Publications

June 2021
Supplement

Reversing Course on a Reverse E-Auction (B)

By: Kym Lew Nelson, James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

Global consumer products powerhouse LSP has found enormous savings in a trial run of a new competitive bidding tool for their procurement organization known as a reverse e-auction. But when Jen Baldwin is asked to achieve the same savings from her suppliers for a... View Details

Keywords: Reverse E-auctions; Bids and Bidding; Auctions; Complexity; Cost vs Benefits

2020
Working Paper

Demystifying the Math of the Coronavirus

By: Elon Kohlberg and Abraham Neyman

We provide an elementary mathematical description of the spread of the coronavirus. We explain two fundamental relationships: How the rate of growth in new infections is determined by the “effective reproductive number” and how the effective reproductive number is... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus; Health Pandemics; Mathematical Methods

February 1994 (Revised May 1994)
Background Note

Exercising Influence

By: Linda A. Hill

Provides a framework for understanding the exercise of interpersonal influence in organizations. Describes some of the "myths and realities" of management that new managers discover--specifically, that managers are dependent on a complex network of relationships to get... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence

30 Aug 2021
News

How The Pandemic Could Give Workers More Leverage

February 2009 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Big Spaceship: Ready to Go Big?

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Big Spaceship, a digital marketing agency, faced a rather big challenge: How to scale the distinctive culture that was essential to its competitive strategy? Renowned for the cutting-edge websites that it developed to market major Hollywood movies and leading consumer... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Human Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation

September 2003
Case

Nelson Mandela, Turnaround Leader

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Euvin Naidoo

Nelson Mandela was the first democratically elected president of South Africa. He had to shift the culture of a country after the end of the apartheid regime, which enforced separation of the races and stifled freedom of the press. He established more open dialogue,... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Government and Politics; Governance; Policy; Political Elections; Culture; Communication Intention and Meaning; Relationships; Leadership Style; Welfare; South Africa

February 2008
Case

Campbell Soup Company: Selling Channel Innovation to Customers

Campbell Soup, like most food manufacturers, faced grocery chain and wholesale demand for its goods driven by Campbell's own promotional pricing structure rather than retail consumer demand. Former policies to encourage overstock created huge swings in production and... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

June 1991 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Becton Dickinson (B): Global Management

By: Michael Beer

The president of Becton Dickinson (BD) and his top management team struggle with issues of: 1) how to manage the top of the organization, focusing on leadership style, the committee structure, and the role of sector presidents, and 2) how to manage a multinational... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Human Resources; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Corporate Strategy; Health Industry

02 Aug 2017
News

Why Do Women Bully Each Other at Work?

Program

The Business of Entertainment, Media, and Sports

and anticipate the continuing impact of technological change on your business Expand your personal and professional network Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe Build... View Details

Keywords: Media & Entertainment; Media & Entertainment

Program

Changing the Game

investor, and other important negotiations. Details Achieve optimal results in key negotiations Realize better outcomes by increasing your effectiveness at the negotiating table Build more effective relationships with the other parties... View Details

2019
Article

Brokerage and Brokering: An Integrative Review and Organizing Framework for Third Party Influence

By: Nir Halevy, Eliran Halali and Julian Zlatev

Brokerage and brokering are pervasive and consequential organizational phenomena. Prevailing models underscore social structure and focus on the consequences that come from brokerage—occupying a bridging position between disconnected others in a network. By contrast,... View Details

Keywords: Brokerage; Brokering; Social Interactions; Organizations; Relationships; Power and Influence; Framework

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Program

Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions Who Should Attend This program is... View Details

February 2011
Article

When the Social Structure Overshadows Competitive Incentives: The Effects of Network Embeddedness on Joint Venture Dissolution

By: Francisco Polidoro Jr., Gautam Ahuja and Will Mitchell

The embeddedness of interfirm relationships in a social structure can engender order in new tie formation, but competitive incentives may undermine the order that firms seek to achieve and lead to tie dissolution. We examine how relational embeddedness (history of... View Details

Keywords: Social Structure; Business Enterprises; Strategic Alliances (Business); Business Networks (Research); Competition; Joint Ventures; Alliances; Social and Collaborative Networks

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2007
Working Paper

The Impact of Component Modularity on Design Evolution: Evidence from the Software Industry

By: Alan MacCormack, John Rusnak and Carliss Y. Baldwin

Much academic work asserts a relationship between the design of a complex system and the manner in which this system evolves over time. In particular, designs which are modular in nature are argued to be more "evolvable," in that these designs facilitate making... View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Adaptation; Software; Information Technology Industry

Article

Prosocial Spending and Buying Time: Money as a Tool for Increasing Subjective Well-Being

By: Elizabeth Dunn, A.V. Whillans, Michael I. Norton and Lara B. Aknin

Researchers have long been interested in the relationship between income and happiness, but a newer wave of work suggests that how people use their money also matters. We discuss the three primary areas in which psychologists have explored the relationship... View Details

Keywords: Wellbeing; Money; Spending; Decision Making; Happiness; Well-being

29 Apr 2025
HBS Seminar

Magie Cheng & David Huang

February 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Orchid Partners: A Venture Capital Start-up

By: Myra M. Hart and Kristin Lieb

The development of a new venture partnership and the challenges associated with raising its first fund are chronicled. The decision to focus on early-stage investments, the determination of the appropriate size of the fund, the fund-raising process, and the steps in... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Investment; Motivation and Incentives; Financing and Loans; Personal Development and Career