Publications

October 2015
Article

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Companies

By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

The evolution of products into intelligent, connected devices is revolutionizing business. In a November 2014 article, "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition," Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter and PTC president and CEO James... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Operations; Business Strategy

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Strategy Execution Online Course | HBS Online

Apply techniques to help your business innovate and adapt to change while maintaining clear focus and retaining necessary controls. Highlights Using Control Systems Interactively Discussing Challenges in San Jose Choosing a System to Use... View Details

13 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The Unlikely Upside of Mergers: More Diverse Management Teams

Employees often feel stressed when their firms are bought by other companies, fearing they could face layoffs, demotions, or lousy working conditions. While it’s true that organizations tend to restructure their workforce following mergers and acquisitions, these... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

November 2002 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Intel Corporation: 1968-2003

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, David B. Yoffie and Sasha Mattu

Describes three stages in Intel's history: the initial success and then collapse in DRAMs and EPROMs, its transition to and dominance in microprocessors, and its move to become the main supplier of the building blocks for the Internet economy. Allows a rich discussion... View Details

Keywords: History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Internet and the Web; Information Technology; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Industry Structures; Information Technology Industry; Technology Industry

02 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

The Secret of How Microsoft Stays on Top

challenges. The first is in recognizing the threats (and opportunities) presented by newly emerging technologies. The second is in mounting an effective response to these threats. Microsoft appears to have solved these problems, giving it the ability to quickly View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

September 2017 (Revised March 2023)
Case

Careem: Raising a Unicorn

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Alpana Thapar

This case follows two ex-McKinsey consultants, Magnus Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha, who in search of their true purpose decide to found Careem, a Dubai-based ride-hailing service. Following its launch in July 2012, Careem experiences rapid growth of 30% per month in the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Technology; Organizational Culture; Decision Making; Growth Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Transportation Industry; Technology Industry; Middle East; North Africa; United Arab Emirates

October 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Data Science at Target

By: Srikant M. Datar and Caitlin N. Bowler

Paritosh Desai joined Target.com in 2013 as VP of Business Intelligence, Analytics & Testing to explore how the retailer could use its relatively small but thriving e-commerce arm to drive sales and win customers. The case explores the technological and organizational... View Details

Keywords: Data Science; Analytics and Data Science; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Innovation Leadership

22 Mar 2017
HBS Seminar

Gerald C. Kane, Boston College

07 Dec 2022
Blog Post

2022 Climate Symposium: Tackling Climate Together

discussions featuring industry experts in the following areas: Energy Transition; Ag-Tech Innovations; Consumer Driven Sustainability; Living with Climate Change; Early Stage Climate Investing; Scaling Carbon Markets; Climate Mitigation & View Details

2010
Book

Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads

By: Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin and Patrick Cullen

"Business Schools Face Test of Faith." "Is It Time to Retrain B-Schools?" As these headlines make clear, business education is at a major crossroads. For decades, MBA graduates from top-tier schools set the standard for cutting-edge business knowledge and skills. Now... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges

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January 2011
Case

Clean Edge Razor: Splitting Hairs in Product Positioning

By: John A. Quelch and Heather Beckham

After three years of development, Paramount Health and Beauty Company is preparing to launch a new technologically advanced vibrating razor called Clean Edge. The innovative new design of Clean Edge provides superior performance by stimulating the hair follicles to... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Conflict Management; Product Positioning; Marketing Strategy; Relationships; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry

January 1995 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Charlotte Beers at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide (A)

By: Herminia M. Ibarra and Nicole Sackley

Examines Beer's actions on assuming leadership of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, the world's sixth largest advertising agency, during a period of rapid industry change and organizational crisis. Focuses on how Beers, the first outsider CEO, engages and leads a senior team... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Advertising; Organizational Structure; Advertising Industry

January 1988 (Revised January 2007)
Background Note

Leading Change

By: Michael Beer

Presents a conceptual framework for understanding the process of leading organizational change. Change leaders must create dissatisfaction with the status quo, develop a vision of the future state, and manage a process that sequences and orchestrates events and changes... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Leading Change

August 2023
Case

Reimagining Hindustan Unilever (A)

By: Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

In the fall of 2019, the CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm, is wondering what to do about their experiments to digitize distribution. Despite three years of intense efforts, their apps to empower retailers... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Leading Change; Distribution; Decisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Consumer Behavior; E-commerce; Competition; Performance; Business Strategy; Marketing; Transformation; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; India

April 2021
Case

Etsy: Crafting a Turnaround to Save the Business and Its Soul

By: Ranjay Gulati, Luciana Silvestri and Monte Burke

Etsy, the online seller of handmade goods, was founded in 2005 on an almost utopian ideal—a responsible, caring company that offered individual crafters a place to sell their wares, a wholesome alternative to companies that sold mass-manufactured products. The company... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Organizational Culture; Financial Condition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Transformation; Leadership

Web

Working Groups Update | About

of sessions, adapted to meet the needs of different audiences at the School. And, the group will explore ways to develop our own educational content about antisemitism and how best to incorporate it into our pedagogy. Our aim is to... View Details

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Organizational Leadership Course | HBS Online

cohort-based learning experience with a diverse global network. 1 year, 5-9 hrs/week Apply by September 10th, Enroll by September 13 $15,000 (four installments of $3,750) Credential Leadership Principles Professors Joshua Margolis & Anthony Mayo Learn to bring out the... View Details

10 Aug 2009
Research & Ideas

High Commitment, High Performance Management

focused winning strategy to stick with through good times and bad regardless of attractive opportunities outside their field, though clearly adaptations of the strategy will be needed. HCHP firms are clear about who they are and committed... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2014
Case

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee... View Details