Publications

Find at Harvard

26 Jun 2014
News

Celebrity CEOs

July 2023
Supplement

Reimagining Enel: Enabling Sustainable Progress (A)

By: Michael Tushman and Kerry Herman

This case describes the transformation of Enel from a traditional “brown” or fossil fuel energy firm to a sustainable and green firm focused on renewables, and finally to an energy supplier and integrated energy services firm. It describes a set of capabilities... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Innovation and Invention; Transformation; Green Technology; Renewable Energy; Energy Industry

01 Aug 2023
What Do You Think?

As Leaders, Why Do We Continue to Reward A, While Hoping for B?

jump ship for better offers.” Who’s responsible? Fonzie Gonz said, “Why focus on middle management when top leadership is leagues away from any meaningful adoption of DEI? These changes need to come from the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

13 Oct 2013
News

Why blockbusters are taking over the arts

April 2002 (Revised May 2005)
Case

GE's Digital Revolution: Redefining the E in GE

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Meg Glinska

This case details the implementation of the e-business initiative--the last of Jack Welch's four company-wide strategic thrusts. First, it summarizes the 20-year change process that Welch led, detailing the initiatives he put in place. It then traces how Gerry Podesta,... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership Style; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Performance Effectiveness; Corporate Strategy; Internet and the Web

August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)

By: Willy Shih

This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan

Profile

Jackie Burgos

major to take. I heard that accounting was the language of business, so when I got a scholarship to Pace, which has a great accounting program, I went.” There, Jackie distinguished herself, not just by her achievements in business courses, but through her View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media; Other Financial Services; Services

2012
Book

Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter

By: Gautam Mukunda

Will your next leader be insignificant—or indispensable? The importance of leadership and the impact of individual leaders has long been the subject of debate. Are they made by history, or do they make it? In Indispensable, Harvard Business School professor Gautam... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Making; Outcome or Result; Power and Influence

February 1984 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Jeff Bradley (A)

Jeff Bradley made significant contributions by working well with the prevailing culture in one assignment, and influencing needed change in another--all from a relatively unfavorable position. Series (A-D) presents a rewritten version of an earlier single case by the... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Leading Change

Find at Harvard

Research Summary

Developing Organizational Capabilities to Compete

By: Michael Beer

Michael Beer’s current research focuses on the question of what makes an Effective Organization. Based on his extensive research and practice about this question Beer has identified six highly interrelated core capabilities:

Capacity of the... View Details

18 Jan 2019
Blog Post

Exploring the Tech World Through WesTrek

chats, and social events. When I first heard about WesTrek, I immediately knew I had to attend. It would also be a fantastic way for me to determine whether I could really picture myself moving there this summer, so I secured myself a spot on the trek by joining the... View Details

Program

Disruptive Innovation

of an industry may change Avoid having your business disrupted by others Achieve differentiation and better margins Assess your company's capabilities Sustain core businesses while enabling innovation Avert common problems that lead... View Details

Web

The “Hawthorne Effect” – The Human Relations Movement – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

Dickson published Counseling in an Organization , which revisited lessons gained from the experiments. Roethlisberger described “the Hawthorne effect” as the phenomenon in which subjects in behavioral studies change their performance in... View Details

29 Jan 2015
News

McDonald's rock & hard place

06 May 2024
Research & Ideas

The Critical Minutes After a Virtual Meeting That Can Build Up or Tear Down Teams

after meetings,” says Perlow, the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership at HBS, who is an ethnographer intent on studying work dynamics. With Ma in China and Eun in the US, each of the field observers spent eight to 12 hours a day... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

November 2023 (Revised February 2025)
Background Note

Corporate Climate Targets

By: Willy C. Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter

Companies that are addressing climate change by mitigating their greenhouse gas emissions often set reduction targets. This note describes several types of widely used carbon reduction targets, including carbon neutral, science based, net zero, real zero, and carbon... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Sustainability; Environmental Strategy; Climate Risk; Target-setting; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Accountability; Policy; Measurement and Metrics; Strategic Planning; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

October 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Thermax—Changing of the Guard

By: Christina R. Wing and Inakshi Sobti

Thermax is an engineering company in India that provides integrated solutions in energy, environment, and chemicals. The Aga family along with family trusts owns 62% of the company. Post a restructuring exercise in 2000, Thermax transforms itself from a small family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transformation; Business Conglomerates; Strategy; Management Succession; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture

July 2011 (Revised August 2011)
Supplement

Renewing GE: The Africa Project (B)

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case continues the story of the evolution of GE's business initiatives Africa. Between November 2010 and March 2011 several significant structural changes and leadership appointments were announced at GE, which reflected the company's commitment to global growth... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Multinational Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Consumer Products Industry; Hong Kong; Africa; Republic of Ireland