Publications

2008
Thesis

Being B-Boys: Style, Identity, and Respect Among New England and Miami Street Dancers

By: Curtis K. Chan

This study examines the phenomenon of a street dance known as "b-boying" to explore how dancers locate, negotiate, and perform identities, as well as the tensions that occur concomitantly. Drawing on data from participant-observation, interviews, and diverse archival... View Details

Keywords: Social Psychology; Identity; Negotiation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Boundaries; Conflict and Resolution; Arts; Northeastern United States; Miami

February 2012
Case

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case illustrates a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Performance Appraisals; Human Resource Management; Values; Organizational Transformations; Pay For Performance; Strategy Execution; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits

11 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

When Parents Tell Kids to ‘Work Hard,’ Do They Send the Wrong Message?

“Work hard, and you’ll be successful.” How often do we tell children that the key to success is putting forth effort? That advice might seem like admirable inspiration to encourage kids to work hard as they pursue their goals. However, new research View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

September 2015 (Revised March 2016)
Case

Intuit: Turbo Tax PersonalPro - A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Joseph Fuller and Michael Roberts

The case provides a vehicle for teaching about both corporate intrapreneurship and the use of lean startup methods. It tells the story of a product manager within Intuit who develops an idea for a new product that spans two of the company's existing business... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Business or Company Management; Applications and Software; Accounting; Product Development; Financial Services Industry

June 2004 (Revised June 2006)
Supplement

Vertex Pharmaceuticals: R&D Portfolio Management (A)

By: Gary P. Pisano, Lee Fleming and Eli Strick

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a drug discovery company that recently decided to pursue a vertically integrated business model, chose to build up its clinical development and commercial capabilities and infrastructure. For the first time in its history, Vertex will... View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Investment Portfolio; Pharmaceutical Industry

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Bringing the Environment Down to Earth

Treating environmental issues as business problems sounds straightforward, but it's not easy. The following assumptions, all of which are common in business thinking, make it... View Details

Keywords: by Forest Reinhardt

November 2017
Case

The Digital Factory – Siemens: Electronic Works Amberg

By: Rajiv Lal and Scott F. Johnson

The Electronic Works Amberg (EWA) was Siemens' most advanced factory. The plant built industrial automation equipment using state-of-the-art manufacturing techniques. Siemens was considering creating a consulting business for its manufacturing clients. Given the EWA's... View Details

Keywords: Siemens; Internet Of Things; Industrie 4.0; Manufacturing; Consulting; Digital Factory; Ewa; Amberg; Electronic Works Amberg; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Internet and the Web; Production; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Technology Industry; Germany

Program

Launching New Ventures

managerial skills needed to make sound investment decisions, manage rapid change, and ensure the success of your new enterprise throughout its lifecycle. Details Conceive, launch, and grow a successful new venture Analyze, prioritize, and determine the feasibility of... View Details

Negotiate 1-2-3

Drawing on my book, The Art of Negotiation, the Negotiation 1-2-3 web project provides business practitioners, MBA students, and other learners, an interactive, online resource for improving their negotiation skills. The site’s numeric name reflects three... View Details

July 2022
Case

boAt Lifestyle

By: Rajiv Lal and Kairavi Dey

boAt began as a lifestyle brand in the consumer electronics category in 2016 with the aim of bringing affordable, durable, and fashionable audio products and accessories to millennials and Gen-Z customers in India. Born in 2016 with Amazon India as its only sales... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Initial Public Offering; Digital Marketing; Product Development; Product Marketing; Business or Company Management; Electronics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Web Services Industry; Asia; India

Program

Designing and Executing Corporate Revitalization

transformation. If your company is at an inflection point, how do you proceed? Will your business be held back by old ways of thinking or is it willing to embrace new frontiers? Will your company be static and hesitant View Details

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Make Restructuring Work for Your Company

protection in Thailand, Alphatec Electronics Pcl had over 1,200 different secured and unsecured creditors, located in dozens of countries. And restructuring often produces wholesale changes View Details

Keywords: by Stuart C. Gilson

25 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

Fool vs. Jerk: Whom Would You Hire?

When given the choice of whom to work with, people will pick one person over another for any number of reasons: the prestige of being associated with a star performer, for example, or the hope that spending time with a strategically placed superior will further their... View Details

Keywords: by Tiziana Casciaro & Miguel Sousa Lobo

15 Aug 2005
HBS Case

Classic Cases Live On at HBS

Everyone talks about how quickly business changes, yet some HBS cases remain reliably relevant decades after they are written. We take a behind-the-scenes look at five cases that are at least twenty years old, are still regularly taught... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

Web

Value-Based Health Care - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

about value-based health care. Here we publish links to major value oriented organizations in health care. American College of Surgeons' THRIVE Initiative On July 18, 2019, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Harvard View Details

April 2020 (Revised October 2020)
Case

Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr, Emilie Billaud and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

In February 2020, Nick Dalton, executive vice president HR business transformation at Unilever, reflected on the changing nature of work marked by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation. Launched in 2016, Unilever’s Future of Work... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Human Capital; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Human Resources; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

October 2008
Article

Creativity and the Role of the Leader

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Mukti Khaire

In today's innovation-driven economy, understanding how to generate great ideas has become an urgent managerial priority. Suddenly, the spotlight has turned on the academics who've studied creativity for decades. How relevant is their research to the practical... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Commercialization; Managerial Roles; Creativity; Innovation and Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Diversity

Find at Harvard

February 2018 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Omar Simmons: Franchising and Private Equity

By: Steven Rogers and Alyssa Haywoode

Omar Simmons, managing director of a private equity fund that owns 53 Planet Fitness Health Clubs, has to choose: continue in private equity or shift his career to managing and growing the health clubs. An African-American graduate of Princeton University and Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Diversity Characteristics; Ethnicity Characteristics; Health Club Franchises; African-american Entrepreneurs; Finance; Private Equity; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Motivation and Incentives; Personal Development and Career; Franchise Ownership; Consulting Industry; Boston

May 2010 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Kent Thiry: "Mayor" of DaVita

By: William W. George and Natalie Kindred

Kent Thiry, CEO of dialysis provider DaVita, is considering how to integrate employees from recently acquired Gambro Healthcare without damaging DaVita's robust, unconventional internal culture. When Thiry joined DaVita in 1999, breaking an important promise to his... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Experience and Expertise; Employee Relationship Management; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Integration; Health Industry