Publications

April 2000
Supplement

GE's Two-Decade Transformation: Interview with Jack Welch, November 1999 (Video)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

An interview with Jack Welch on his views of the current status of GE's two-decade transformation and his changing role in leading it. Among topics discussed include his views of GE as a learning organization, the process of change that allowed GE's transformation to... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Change Management; Management Succession; Managerial Roles

2015
Organizational Change

Don Tomaskovic-Devey

Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

March 1995 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Smashing the Cube: Corporate Transformation at CIBA-GEIGY Ltd.

By: David J. Collis and Elizabeth Wynne Johnson

CIBA-GEIGY is a large, diversified multinational corporation that transforms itself in the 1990s through a massive structural and cultural change. The case describes the changes implemented and the processes used to effect change in portfolio, people, and structures.... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Change Management; Transformation; Investment Portfolio; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy

February 1, 2022
Article

Business Schools Must Do More to Address the Climate Crisis

By: Concepción Galdón, Knut Haanaes, Daniel Halbheer, Jennifer Howard-Grenville, Katell Le Goulven, Mike Rosenberg, Peter Tufano and Amelia Whitelaw

Business schools have much to contribute to the fight against climate change. They are experts in organizational transformation, performance measurement, operations, marketing, leadership, and governance. A group of eight business schools has come together to find... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Business Education; Environmental Sustainability; Education Industry

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June 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Case

Team Rubicon: Bridging the Gap from Startup to National Organization

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Dan Nidess

Team Rubicon, a military veteran volunteer disaster relief organization, has experienced significant success in attracting attention and support in its first four years of operation. The challenges of managing the volunteer base, the cost of responding to disasters,... View Details

Keywords: Growth Strategy And Execution; Disaster Relief; NGO; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Non-Governmental Organizations

June 2011
Article

Stepping into the Unknown: How Companies Learn through Risk Management

By: Anette Mikes

Risk management can add value through the continuous questioning of existing controls, strategies, and scenarios. The article outlines a new framework for risk management predicated on the notion of organizational learning, and illustrates it by a case study of a... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Framework; Governance Controls; Risk Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

May 1992 (Revised August 1996)
Case

NIKE in Transition (A): The Ascendancy of Bob Woodell

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Explores Bob Woodell's tenure as Nike's first COO. Describes development of Woodell's management style, his attempts to develop the organization, and his responses to unforeseen business problems. Changing market forces, new competitors, a build-up of low-end... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Crisis Management; Management Style; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Evaluation; Competition

2015
Reducing Bias

Emilio Castilla

January 1993 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Frito-Lay, Inc.: A Strategic Transition (Consolidated)

By: Lynda M. Applegate

The setting is a food manufacturing company that has stumbled in terms of its historic growth and profit achievements. In trying to recapture its momentum, the president has used information technology as one element in his program of transition. The case focuses on... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Transition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; Manufacturing Industry

Article

Repositioning and Cost-Cutting: The Impact of Competition on Platform Strategies

By: Robert Seamans and Feng Zhu

Organizational structures are increasingly complex. In particular, more firms today operate as multi-sided platforms. In this paper, we study how platform firms use repositioning and cost-cutting in response to competition, elucidate external and internal factors that... View Details

Keywords: Platform Strategy; Repositioning; Cost-cutting; Intra-firm Learning; Multi-Sided Platforms; Cost Management; Product Positioning; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Knowledge Acquisition; Journalism and News Industry

Find at Harvard

22 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 22

their accounts of social change good examples of multi-level theorizing. Some scholars are practiced and immersed in thinking about organizational phenomena through a positive lens; for others it was a total... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Research Summary

Overview

Patient Portals: The Provider Role
Patient portals are widespread, but evidence of impact is limited. In this study, we use a large dataset spanning 2 years and >1 million patients across 650 primary care practices to explore the "other side" of portals: health... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare Technology; Electronic Health Records; Health Care Delivery

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

November 1991 (Revised June 1992)
Case

AT&T: The Dallas Works (B)

Describes the innovative use of a cross-level team as a tool for driving change at a troubled AT&T plant. After the team is disbanded, the case raises questions about the group's achievements, and about how well the organization is positioned to tackle the changes that... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Groups and Teams; Telecommunications Industry; Texas

2021
Working Paper

Time Dependency, Data Flow, and Competitive Advantage

By: Ehsan Valavi, Joel Hestness, Marco Iansiti, Newsha Ardalani, Feng Zhu and Karim R. Lakhani

Data is fundamental to machine learning-based products and services and is considered strategic due to its externalities for businesses, governments, non-profits, and more generally for society. It is renowned that the value of organizations (businesses, government... View Details

Keywords: Economics Of AI; Value Of Data; Perishability; Time Dependency; Flow Of Data; Data Strategy; Analytics and Data Science; Value; Strategy; Competitive Advantage

SSRN

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July 2005 (Revised February 2007)
Exercise

Family Business System Action Planning Worksheet

By: John A. Davis

Assist in thinking critically about facilitators and inhibitors to goals and preparing for change in a family business system. View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Change Management; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Article

B Corps: Can It Remake Capitalism in Japan?

By: Geoffrey Jones

This article examines the B Corporation movement that originated in the United States in 2006. The founders sought to create a new type of company whose governance structure mandated them to consider financial, social and environmental performance. A certification... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Sustainability; B Corporations; Stakeholder Capitalism; Governance; Organizational Structure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Japan