Publications

03 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 3

consumers' identification with the brand, 2) greater for consumers who strongly self-identify as underdogs, 3) stronger when consumers are purchasing for themselves vs. others, and 4) stronger in cultures in which underdog narratives are... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Business History - Faculty & Research

Development Strategy ; Knowledge Sharing ; Industry Growth ; Monopoly ; Organizational Culture ; Supply Chain Management ; Partners and Partnerships ; Risk and Uncertainty ; Adaptation ; Commercialization ;... View Details

October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

ghSMART & Co: Building and Scaling a Time Smart Firm

By: Ashley Whillans and Sara Coronel Rodriguez

"For ghSMART, freedom is the first principle from which all good things flow”—Geoff Smart, Chairman and Founder, ghSMART. ghSMART was a leadership advisory firm that was grounded in the principle of freedom. Talented Consultants and Partners could work remotely from... View Details

Keywords: Time; Consulting Firms; Time Management; Talent and Talent Management; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Organizational Culture; Going Public; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion; Reputation

2020
Book

Fit to Compete: Why Honest Conversations About Your Company's Capabilities Are the Key to a Winning Strategy

By: Michael Beer

Is Silence Killing Your Strategy?
In his thirty years of working in corporations, Harvard Business School professor Michael Beer has witnessed firsthand how organizational silence derails strategic objectives. When employees can't speak truth to power, senior... View Details

Keywords: Honesty; Communication; Organizational Culture; Trust; Strategy; Performance Effectiveness

Find at Harvard

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supercell 2.0: Clash of Plans

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2010, Supercell was a Helsinki, Finland-based mobile gaming company that had developed and launched five global hit mobile games: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Hay Day, Brawl Stars, and Boom Beach. The company’s early philosophy was that it could produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Video Game Industry; Finland

August 2014 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Teaming at Disney Animation

By: Amy C. Edmondson, David L. Ager, Emily Harburg and Natalie Bartlett

Jonathan Geibel, Director of Systems at Walt Disney Animation Studios (hereafter referred to as Disney Animation), walked through the workspace occupied by the group he had been tasked to lead. Geibel knew he was part of a creative and magical environment. The Disney... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Creativity; Organizational Structure; Animation Entertainment; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

Web

General Management - Faculty & Research

Organizational Culture ; Leadership ; Competency and Skills ; Global Strategy ; Multinational Firms and Management ; Human Resources ; Compensation and Benefits ; Recruitment ; Retention ; Employee... View Details

Web

2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

introduction of larger bases and a pitch clock. In this live taping of the HBS alumni podcast, Skydeck , Marinak talks about what it is like to lead change at a historic brand, how to build and nurture an organizational View Details

Web

Business & Environment - Faculty & Research

consequences of a range of alternative policies. 2015 Book Leading Sustainable Change: An Organizational Perspective By: Rebecca Henderson , Ranjay Gulati and Michael Tushman The business case for acting sustainably is becoming... View Details

11 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

A World of Difference: What Keeps Companies from Becoming More Inclusive

Frances Frei, the UPS Foundation Professor of Service Management, is an expert in the intersection of leadership and inclusion. Francesca Gino, the Tandon Family Professor of Business Administration, studies how people can lead more productive, fulfilling lives. Last... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint

10 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 10

questions about organizational structure, marketing strategy, product and service design, and return on investment. What would it take to be a truly digital organization where digital was the norm? Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2023
What Do You Think?

Will Hybrid Work Strategies Pull Down Long-Term Performance?

academics and practitioners? Does it have something to do with the notion that remote work has the potential to compromise the so-called “soft side” of the organization, its culture or, if you wish, its soul? Is there some kind of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

31 Mar 2022
Op-Ed

Navigating the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ in Professional Services

in large firms. However, the transition from informal to formal management is difficult and changes the culture of the firm. Several firms find it difficult to navigate this transition. [div class=infogram-embed... View Details

Keywords: by Ashish Nanda

01 Mar 2023
What Do You Think?

How Much Does 'Deep Purpose' Matter to the Bottom Line?

Practitioners like former Johnson & Johnson CEO James Burke endorsed it, academics like Edgar Schein of MIT gave it a more definitive definition, and several of us put a value on it. Since then, the importance of organizational View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

How a Juicy Brand Came Back to Life

conclusion that many marketing professionals are likely to resist: There is a vital interplay between the challenge a brand faces and the culture of the corporation that owns it. When brand and culture fall... View Details

Keywords: by John Deighton; Food & Beverage

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

Business leaders can't develop and execute effective strategy without first gathering the right information, says Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution, Simons explains how... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

17 Apr 2022
Book

How to Avoid the 'Ethical Slide' That Leads Companies Astray

Company managers have likely heard the old quip: Business ethics is a contradiction in terms. That’s because too often, business is viewed as a hard-hearted enterprise, driven by getting ahead at all costs, even if that means cutting ethical corners. But that attitude... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

February 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Theranos: The Unicorn That Wasn't

By: Joseph B. Fuller and John Masko

In 2003, 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes founded a startup dedicated to making blood testing easier and more affordable. By 2015, her company, Theranos, was worth $9 billion. It boasted a star-studded board and contracts with national pharmacy and supermarket chains... View Details

Keywords: Theranos; Blood; Lab Testing; Fraud; Holmes; Balwani; Shultz; Carreyrou; Securities And Exchange Commission; Food And Drug Administration; FDA; SEC; Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry