Publications

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July 2020
Background Note

Leadership for Change: Seven Enduring Skills for Experienced and Aspiring Change Leaders

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Leaders use seven leadership skills in conceiving and managing change projects, whether innovations in established organizations, culture and process changes, or entrepreneurial ventures for industry or social change. The skills leaders need are different at various... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leading Change; Management Skills

10 Nov 2015
Blog Post

Using an MBA for a Career Change

I applied to MBA programs because I wanted to change careers. I went from spending six years at one company to trying out a number of industries and function areas in two years. During that time I learned two important things: 1. Maybe... View Details

January 2025
Case

GE Appliances 2025: Energizing Change

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jacob A. Small

At the turn of 2025, Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances following its acquisition by Chinese appliance giant Haier in 2016, is reviewing progress toward his net zero carbon vision for homes, which would otherwise exacerbate the global warming climate crisis. An... View Details

01 Jun 2024
News

In My Humble Opinion: Career Change

“That’s not the norm in Japan,” she says. That cultural melting pot changed how Tanaka saw the world and her place in it. She wanted to keep learning about different cultures, religions, and politics, a... View Details

Keywords: Michelle Cassidy; recruitment; demographics; Japan

November–December 2023
Article

Storytelling That Drives Bold Change

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

When tackling urgent organizational problems, leaders usually work hard to identify underlying causes, tap a wide range of knowledge, and experiment with solutions. But once they’ve mapped out a plan, there’s one more crucial step they must take: crafting a story so... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Emotions; Communication Strategy

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February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Enterprise Culture in Chinese History: Zhang Jian and the Dasheng Cotton Mills

By: Elisabeth Koll

This case focuses on the legal and managerial evolution of limited-liability firms in China, using the example of the Dasheng cotton mills in Nantong near Shanghai. Dasheng, one of the earliest and most successful industrial enterprises in pre-war China, was founded by... View Details

Keywords: History; Law; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; State Ownership; Corporate Governance; Financial Crisis; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Change; Manufacturing Industry; Shanghai; China

August 2021
Article

A Mixed Methods Study of Change Processes Enabling Effective Transition to Team-based Care

By: Michael Anne Kyle, Emma-Louise Aveling and Sara J. Singer

Team-based care is considered central to achieving value in primary care, yet results of large-scale primary care transformation initiatives have been mixed. We explore how underlying change processes influence the effectiveness of transition to team-based care. We... View Details

Keywords: Team-based Care; Primary Care; Health Care and Treatment; Transformation; Groups and Teams; Change Management

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March 2014
Case

Managing Change at Axis Bank (A)

By: Paul Healy and Rachna Tahilyani

Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider, was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Valuation; Finance; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; India

April 2014
Supplement

Managing Change at Axis Bank (B)

By: Paul Healy and Rachna Tahilyani

Axis Bank is India's third largest private sector bank. In April 2009, Shikha Sharma, an outsider was appointed as its CEO. She took over from a person who had overseen ten years of rapid growth at the bank. The selection of an outsider as the new CEO surprised many... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Valuation; Finance; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; India

13 Oct 2020
News

To Foster Innovation, Cultivate a Culture of Intellectual Bravery

October 1990
Case

Three in the Middle: The Experience of Making Change at Micro Switch

Describes three middle managers acting in the role of change agents. Highlights their personal roles and their "moods" at two points in the course of introducing major cultural change. While their comments are only six months apart, they have reached a more pessimistic... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Culture

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

12 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

How Scale Changes a Manager's Responsibilities

establish trust or allow them to move your company forward. Creating this type of toxic, micromanagement culture of leadership can contribute to CEO/founder burnout as you try to manage “all the things.” View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

October 2013 (Revised October 2013)
Supplement

Henkel's CEO Kasper Rorsted: On Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert L. Simons

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Performance Appraisals; Human Resource Management; Work/life Balance; Strategy Execution; Values; Organizational Transformations; Pay For Performance; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits

24 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Reinventing the American Wine Industry: Marketing Strategies and the Construction of Wine Culture

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Keywords: by Ai Hisano; Food & Beverage

March 2009
Case

Barbara Norris: Leading Change in the General Surgery Unit

By: Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria and Deborah Bell

Barbara Norris struggles to address the many problems facing her as a recently promoted nurse manager in the General Surgery Unit (GSU) at Eastern Massachusetts University Hospital (EMU). She has inherited a unit with the lowest employee satisfaction scores and highest... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Leading Change; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams; Motivation and Incentives; Satisfaction; Health Industry