Publications

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2013
Working Paper

Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities

By: Andras Tilcsik and Christopher Marquis

This article focuses on geographic communities as fields in which human-made and natural events occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop an institutional perspective to unpack how and why major events within communities affect organizations in the... View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Situation or Environment; Balance and Stability; Organizations; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

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May 2021
Supplement

Career at a Crossroads? (B)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

A career professional at a major consumer goods company, Kym Lew Nelson is hoping to negotiate a promotion to vice president, which would make her one of the senior-most African American women in the organization. But when Nelson’s white German boss arrives in the... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Negotiation; Race; Gender; Organizational Culture; Prejudice and Bias

August 2019 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Magrabi: Fulfilling the Vision for the Future

By: John Beshears, Alpana Thapar and Boris Tsimerinov

In 2018, Magrabi was the leading retailer of eyeglasses, sunglasses, and other optical products in the Middle East, and it was embarking on a major shift in strategy, transitioning from a brand focused on clinical expertise to a brand that combined technical excellence... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Transition; Luxury; Sales; Service Delivery; Strategy; Employees; Recruitment; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; Middle East

July 2011 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Assistant Professor Gyan Gupta and the Wet Noodle Class (A)

By: Dorothy Leonard and Susan S. Harmeling

Professor Gupta faces three major problems in teaching cases: 1) his students, accustomed to lectures, don't know how to conduct a case discussion; 2) the students are using the Internet to discover the outcome of managerial dilemmas posed in the case; 3) he wants to... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Learning; Teaching; Cases; Outcome or Result; Internet and the Web; Theory; Education Industry

June 2007 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Reinventing Ericsson

By: Das Narayandas, Vincent Marie Dessain, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Anders Sjoman

Carl-Henric Svanberg, CEO of the Swedish telecom infrastructure company Ericsson, has to reorganize the recovering company in late 2003 after a major industry downturn. He is convinced that only a more market-orientated and customer-focused organization will be able to... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Customer Focus and Relationships; Marketing; Organizational Structure; Sales; Competitive Advantage; Telecommunications Industry; Sweden

March 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Analog Devices, Inc.: The Half-Life System

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The company has committed to major improvements in quality, cost, and on-time delivery performance. Despite strong senior management support, however, the actual rate of improvement was disappointing until a new measurement philosophy was introduced. The new approach... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Performance Improvement; Earnings Management; Financial Reporting; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Productivity; Business or Company Management; Cost Management; Measurement and Metrics; Management Teams; Semiconductor Industry

June 1989 (Revised September 1992)
Case

Dominion Motors & Controls Ltd.

The leading manufacturer of motors in Canada is threatened by a loss of market share in oilfield pumping motors because a major customer, having tested several competing motor brands, finds a competitor's motor to be superior. A central issue is whether to make a... View Details

Keywords: Product; Competition; Product Marketing; Manufacturing Industry; Canada

August 1986 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Timken Co.

Describes the efforts of the Timken Co., a major international producer of bearings and steel, to develop an effective employee communication program. The case examines the intense international competitive atmosphere, the recent record of job losses in related... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Communication Strategy; Manufacturing Industry; Steel Industry

06 Aug 2018
News

Women Are More Likely to Die From a Heart Attack If Their Doctor Is Male

22 Sep 2021
News

Workers Say Employers Have Been Guilty of Ghosting Them for Years

February 2015 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Nokia's Bridge Program: Redesigning Layoffs (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Susan J. Winterberg

"Not another Bochum." Nokia Board Chairman Jorma Ollila was clear in the goals he set for the 2011 restructuring that Nokia's new CEO, Stephen Elop, had decided was necessary to address the dramatically changed competitive environment the company faced in smartphones... View Details

Keywords: Layoffs; Plant Closure; Outplacement; Shared Value; Business or Company Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Restructuring; Employee Relationship Management; Telecommunications Industry

12 PM – 1 PM EDT, 13 Apr 2017
Webinars: Career

How to Successfully Manage Change for Leaders, Teams & Organizations

Are you or your team facing a change or professional transition? Listen to Dr. Michael Watkins share his latest research findings on the challenges and solutions of professional transitionsfor leaders, teams, and entire organizations. When leaders take new roles, they... View Details

19 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

Doomsday Coming for Catastrophic Risk Insurers?

he's seen improvements in the way reinsurers distribute risk over the last two decades, he still questions whether reinsurers in their current form can survive a major catastrophic event. "Reinsurers assume the risk of, and hold the... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish; Financial Services

14 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Clay Christensen’s Milkshake Marketing

half hour as the children tried to work the milkshake through a straw. In that case, a different, thinner milkshake was in order. Proven Success And Purpose Branding Several major companies that have succeeded with a jobs-to-be-done... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Service; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

October 1989 (Revised May 1990)
Case

Jaguar plc--1984

By: Timothy A. Luehrman and William Schiano

A vehicle for analyzing the exposure of operating cash flows to exchange rate changes. Considers the value of Jaguar plc at the time of its privatization and share offering in 1984. Jaguar is a major exporter from the United Kingdom and the United States is therefore... View Details

Keywords: Change; Cash Flow; Currency Exchange Rate; Risk Management; Privatization; Valuation; Auto Industry; United Kingdom; United States

Column

What Will U.S. Health Care Look Like After the Pandemic?

By: Robert S. Huckman

The pandemic crisis is almost certain to change many American industries. It would be a shame if health care is not one of them. A number of major practices have been altered to help the country cope with the extraordinary demands that the pandemic has imposed on the... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Health Care and Treatment; Change; Health Industry; United States

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November 2008 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Transformation of COFCO in a Changing Environment

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Kefei Yang

China's COFCO, the country's leading edible oil and food importer and exporter and its largest food manufacturer, had in its 50-plus years of operation undergone four stages of transformation and was about to embark on a fifth. The global agriculture system was... View Details

Keywords: Food; Leadership; Change Management; Transformation; Globalization; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; China