Publications

Find at Harvard

Read Now

March 2018
Supplement

Sandra Brown Goes Digital (B): The Commitment Decision

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Sandra Brown, a middle manager at a biotech company who has led internal and external movements for change over the last few years, faces a decision. Whether to continue to work for change at the company or move on to pursue new opportunities elsewhere, where her new... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Stakeholder Engagement; Managing Change; Career Path; Health Care Industry; Quality; Leading Change; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Personal Development and Career; Decision Choices and Conditions

05 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

The Middle Manager of the Future: More Coaching, Less Commanding

from 9.2 percent in 1983, according to the study. Their share has continued to grow in recent years, jumping 23 percent between 2005 and 2020. During the same period, wages for managers also increased proportionally compared to those of... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

Teaching Interest

Leading Professional Service Firms

By: Andy Wu

As entry barriers rapidly disappear, competition is accelerating and reshaping the business landscape for professional service firms. Navigating this continual change successfully requires extraordinary leadership abilities. This professional service firm... View Details

September 2011 (Revised August 2013)
Case

The Pepsi Refresh Project: A Thirst for Change

By: Michael I. Norton and Jill Avery

In 2010, for the first time in 23 years, PepsiCo did not invest in Superbowl advertising for its iconic brand. Instead, the company diverted this $20 million to the social media-fueled Pepsi Refresh Project: PepsiCo's innovative cause-marketing program in which... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Marketing Strategy; Customer Focus and Relationships; Advertising Campaigns; Investment Return; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Social Marketing; Cost vs Benefits; Food and Beverage Industry

30 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Commuting Hurts Productivity and Your Best Talent Suffers Most

School Assistant Professor of Business Administration Andy Wu to conduct a study that asked: Does the daily commute affect innovation and productivity for tens of millions of workers? And if so, what are the implications for companies... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

09 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life?”

companies to continue to use what they already have in place, they pay far more than the full cost—because the company loses its competitiveness. As Henry Ford once put it, "If you need a machine and don't buy it, then you will... View Details

May 2012 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Apple Inc. in 2012

By: David B. Yoffie and Penelope Rossano

On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs tragically died of cancer. The recently retired CEO of Apple Inc. was a legend: he had changed Apple from a company near bankruptcy to one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. Moreover, he had revolutionized several... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Market Positioning; Strategic Planning; Technology; Computer Industry; Strategy Implementation; Consumer Electronics; Telecommunications; Information Infrastructure; Innovation and Invention; Competitive Strategy; Leadership; Product Positioning; Telecommunications Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry

March 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Supplement

From "BIG" Ideas to Sustainable Impact at ICL Group (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Lydia Begag

In August 2023, Raviv Zoller, CEO of ICL Group, discussed his upcoming business trip to St. Louis with Eduard Croitoru, VP of ICL Corporate Initiatives, to commemorate the construction of ICL's new $400 million advanced manufacturing facility. In preparation for the... View Details

October 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Masdar City: Aiming for Sustainable and Profitable Real Estate

By: Boris Vallee and Fares Khrais

Masdar City broke ground in 2008 and was conceived by the Abu Dhabi government to be an international beacon of innovation in sustainable energy and real estate. It was also to be a profitable investment for the government. At first glance, the two goals pulled in... View Details

25 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

In America, Immigrants Really Do Get the Job Done

helps drive innovation and growth—and could even become more vital to global competitiveness in the future. “The debate is red-hot right now, but in the background, the workforces are rapidly aging in most advanced countries, and public... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Technology; Service

15 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Five Imperatives for Improving Health Care

Innovation in health care treatment seems to far outpace innovation in health care business management. Just ask President Obama—two weeks ago he delayed enactment of a key provision of the new health care... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

June 2011 (Revised May 2012)
Case

Nestlé SA: Nutrition, Health and Wellness Strategy

By: Rebecca M. Henderson and Ryan Johnson

In 1997 Nestlé committed to a strategic vision of becoming the leading nutrition, health and wellness (NHW) company in the world. Over the next 13 years, the NHW strategy guided strategic decisions and choices at Nestlé including merger and acquisition choices,... View Details

Keywords: Nutrition; Health; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Goals and Objectives; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry

June 1989
Background Note

Mastering the Art of Change: Managing Convergence and Upheaval

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Outlines the differences between convergent change, which is a process of incremental innovation and continuous improvement, and divergent change, which involves revolutionary changes. Discusses how to manage each type of change and the consequences associated with... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Change

Research Summary

Senior Teams, Strategic Innovation, and Change

By: Michael L. Tushman

This research stream explores the relations... View Details

2012
Book

Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies face. I show that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Learning; Values and Beliefs; Innovation and Invention; Management; Performance Improvement; Groups and Teams; Research; Strategy; Complexity; Value

Find at Harvard

June 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Modi-Revlon

By: Rohit Deshpande and Seth Schulman

The head of the Indian subsidiary of cosmetics firm Revlon faces a crucial turnaround situation for the company. After a high-profile product launch, sales were very disappointing and Revlon was trying to decide whether it should pull out of India. The Indian majority... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Product Design; Value Creation; India

November 1991 (Revised June 1992)
Case

AT&T: The Dallas Works (B)

Describes the innovative use of a cross-level team as a tool for driving change at a troubled AT&T plant. After the team is disbanded, the case raises questions about the group's achievements, and about how well the organization is positioned to tackle the changes that... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Groups and Teams; Telecommunications Industry; Texas

February 1996
Case

Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard (Abridged)

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The pharmaceutical division of a diversified company has been asked to develop a Balanced Scorecard. Research and development projects take about ten years to bring a new product to the marketplace and the division depends on good relations and active feedback from its... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Research and Development; Product Launch; Commercialization; Consumer Behavior; Customer Focus and Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Pharmaceutical Industry