Publications

November 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

ConAgra Foods: The Next Chapter

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

In 2005, CEO Bruce Rohde has almost completed the integration of ConAgra Foods' collection of 90 independent operating companies into a focused, value-added firm and was beginning to think about his successor. ConAgra had become the second largest food company and No.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Leading Change; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Food; Agribusiness; Product Marketing; Management Teams; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

2012
Chapter

Problem Solving and Search in Networks

By: David Lazer and Ethan Bernstein

This chapter examines the role that networks play in facilitating or inhibiting search for solutions to problems at both the individual and collective levels. At the individual level, search in networks enables individuals to transport themselves to a very different... View Details

Keywords: Network Organizations; Search; Problem Solving; Individual; Individuals And Teams; Collective; Cognitive Search; Network Search; Search Typology; Networks; Social and Collaborative Networks; Theory; Knowledge Sharing

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11 May 2010
First Look

First Look: May 11

Standard theories of corporate ownership assume that because markets are efficient, insiders ultimately bear agency costs and therefore have a strong incentive to minimize conflicts View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

Cheng, J. Yo-Jud, and Boris Groysberg Abstract—: Corporate directors and executives alike recognize that today’s pace of change continues to accelerate and that firms need to innovate to stay ahead. But are... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

August 1997 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Hewlett-Packard's Santa Rosa Systems Division (B): The Second Profiling Iteration

By: Michael Beer and Gregory C. Rogers

Describes the process of transforming a recently formed division of Hewlett-Packard. View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Transformation; Computer Industry

February 2023
Article

Maintaining Health Care Innovations After the Pandemic

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Barak D. Richman and Kevin A. Schulman

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the worst failings of the health care system, but it also stimulated a flurry of innovations that could lead to a much-improved delivery system. These were innovations that were born out of necessity: telemedicine access and use... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Health Care Industry; Health Care Outcomes; Innovation; Innovation In Healthcare Delivery; COVID; COVID-19 Pandemic; Pandemics; Telemedicine; Telehealth; Ambulatory Care; Vaccines; Innovation and Invention; Change; Health Industry

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July 1997
Supplement

Allentown Materials Corporation: The Electronic Products Division (C)

By: Michael Beer

Supplements the (A) and (B) cases. Designed as an in-class handout. A rewritten version of an earlier supplement. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Electronics Industry; United States

2009
Article

An Evolutionary Approach to Financial History

Financial history is not conventionally thought of in evolutionary terms, but it should be. Traditional ways of thinking about finance, dating back to Hilferding, emphasize the importance of concentration and economies of scale. But these approaches overlook the rich... View Details

Keywords: History; Transformation; Finance

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Article

The Store Is Dead—Long Live the Store

By: David R. Bell, Santiago Gallino and Antonio Moreno

In this article, we pursue two interconnected themes: the expansion of online-first retailers into offline stores that serve the purpose of “supercharging” customer value, and the transformation of the stores of offline-first retailers from... View Details

Keywords: Customer Experience; Inventory Control; Omnichannel Retailing; Online Marketing; Marketing Channels; Trends; Transformation; Digital Marketing; Retail Industry

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

23 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 23

when network effects lead to unfavorable expectations about supplier participation, whereas it is shifted towards the marketplace for long-tail products. We thus provide a theory of which products an... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

01 Mar 2009
News

The Case for Studying Financial History

at the current financial crisis in hopes of solving it? I draw a parallel between the natural world and the financial world in the concluding part of the book and sketch out a rough evolutionary View Details

Keywords: Roger Thompson; federal bailouts; Administration of Economic Programs; Administration of Economic Programs; Administration of Economic Programs

January 2010 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Transforming ASUSTeK: Breaking from the Past

By: Willy C. Shih, Ho Howard Yu and Hung-Chang Chiu

What happens when an original design manufacturer (ODM) firm tries to transform itself into a branded goods seller? The case traces the evolution of ASUSTeK from a motherboard supplier, to an ODM of desktop and notebook PCs, through its split into three companies that... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Disruptive Innovation; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Computer Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Taiwan

July 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Washington Hospital Center (D): Emergency Medicine After September 11

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Michelle Heskett

The all-risks-ready emergency room prototype project becomes widely accepted as a need after September 11, 2001. The already operational medical informatics system, Insight, comes under heavy demand after its strong performance during crises and is noticed by various... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Medical Specialties; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Technological Innovation; Higher Education; Performance Productivity; Health Industry; District of Columbia

November 2000 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Meg Whitman at eBay Inc. (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

Meg Whitman takes over as CEO of eBay from the founder. She must figure out how to lead the company through a stage of phenomenal growth without compromising eBay's unique external customer culture and internal culture--its key success factors. A rewritten version of... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Success

12 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 12, 2006

theories of social influence, socialization, and status dynamics to examine how proximity to colleagues in commercial science influences individuals' propensity to transition to entrepreneurship. To expose... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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

November 2003 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Ottawa Devices, Inc. (A)

By: Henry B. Reiling and Harry Clegg Midgley IV

A master plan accommodating two retiring brothers, the brother who will remain as president, third-generation family members, employees, philanthropic interests, and company imperatives must be developed by second-generation brothers who are controlling shareholders... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Change Management; Transition; Management Succession; Management Teams; Retirement; Conflict of Interests