Publications

July 2020
Case

Driving Transformation at the Majid Al Futtaim Group

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

The case opens with Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Holding, anticipating on the Group’s next phase in the multi-year transformation journey and reflecting on the initiatives he implemented to create the Group’s growth-oriented culture. Founded in 1995,... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; United Arab Emirates; Middle East; Dubai

15 Dec 2003
Research & Ideas

The New Global Business Manager

different? A couple of things. One is that more companies are being born global. In the '80s and the '90s, our focus was really more about how established successful companies adapted to the booming global environment. The game was being... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

June 2023
Article

Gaining Organizational Adoption: Strategically Pacing the Deployment of Digital Innovations

By: Rebecca Karp

Scholars have long suggested that to foster adoption for their innovative products and services, entrepreneurs should engage with customers to better understand their unmet needs. Yet, customers frequently reside in organizations, and organizational members may not be... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Digital Innovation; Healthcare; Work And Organizations; Organizational Adoption; B2B; Customers; Technology Adoption; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Find at Harvard

March 2022 (Revised May 2022)
Case

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting–and... View Details

12 Nov 2021
News

Alumni Business Leaders on Confronting the Climate Change Challenge

moment? What new business opportunities could come from the efforts to both mitigate and adapt to climate change? Over the course of several days, we are releasing a selection of alumni responses in the hope that this spurs further... View Details

December 2022
Case

To Feed the Planet: Juan Luciano at ADM

By: Joshua D. Margolis, David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin, Stacy Straaberg and James Weber

In December 2022, Juan Luciano, Chairman and CEO of agribusiness and nutrition giant ADM, considered the next phase of the historic company’s future. Beginning in 2011 when he joined as COO and moving into his tenure as CEO in 2015, Luciano led a transformation of ADM... View Details

18 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Learning in Action

"The most effective learning strategy depends on the situation," writes David A. Garvin. "There is no stock answer, nor is there a single best approach." In Learning in Action, he illustrated the diversity of learning organization strategies with examples from several... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin

January 2023 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Zaoui & Co. (A): Consigliere for High Stakes M&A Transactions

By: Ashish Nanda, Alex Kitsberg and Zack Kurtovich

In September 2019, Zaoui & Co.’s close-knit team of professionals convened for their annual off-site. In its nine years of operation, the boutique investment bank founded by the brothers Michael (HBS ’83) and Yoel Zaoui (Stanford GSB ’88), had garnered a track record... View Details

Keywords: Professional Service Firm; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Strategy; Investment Banking; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth and Development Strategy; Europe; United Kingdom

10 Jun 2019
Blog Post

What I Did Differently Before Reapplying to HBS

my journey from college to business school was defined by a series of serendipitous opportunities which I did little to author myself. The difference that I made was in being adaptive and making the best of the environment I was in. For... View Details

January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
Case

CloudFlare, Inc.: Running Hot?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In July 2012, the cofounders of CloudFlare, a Silicon Valley startup that protects websites and accelerates their traffic, are considering the implications of five employees' resignations over the prior three months. Was this natural attrition for a high-tech venture... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Resignation and Termination; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry; California

July 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Mary Kay Inc.: Enriching Women's Lives while Embracing Change

By: Elie Ofek, K. Shelette Stewart and Julia Kelley

In December 2020, Mary Kay Inc. Chief Marketing Officer Sheryl Adkins-Green considered several strategic dilemmas. Founded in 1963 by Mary Kay Ash, Mary Kay was a direct sales company whose Independent Beauty Consultants purchased its beauty and cosmetics products at... View Details

Web

Scaling Work - Research Computing Services

Explicit parallelism uses application-specific libraries and features, and is described below for each of the most commonly used programs on the HBSGrid cluster. MATLAB Introduction The following has been adapted from FAS RC’s Parallel... View Details

February 2012
Case

Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Laura Winig

In July 2008, Luis Morales, president of Kent Chemical International, is proposing a third reorganization effort after two failed attempts to better align his business with its U.S.-based parent company. With a global expansion strategy placing increasing demands on... View Details

Keywords: International Business; Organizational Change; Multinational Corporations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Global Strategy; Chemical Industry; United States

16 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Luxury Isn’t What It Used to Be

Cashing in on the $60 billion global luxury goods market has never been tougher—or more rewarding. Competition is keen. And consumer preferences are constantly shifting, causing the concept of luxury itself to change over time. As a result, the market's most... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products

August 2023
Supplement

Reimagining Hindustan Unilever (B)

By: Sunil Gupta and Rachna Tahilyani

In April 2023, as the CEO and MD of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm, prepared to hand over the firm’s reins to his successor, he proudly reflected on the last decade. His quest to digitally transform HUL into an... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy; Marketing; Performance; Competition; E-commerce; Consumer Behavior; Transformation; Distribution; Decisions; Consumer Products Industry; Asia; India

March 1993 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Crown Cork & Seal in 1989

By: Stephen P. Bradley

Describes the structure and recent trends of the metal container industry, Crown's successful strategy for competing in the industry, and John Connelly's leadership over more than 20 years. In 1989, William Avery succeeded Connelly as CEO and is forced to consider new... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Five Forces Framework; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy

02 May 2022
What Do You Think?

Can the Case Method Survive Another Hundred Years?

the School thinking that they can begin the transition to retirement by “lecturing” in the classroom. It also requires adaptability on the part of instructors moving between HBS and other schools, including schools that either don’t... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Education

March 2011 (Revised April 2011)
Case

State Bank of India: Transforming a State Owned Giant

By: Rajiv Lal and Rachna Tahilyani

February 2011: O.P. Bhatt reflected contentedly on his five-year term as Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest commercial bank. He had led SBI on a journey of transformation from an old, hierarchical, transaction oriented, government bank to a modern,... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Customer Relationship Management; Commercial Banking; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Banking Industry; India