Publications

03 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Cut Payroll Costs with Transparency, Fairness, and Compassion

2020 has been a challenging year for leaders, their companies, and their employees. When we asked 600 CEOs earlier this year what keeps them awake at night during this global pandemic, many cited the need to reduce expenses, including payroll costs, in response to... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

April 2005 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Furman Selz LLC (A): A Tale of Two Acquisitions

By: Nancy D. Beaulieu, Boris Groysberg and Kyle Doherty

Profiles a firm that was reacquired by two companies with different degrees of success. Highlights integration challenges present in acquisition deals when the primary assets of the target are human capital. Focuses on Furman Selz's acquisition by Xerox in 1987; its... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Transition; Valuation; Human Capital; Compensation and Benefits; Integration; Organizational Culture; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States

12 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 12

influence a team's knowledge-integration capability. We test our theoretical framework using data on knowledge workers in professional services and discuss implications for research and practice. Manage the Culture Cycle Author:James L.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2019 (Revised November 2024)
Case

Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Christina R. Wing, Emilie Fournier and Anna Resman

This case covers the rise and fall of Theranos, the company founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2004 to revolutionize the blood testing industry by creating a device that could provide from a small finger prick the same results and accuracy as intravenous blood draws. As... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Entrepreneurship; Lawsuits and Litigation

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

Subcultures within organizations can differ as much as organizational cultures themselves. Most people have encountered a team that performs well above—or below—the View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

18 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 18

Organizational Forms and Community in the U.S. in 2005 Authors:Glenn R. Carroll and Magnus Thor Torfason Publication:City & Community 10, no. 1 (March 2011) Abstract Recent sociological theory and research highlights food, drink, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Dec 2006
First Look

First Look: December 12, 2006

populations. The authors call it "catalytic innovation." Based on Clayton Christensen's disruptive-innovation model, catalytic innovations challenge organizational incumbents by offering simpler, good-enough solutions aimed at... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

07 Dec 2021
Op-Ed

Want to Build Better Leaders? Focus on Mindset, Skills, Knowledge

Unfortunately, many organizations lack a strong development culture. They view leader development as a tactical issue instead of a strategic imperative. In contrast, companies with strong development cultures invest in their middle... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and Shawnette Rochelle

January 2017 (Revised December 2017)
Case

Merging American Airlines and US Airways (A)

By: David G. Fubini, David A. Garvin and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In February 2013, US Airways announced that it would merge with American Airlines to create the world’s largest airline. Doug Parker, the CEO of US Airways, would become CEO of the new American Airlines Group (AAL). The case describes a number of critical decisions... View Details

Keywords: Airlines; Merger; Takeover; Integration Strategy; Merger Integration; Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Making; Governance; Management Teams; Operations; Organizational Culture; Air Transportation Industry; United States

August 1999 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Taran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin America (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

Eighteen months after launching Nickelodeon Latin America, general manager Taran Swan must leave the company's Miami headquarters for her New York home because of complications with her pregnancy. Unable to travel for at least the next six months, Swan must decide how... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Leadership Style; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams

September–October 1998
Article

How to Kill Creativity

By: T. M. Amabile

The article addresses the topic of business creativity, its benefits, and how managers can inspire it. The author's research shows that it is possible to develop the best of both worlds: organizations in which business imperatives are attended to and creativity... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Situation or Environment; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Culture; Management Practices and Processes

Find at Harvard

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Uncle Nearest: Creating a Legacy

By: Hise Gibson, Archie L. Jones, Nicole Gilmore and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Fawn Weaver, as a Black woman and industry outsider in a capital-intensive, highly regulated, competitive and male-dominated spirits industry, successfully overcame numerous obstacles to launch a premium American whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest in 2017, which became the... View Details

04 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 4

Abstract—What is the relationship between product prices and vertical integration? While the literature has focused on how integration affects prices, this paper shows that prices can affect integration. Many theories in organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Article

The Business Case for Curiosity

By: Francesca Gino

Although leaders might say they value inquisitive minds, in reality most stifle curiosity, fearing it will increase risk and inefficiency. Harvard Business School’s Francesca Gino elaborates on the benefits of and common barriers to curiosity in the workplace and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Employees; Creativity; Cognition and Thinking; Learning; Decision Making; Performance Effectiveness

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

29 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

How Organizations Create Social Value

management and personnel, they said. What creates superior performance management? Attention to outcomes. Focus on stakeholders. (Surveys, satisfaction. How do funders and community perceive what we do?) Reversing a weak culture of... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

August 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

C3.ai—Driven to Succeed

By: Robert Simons and George Gonzalez

CEO Tom Siebel navigates his artificial intelligence (ai) startup through a series of pivots, market expansions, and even an elephant attack to become a leading platform ad service provider. The case describes his unusual management approach emphasizing employee... View Details

April 2022
Case

Mastercard: Creating a World Beyond Cash

By: Sunil Gupta, Linda A. Hill, Julia Kelley and Emily Tedards

In late 2021, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach and Chairman and former CEO Ajaypal “Ajay” Banga considered how Mastercard could best position itself for continued success in the years to come. Since Mastercard’s initial public offering in 2006, the company had grown and... View Details