Publications

2003
Book

The Watson Dynasty: The Fiery Reign and Troubled Legacy of IBM's Founding Father and Son

By: R. S. Tedlow

Keywords: Information Technology; Business Ventures; Computer Industry

2016
Working Paper

Alternative Paths of Green Entrepreneurship: The Environmental Legacies of The North Face's Doug Tompkins and Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard

By: Geoffrey Jones and Ben Gettinger

This working paper examines the impact of two entrepreneurs who offered alternative paths to reach their shared goal of a more sustainable world. Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins were respective founders of the prominent outdoor apparel brands Patagonia and The North... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry

SSRN

Read Now

18 Sep 2018
Working Paper Summaries

After the Carnival: Key Factors to Enhance Olympic Legacy and Prevent Olympic Sites from Becoming White Elephants

Keywords: by Isao Okada and Stephen A. Greyser; Sports

Winter 2022
Article

Leading Disruption in a Legacy Business: A Compelling Growth Ambition Is a Critical Enabler for New Ventures

By: Andy Binns, Michael Tushman and Charles O'Reilly

Leading innovation in established corporations is difficult. Active inertia and dynamic conservatism are real. Still, leaders can drive disruptive ventures from inside large corporations. These leaders ideate, incubate, and scale innovations, much as an entrepreneur... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Management; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Model

Register to Read

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Justice-as-a-Service at RightNow

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Amir Reza Rezvani

The case examines the focus of an early stage company, and how an unexpected external incidence can threaten or void the business model. It encompasses issues such as minimal viable product, defining and pivoting a business model, organizational requirements for a... View Details

Keywords: Legacy Business; Teams; Startup; Business Models; Pivot; Entrepreneurship; Law; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Legal Services Industry; Germany

September 2019
Article

Technology Reemergence: Creating New Value for Old Technologies in Swiss Mechanical Watchmaking, 1970-2008

By: Ryan Raffaelli

In 1983, 14 years after the introduction of the battery-powered quartz watch, mechanical watches and the Swiss watchmakers who built them were predicted to be obsolete (Landes, 1983). Unexpectedly, however, by 2008 the Swiss mechanical watchmaking industry had... View Details

Keywords: Technology Reemergence; Technology Cycles; Cognition And Market Redefinition; Legacy Technology Trajectories; Information Technology; Demand and Consumers; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Identity; Change; Consumer Products Industry; Switzerland

Read Now

January 2016 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

CEO David Kenny led the transformation of the Weather Company from a television business to a Big Data technology company from 2012 until 2016, when IBM acquired its digital assets. This case discusses major decisions taken by Kenny starting in 2014 as he sought to... View Details

Keywords: Weather Company; IBM; Digital; Technology; David Kenny; Television; Weather Channel; Legacy Business; Mainstream; Newstream; Reorganization; Acquisitions; Transformation; Information Technology; Television Entertainment; Acquisition; Consolidation; Change; Leadership

April 2016
Teaching Note

Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

This Note was created for the purpose of aiding classroom instructors in the use of the Harvard Business School case, "Whither the Weather (Company): Forecasting 2016." As chairman and CEO, David Kenny guided the Weather Company's transformation from a cable television... View Details

Keywords: Weather Company; IBM; Digital; Technology; David Kenny; Television; Weather Channel; Legacy Business; Mainstream; Newstream; Reorganization; Acquisitions; Transformation; Information Technology; Television Entertainment; Acquisition; Consolidation; Change; Leadership

15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

in the School's Business History Group to reflect on Chandler's legacy and to share personal memories. To listen to this interview with professor Richard Tedlow, click on the triangular play button below. The Macromedia Flash plug-in is... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2001
Background Note

IT Asset: the "Legacy" System Problem

By: Richard L. Nolan

Describes the legacy system problem facing traditional companies as they strive to build strategic I-Nets. Identifies the key trends amplifying legacy system problems that cause IT assets to become IT liabilities. View Details

Keywords: Trends; Management Systems; Problems and Challenges; Business Strategy; Information Technology

06 Aug 2014
What Do You Think?

What Is Warren Bennis’s Legacy?

values-centered, passionate, and resilient." Warren Bennis left us a legacy of strong views regarding leadership. Throughout his long career as a professor, administrator, author, and consultant, he held firmly to his belief that... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

30 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: Preparing to Sell

to consider selling your legacy business, we congratulate you. You (and all your stakeholders) will hopefully realize the fruits of generations of hard work and sacrifices. Plus, selling your family business presents wonderful... View Details

Keywords: by Jonathan Pellegrin; Food & Beverage; Retail

September 1998 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Cisco Systems, Inc.: Implementing ERP

By: Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan and Mark J. Cotteleer

Reviews Cisco System's approach to implementing Oracle's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software product. This case chronologically reviews the diverse, critical success factors and obstacles facing Cisco during its implementation. Cisco faced the need for... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Applications and Software; Technology Adoption; Complexity; Information Management

September 2002 (Revised February 2012)
Background Note

Europe: Data Supplement, 1950-2011

By: Huw Pill, Lakshmi Iyer, Marie-Laure Goepfer and Ingrid Vogel

Supplements The Blair Wealth Project: Antecedents and Prospects, Renewing Germany: Kohl's Legacy and Schroder's Dilemma, Italy: A New Commitment to Growth, and The Netherlands: Is the Polder Model Sinking? View Details

Keywords: Data and Data Sets; United Kingdom; Germany; Italy; Netherlands

October 2023
Case

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: A Curriculum Provider Puts Itself on the Hook for Student Outcomes

By: John J-H Kim, Derek C. M. van Bever, Michael Norris and Max Hancock

Jack Lynch, CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) since 2017, was leading the company’s transformation from a legacy textbook publisher to a digital-first student outcomes provider, which earned subscription revenue from digital products and curriculum. In 2023, HMH... View Details

Keywords: Edtech; Textbook; Publishing; Leading Change; Change Management; Transformation; Digital Transformation; Expansion; Business Strategy; Publishing Industry; Education Industry; United States

February 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Leading Change at Simmons (E)

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Susan Thyne

This case updates the “Leading Change at Simmons” series by examining Simmons' increasing debt under the ownership of Thomas H. Lee, a private equity firm. Charlie Eitel, the former CEO, wonders what the company's, and his, legacy will be after declaring bankruptcy... View Details

Keywords: Borrowing and Debt; Private Equity; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Leading Change; Operations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Ownership; Performance Improvement; Consumer Products Industry