton Christensen drove to the studio to deliver an online executive education class, he pondered the future of management education. How big a threat did online degree programs, corporate universities, and other innovations in the delivery of management training... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Technology; Performance Trajectories; Disruptive Innovations; Business Education; Business School; Internet And Online Services Industries; Disruptive Innovation; Higher Education; Corporate Strategy; Internet; Performance; Education Industry; Boston

02 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

10 Trends to Watch in 2024

The lightning-fast ascent of generative AI isn’t the only sea change on the horizon for businesses in the new year. The global economy is in flux as war, climate change, trade issues, and infrastructure problems demand attention. Many companies continue to struggle to... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

October 14, 2019
Article

Cracking the Code of Sustained Collaboration

By: Francesca Gino

When most organizations strive to increase collaboration, they approach it too narrowly: as a value to cultivate—not a skill to teach. So they create open offices, talk up collaboration as a corporate goal, and try to influence employees through other superficial means... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Listening; Empathy; Feedback; Organizational Culture; Interpersonal Communication; Training; Programs

25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Rapport: The Hidden Advantage That Women Managers Bring to Teams

nearly double the station certifications as those in stores with men managing women.” When managers and their employees shared the same gender identity, employees were on average View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Food & Beverage

November 2004 (Revised September 2019)
Background Note

The U.S. Health Club Industry in 2004

By: John R. Wells, Gabriel Ellsworth and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2004, the $16.8 billion U.S. health club industry continued its strong record of growth. There were almost 27,000 health clubs in the United States, up from 6,700 two decades earlier, and these clubs claimed 41 million members, over 14% of the U.S. population.... View Details

Keywords: Health Clubs; Fitness; Gyms; Chain; Weight Loss; Obesity; Exercise; Personal Training; Bally Total Fitness; 24 Hour Fitness; YMCA; Gold's Gym; Curves; Franchise; Franchising; Subscription; Promotional Sales; Promotions; Fixed Costs; Body; Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Buildings and Facilities; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Customers; Demographics; Age; Income; Private Equity; Financing and Loans; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Employees; Retention; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Contracts; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Operations; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Private Ownership; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Salesforce Management; Situation or Environment; Opportunities; Nonprofit Organizations; Welfare; Sports; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Expansion; Segmentation; Hardware; Health Industry; United States

June 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Business Intelligence Software at SYSCO

The large food service company SYSCO has decided to purchase business intelligence (BI) software, a technology intended to provide superior monitoring and analysis capabilities. Twila Day, assistant vice president of technology and applications, is in charge of the BI... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Decision Making; Management Systems; Distribution Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Article

Why Sexual Harassment Persists and What Organizations Can Do to Stop It

By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg

Long before the #MeToo movement, the insidious effects of harassment were well known to organizational researchers. Women who are harassed often leave their jobs, taking valuable relationships, and potential out the door with them and creating the costly need to hire... View Details

Keywords: Work Environment; Sexual Harassment; Harassment; Organizational Culture; Gender; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change

Article

Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage

By: Robert D. Austin and Gary P. Pisano

Many people with neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia have extraordinary skills, including those in pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics. Yet they often struggle to fit the profiles sought by employers. A growing number of... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Diversity; Competency and Skills

05 Feb 2024
What Do You Think?

How Do You Hire for Attitude?

(AdobeStock/Mediteraneo) For years, my colleagues and I have advised anyone who would listen to hire for attitude, train for skills. Organizations that get it backward pay a heavy price. One of my favorite quotes is that of Richard... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation

that provides telephone and chat support for its global customers. Traditionally, Wipro's orientation for call center employees consisted of an informational session about the company, followed by several weeks of View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Web Services; Service; Telecommunications

April 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

Unleashing Human Magic at Best Buy

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Sunil Gupta and Amram Migdal

The case examines the transformation of Best Buy under CEO Hubert Joly's leadership from 2012. Facing significant business challenges, including competition from online and physical retailers, Joly implemented the "Renew Blue" turnaround strategy, which focused on... View Details