Publications

April 21, 2023
Article

When Scenario Planning Fails

By: Kalle Heikkinen, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin, Panu Routila and Eemil Rupponen

How can organizations perform scenario planning when they are hit by shocks outside of leaders’ field of vision? Interviews with Nordic executives, who experienced both the Covid-19 pandemic and were in close proximity to Russia as the country invaded Ukraine, can... View Details

Keywords: Planning; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Forecasting and Prediction; System Shocks; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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17 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Advice for the New CEO: Talk to Your Employees Early and Often

to research by Harvard Business School Professor Raffaella Sadun. “A CEO transition is a major organizational event, and communication inside the company is such an important aspect of that transition.”... View Details

Keywords: by Ami Albernaz

October 2009
Case

A Big (Double) Deal: Anadarko's Acquisition of Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Curtis Rising

On June 23, 2006, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation announced that it was simultaneously acquiring two public companies, Kerr-McGee and Western Gas Resources, in all-cash deals. The total price was about $24 billion, a figure close to Anadarko's market cap at the time.... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Model; Transformation; Negotiation; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Alignment; Valuation; Energy Industry; United States

05 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 5, 2017

actionable advice on more robust policies that drive both structural change and competitiveness upgrading. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53152 Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner

venture capitalists want more from their clients in terms of an ownership stake or in terms of meeting tougher performance benchmarks? Gompers and Lerner: Many of the changes in the venture capital industry... View Details

Keywords: by Carol Elsen; Financial Services

June 1995
Case

Northern Telecom and Netas (B): Transferring Technology to Central Asia

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Kalman D. Applbaum and Pamela A. Yatsko

In the early 1990s, the Turkish telecommunications firm, Netas, established joint ventures in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan as miniature replications of Netas's own experience on the receiving end of technology transfer with Netas's 51% owner, Northern Telecom. This case... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Change Management; Transition; Developing Countries and Economies; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Learning; Technology Adoption; Telecommunications Industry; Turkey; Kazakhstan; Azerbaijan

February 2010
Case

Corporate Strategy at Berkshire Partners

By: Julie M. Wulf and Scott Waggoner

The managing directors of Berkshire Partners, a mid-sized private equity firm, address strategic and organizational challenges in response to turbulent market conditions, rapid firm growth, and the transition of leadership from its founding partners to the next... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Boston

March 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Merck Latin America (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Introduces Grey Warner, the vice president of Merck's Latin America region, and his efforts to improve the organizational effectiveness of the region and to introduce a more global business culture and values. Discusses Merck's ethics and values, its Latin American... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Ethics; Business Processes; Strategic Planning; Change Management; Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Employee Relationship Management; Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Economy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America

September 2005
Case

Whitbread PLC (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Describes the change process Whitbread employed in transforming its organization and culture from a single underperforming business operating in a relatively stable environment to a multibusiness, high-commitment, and high-performance corporation operating in more... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business or Company Management; Leadership; Diversification

May 2002 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Garanti Bank: Transformation in Turkey (Abridged)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Daniel Galvin and Maximilian Martin

Discusses the complete transformation and turnover in every division of Garanti Bank. Describes the multiple change projects managed and cross-cultural issues confronted during the 1990s and the organizational challenge of transforming Garanti Bank into one of Turkey's... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Restructuring; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Banking Industry; Turkey

14 Aug 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 14, 2018

the startup struggles with various operational and cultural organizational tensions. These challenges are described from the perspective of the founders and through the eyes of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Teaching Interest

Overview

Core strategy, competitive strategy, organizational economics, strategic change and innovation, international business, non-profit management, non-market strategy View Details

February 2003
Case

Whitbread Hotel Company (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Alan Parker has developed an effective organization using organizational fitness profiling and other change methodologies. Parker knows that as Whitbread continues to grow, both internally and through acquisitions, the company will have to change its organization... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Growth Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Integration

Find at Harvard

December 2012
Course Overview Note

Entrepreneurial Management in a Turnaround Environment (EMTE) Fall 2012: Course Overview and Syllabus

Course Overview and Syllabus in the Fall Term 2012 for the Entrepreneurial Management in a Turnaround Environment (EMTE) course. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Turnarounds; Bankruptcy Reorganization; Bankruptcy; Small ＆ Medium-sized Enterprises; Careers; Entrepreneurial Finance; Distressed Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture

10 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 10, 2017

watch a series of real, crime-related videos (while the control group watches non-crime-related videos). Not previously victimized participants exposed to the treatment video show significant changes in cortisol level, heart rate, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 19

Change: The Expansion of Primary Education in India By: Mangla, Akshay Abstract—This article analyzes India’s recent enactment of universal primary education. This programmatic policy change is puzzling given the clientelistic features of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Linking the Globe: The Role of Media and Communications

If proof was needed that change is afoot in the worldwide media industry, it came in the form of late alterations to a panel on the subject at the HBS Global Alumni Conference. CEOs Jean-Marie Messier of France's Vivendi View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss; Information; Publishing; Journalism & News; Media & Broadcasting

25 Jun 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

FIELD Trip: Conquering the Gap Between Knowing and Doing

learned, take action based upon these lessons, then adapt and iterate and react to what they observed." Enter FIELD. First proposed at the end of 2010, the idea was so... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Education

1994
Chapter

The Virtual Organization: Bureaucracy, Technology, and the Implosion of Control

By: N. Nohria and J. D. Berkley

Keywords: Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Power and Influence