Publications

February 1989 (Revised November 1991)
Case

Science Technology Co.--1985

By: Thomas R. Piper

The CEO of a U.S. electronics firm is assessing the financial forecasts and the financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Given the cyclicality of the industry and the volatility of the firm's performance, the CEO is unsure as to the usefulness of... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Change Management; Industry Growth; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Strategy; Volatility; Electronics Industry

30 Nov 2021
Blog Post

Searching for Professional Passion Through My VC Summer Internship

responsibility than ever before. Capitalism has played a pivotal part in creating societal problems ranging from climate change to curtailment of civil liberties. The next generation View Details

01 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Immigrant Innovators: Job Stealers or Job Creators?

of the University of Michigan. The researchers set out to quantify the impact of changes in annual H-1B admission levels from 1995 to 2008, when... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Technology

05 Apr 2016
First Look

April 5, 2016

are consistent with economic theory and reconcile conflicting evidence from an extensive literature on the effects of competition on innovation, with implications for R&D policy, competition policy, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthlorne

31 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 31

Abstract tIn this paper, we consider how the structures of tasks and teams interact to affect team performance. We study the effects of diversity in experience on a team's ability to respond to task View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Apr 2007
What Do You Think?

Will Market Forces Stop Global Warming?

Clearly, my effort to frame the discussion around just the third question failed. As George Olsen said, "A lot of the people posting to this discussion appear to have missed the point." But responses have prompted me to wonder... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

10 Jun 2014
First Look

First Look: June 10

regional influences were more important, supporting sociological theories about the importance of visibility in corporate green strategies. It identifies major commonalities between corporate strategies in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 19, 2006

distribution will fundamentally change the number and variety of products that consumers purchase. However, there is sharp disagreement about what type of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Nov 2007
First Look

First Look: November 20, 2007

we call "design-driven innovation." This strategy aims at radically changing the emotional and symbolic content of products, i.e., their meanings and languages, through a deep understanding View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments Corp.

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Describes the efforts of a manufacturer of scientific instruments to implement new methods of managing new product development, which its executives had learned in a Harvard Business School seminar. The executives left the seminar excited to implement a new way of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; United States

December 2001 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Ben Fiorentino: Selling the Family Business

The caseescribes the challenges Ben Fiorentino, the second-generation head of a family-run equipment business, must deal with as he decides whether and how to sell the business. The business is encountering classic problems that confront family-owned firms: The third... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Negotiation; Business Exit or Shutdown; Management Teams; Agency Theory

18 Oct 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Racial Diversity Initiatives in Professional Service Firms: What Factors Differentiate Successful from Unsuccessful Initiatives?

Keywords: by Modupe Akinola & David A. Thomas; Service

13 Oct 2015
First Look

October 13, 2015

James Heppelmann looked at how this shift is changing the structure of industries and forcing firms to rethink their strategies. In this companion article, the authors look at the effects inside firms,... View Details

January 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Chemours (A)

By: David G. Fubini and David Lane

The July 2015 spin-off of DuPont’s performance chemicals division as the independent company Chemours burdened new CEO Mark Vergnano and his team with perilous challenges. Despite market-leading offerings in several areas, the company faced a glutted market for its... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Chemicals; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Chemical Industry; United States

January 2022 (Revised October 2023)
Case

OneTen: One Million Careers for Black Talent (A)

By: Boris Groysberg, V. Kasturi Rangan, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman

The OneTen case study examines the nonprofit organization’s origin story. Its founding team includes a roster of corporate superstars—Ken Chenault (former CEO of American Express), Ken Frazier (former CEO of Merck), Charles Phillips (chair of Infor), Ginni Rometty... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Demographics; Ethics; Organizations; Social Enterprise; Society; Business or Company Management; Nonprofit Organizations

October 1990 (Revised April 1998)
Case

John Smithers at Sigtek

Describes an ill-fated effort to institute a total quality program. Using the vantage point of one of the managers selected to be a quality instructor, the case traces the rise and fall of the quality effort during its very brief existence over the course of six... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Change Management; Performance

January 2008 (Revised July 2008)
Case

The Allstate Corporation

By: John R. Wells

In 2007, Allstate was the number two property and casualty insurer in the USA and had enjoyed five years of rapid profit improvement. The question facing CEO Thomas J. Wilson was how to maintain the momentum. This case tracks the evolution of Allstate's strategy over... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Institutions; Insurance; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry