Publications

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August 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Dirk Nowitzki: Changing the Game

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt and Evan M.S. Hecht

NBA Superstar Dirk Nowitzki was unsure whether the 2018–2019 season would be his last as an NBA player. He had not faced such uncertainty since 1998, when he had navigated a difficult decision regarding the timing of his move to the NBA. He also did not know what he... View Details

Keywords: Career Decisions; Career Journey; ＂Sports Organizations,; Mentoring; Retirement; Sports; Performance; Training; Personal Development and Career; Sports Industry; United States

Educators

September 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 4: Organizing for Performance

This module reading explores the implications of different business models on organization design. After discussing the distinction between units focused on work processes and those devoted to markets, the analysis provides insight as to when to organize businesses by... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Customer Focused Organization; Specialization; Span Of Control; Span Of Accountability; Span Of Attention; Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure

28 Jan 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Agglomerative Forces and Cluster Shapes

Keywords: by William R. Kerr & Scott Duke Kominers; Technology

June 2025
Case

Kevin Love and the Kevin Love Fund: Inspiring People to Live Their Healthiest Lives

By: Anita Elberse and Riyanka Ganguly

In March 2025, professional basketball player Kevin Love learned the latest numbers for what was to date the most eye-catching initiative of his foundation, the Kevin Love Fund: a mental health campaign revolving around a short, animated film—The Spider Within: A... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Media; Sports; Health ＆ Wellness; Campaigns; Partnerships

Educators

November 2016 (Revised March 2018)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 9: Building a Balanced Scorecard

This module reading explains how to construct a strategy map and build a balanced scorecard. Using an internal value chain model, the module illustrates how a balanced scorecard can support and enable customer management, innovation, operations, and post-sale service... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Performance Measurement; Strategy Map; Business Goals; Customer Measures; Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Business Model

July 2005
Case

Harvard Business School and the Making of a New Profession

By: Rakesh Khurana, Tarun Khanna and Daniel Penrice

Since its founding in 1908, Harvard Business School's mission has been to perform a much-needed service for American society by turning business management into a profession. One of the most important factors in the founding of HBS and the nation's other new business... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Mission and Purpose; Alignment; Social Issues; Practice

Educators

16 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

As AI Upends Recruiting, Job Seekers Need a Waze App for Careers

transition is urgently required if more young people are to launch successful careers that will lead to economic security. “What’s left are the things that are hard to automate, called foundational or human skills.” Even as unemployment... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Information Technology; Technology

30 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 30, 2007

Working PapersRecognizing the New: A Multi-Agent Model of Analogy in Strategic Decision-Making Authors:Giovanni Gavetti and Massimo Warglien Abstract In novel environments, strategic decision-making is often premised on analogy, and recognition lies at its heart.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Selling your Heritage: The Challenge of Legacy Divestitures

This paper studies companies that diversify away from and later divest their historical cores, or "legacy" businesses. There are many reasons a firm might undertake this strategy, including a concentration of the legacy business in a declining... View Details

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 14: Managing Strategic Risk

This module reading provides an overview of the business conduct boundaries, strategic boundaries, and internal control systems used to manage risk. Boundary systems—linked to clear, enforceable sanctions—are essential whenever demanding performance goals are set and... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Boundary Systems; Innovation; Internal Controls; Fraud; Human Behavior; Staff Experts; Strategy; Risk Management; Behavior; Governance Controls; Management Practices and Processes; Boundaries; Employees; Business Strategy; Innovation and Invention

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 7: Designing Asset Allocation Systems

This module reading provides tools and analyses for acquiring and allocating resources. The module begins by reviewing the importance of setting strategic boundaries as a basis for asset acquisitions. Next, a distinction is made between new assets acquired to meet... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Asset Allocation Systems; Payback; Discounted Cash Flow; Internal Rate Of Return; Strategic Investments; Analyzing Acquisitions; Strategy; Capital Budgeting

Article

Past, Present and Future Research on Multiple Identities: Toward an Intrapersonal Network Approach

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan

Psychologists, sociologists, and philosophers have long recognized that people have multiple identities—based on attributes such as organizational membership, profession, gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality, and family role(s) and that these multiple identities... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Research; Organizations; Identity

Find at Harvard

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March 2009 (Revised August 2010)
Case

The Posse Foundation: Implementing a Growth Strategy

The Posse Foundation selected high-potential, non-traditional students to attend selective colleges as part of a group of 10 from the same city. The organization had developed an ambitious growth plan, but because it focused on the most selective colleges, the pool of... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Higher Education; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Personal Development and Career; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry