Publications

SSRN

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1 Jul 2013
Panel Discussion

Master Class Session on Business and Investing in Africa

By: Euvin Naidoo, Pravin Gordhan, Nkosana Moyo, Moe Shaik, Polo Radebe and Cassim Coovadia

Annual Master Class Evening Session on: 'Business and Investment in Africa' - from Strategy to Execution Keynote address by Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan Led by South African Euvin Naidoo, who serves in his personal capacity as visiting faculty member at Wits... View Details

11 May 2009
Research & Ideas

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

company badly needs a jolt of energy and expertise to grow and to resuscitate its declining stock price. The chief executive who promoted Barton is hopeful but hard-nosed; and Barton's IT group—while talented and tech-savvy—is impatient,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Research Summary

Developing Organizational Capabilities to Compete

By: Michael Beer

Michael Beer’s current research focuses on the question of what makes an Effective Organization. Based on his extensive research and practice about this question Beer has identified six highly interrelated core capabilities:

Capacity of the... View Details

08 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Computer Science Principles Every Strategic Leader Needs to Know

says. Not only that, but “increasingly, the tech architectures inside firms are a source of competitive advantage.” Wu suggests executives study up on these five computer science principles—and leave the rest to their tech teams. 1. Think... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Technology; Information Technology

February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

LeapFrog Enterprises

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Elizabeth Collins

Explores the success factors leading to the company's rise to the number three ranking in the aggressively competitive toy industry. LeapFrog has made the strategic decision to expand beyond the toy industry and enter the educational technology and services industry.... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; Education Industry

Program

Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

strategic tradeoffs as you identify the resources and changes needed to execute your strategy Execute and coordinate strategy across multiple... View Details

01 Mar 2022
News

Is It Time for More Reverse Mentoring?

March 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Transforming Kimball International, Inc. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Kimball International, Inc. (KII), led by CEO Kristie Juster, and its board of directors, chaired by Kim Ryan, faced critical questions about KII’s future in the spring of 2021. Two years earlier, the board had appointed Juster as the new CEO of KII, a publicly traded,... View Details

September 1994
Supplement

Otis Elevator Company: China Joint Venture (E-2)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino

Describes what happened and presents the perspectives of the three executives who played key roles in the process. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Globalization; Global Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; China

Research Summary

Building Bridges: The Social Structure of Interdependent Innovation

Multidivisional firms often fail to take advantage of innovations that involve combining resources from distinct divisions. This failure of cross-line-of-business innovation is a consequence of design choices employed to execute the firm’s strategy: in organizing... View Details

Lynn S. Paine

Lynn Sharp Paine is a Baker Foundation Professor and John G. McLean Professor of Business Administration, Emerita, at Harvard Business School. A member and former chair of the General Management unit, she has served in numerous leadership positions including Senior... View Details

02 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Gear: Why Managers Don’t Act

re-tooled to successful and profitable strategic ends. In Revival of the Fittest, he draws on his extensive global research in such diverse industries as personal computers, brewing, tires, and consumer banking to outline the pitfalls that managers should be aware of... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January–February 2021
Article

Compensation Packages That Actually Drive Performance

By: Boris Groysberg, Sarah Abbott, Michael R. Marino and Metin Aksoy

By aligning executives’ financial incentives with company strategy, a firm can inspire its management to deliver superior results. But it can be hard to get pay packages right. In this article four experts break down the key elements of compensation and explain how to... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Strategy; Performance

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09 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Got a New Strategy? Now Make it Happen

years ago we launched a research program to develop a process that leaders could use to engage their people in an honest conversation. The "strategic fitness process" was designed in partnership with senior executives to enhance... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer & Russell A. Eisenstat

March 1999 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Environmental Risk Management at Chevron Corporation

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Monica M Mandelli and Jennifer Burns

Chevron Corp., headquartered in San Francisco, manages a worldwide, vertically integrated value chain from the oil well to the gasoline station. Mishandling of oil at any stage of production can damage the natural environment, human health, corporate profitability, or... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Generation; Supply Chain Management; Metals and Minerals; Management Systems; Management Teams; Trade; Vertical Integration; Energy Industry; Mining Industry

14 Feb 2012
News

Where's the Boss? Trapped in a Meeting

August 2021 (Revised April 2022)
Case

KKR

By: Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

In June of 2021, KKR’s executive team convened to prepare for an upcoming board meeting. From a small, three-person partnership that started in 1976 and invested only in U.S. LBOs, the firm 45 years later was a public company that employed over 1,600 people and managed... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Public Equity; Globalized Markets and Industries; Growth and Development Strategy; Profit; Strategy; Finance; Private Equity; United States