Publications

09 Oct 2019
News

The Benefits of Framing Culture as a Management System

March 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Reawakening the Magic: Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Buzz Lightyear strolled down Main Street at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disney in the fall of 2005, pausing to snap selfies with enthusiastic children in Mickey Mouse ears. Bob Iger, newly appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company,... View Details

Keywords: Franchise Management; Brand Management; Culture Change; Business Units; Acquisition Strategy; Technological Change; Disney; ESPN; Cord-cutting; Bob Iger; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Integration; Media; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Consumer Products Industry

Summer 2012
Article

How to Become a Sustainable Company

By: Robert G. Eccles, Kathleen Miller Perkins and George Serafeim

Using field and survey data we identify the characteristics of sustainable companies, and we develop a two-stage model that can help companies develop a culture of innovation, trust, and the ability for transformational change. View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Innovation; Leadership; Environmental Sustainability; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Trust; Organizational Change and Adaptation

11 Apr 2022
Video

Leading High-Performance Companies with Purpose

September 2019 (Revised December 2022)
Case

Cooking Down a Storm: Changing Culture at Pasta Serafina (A)

By: Susanna Gallani, Francesca Gino and Raffaella Sadun

Plant management at Pasta Serafina, a pasta producer in the south of Italy, is struggling to contain employee absenteeism. While the misbehavior is concentrated in a minority of the workers, its effects impact not only the plant’s performance, but also the climate and... View Details

Keywords: Absenteeism; Moral Hazard; Employees; Behavior; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employee Relationship Management; Performance Productivity; Decision Making

January 2018 (Revised October 2020)
Case

The Rise and Rise (?) of Walmart (A): Battling Kmart

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Eric Van den Steen and Karen Elterman

This case, set in 1990, describes the history of Walmart and asks what competitive strategies Kmart might adopt in response to Walmart's success. It discusses the strategy and organization of both companies in terms of HR practices, store location, distribution,... View Details

Keywords: Walmart; Kmart; Organization; Company Culture; Pricing; Procurement; Supercenter; Strategy; Competition; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; United States; Bentonville; Arkansas

30 Jan 2018
News

Companies Must Commit To Profound Transformations

01 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Companies, Cultures and the Transformation to the Transnational

of trusted appointees (known internally as the "Dutch Mafia"), whose understanding of Philips technology, commercial objectives, and overall strategy provided the major link between the parent company and its dispersed national... View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

05 Feb 2018
What Do You Think?

Should Companies Disclose Employee Compensation?

narrow target pay range for every position in the company can be made transparent without revealing the exact pay for any person. This can help employees in their career planning and ambitions." Tahoegrrl reminded us: "There are... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

08 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Negotiate “Yes” Across Cultural Boundaries

multimillion-dollar proposal in a pigskin binder, considered vile in many Muslim cultures. He was unceremoniously tossed out and his company blacklisted from working with Saudi businesses. But the differences can be much more subtle,... View Details

Keywords: by James K. Sebenius

February 15, 2022
Article

How Managers Can Build a Culture of Experimentation

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Neil Hoyne

Testing in business presents qualitatively different challenges than those in clinical trials and most scientific research. There are very few opportunities for randomized control experiments in a changing, competitive market. Yet, change and competition make testing a... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Management; Decision Making

Find at Harvard

Read Now

17 Feb 2022
Book

When Employees Feel a Sense of Purpose, Companies Succeed

employees first, and then everything else will fall into place.” Book Excerpt Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies Ranjay Gulati Chapter 6: Be Yourself, Be Candid, Be Kind Generations of scholars have seen View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

July 2016 (Revised January 2017)
Case

Banking on Change: Aligning Culture and Compensation at Morgan Stanley

By: Malcolm S. Salter

This case study was prepared as part of a research project on Culture, Conduct, and Governance in Financial Firms. The objective of this project is to compare and contrast the efforts of U.S. and European banks to induce changes in organization culture in the aftermath... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Corporate Governance; Banks and Banking; United States; Europe

Article

Values, Purpose, Meaning, and Expectations: Why Culture and Context Matter

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

The "rational person" standard, based on assumptions of economic self-interest, has long prevailed in legal reasoning. But understanding of decision making, behavioral choices, and possibilities for action must be enlarged to include a variety of factors that give... View Details

Keywords: Standards; Interests; Decision Making; Behavior; Value; Groups and Teams; Performance Expectations; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Motivation and Incentives