Publications

July 2003 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Model N Inc.

By: Marco Iansiti and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

The CEO of a Silicon Valley start-up needed to make organizational and product changes to deliver a new software solution to a Fortune 500 customer. He was wondering how he should structure the company to best meet the requirements for this particular customer, while... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Trends; Communication; Customer Focus and Relationships; Selection and Staffing; Time Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy; Software; Computer Industry

02 Feb 2016
First Look

February 2, 2016

Interorganizational Network Forms By: Tatarynowicz, Adam, Maxim Sytch, and Ranjay Gulati Abstract—This study investigates the origins of variation in the structures of interorganizational networks across industries. We combine empirical... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Aug 2022
Op-Ed

Your Best Employees Are Burning Out: A Framework for Retaining Talent

covenant forged at the onset of the Industrial Age, the Silent Generation, born between 1928 and 1945, typically had the benefit of guaranteed pensions. The ability of corporations to provide pensions created a workforce that remained... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and MaShon Wilson

March 2013 (Revised October 2013)
Supplement

Jones Lang LaSalle (2012): Integrated Services and the Architecture of Complexity (D)

By: Ranjay Gulati and Luciana Silvestri

This case describes the strategic and organizational challenges that Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) faced between 2008 and 2012. In 2008, in order to strengthen the firm's brokerage team, JLL merged with The Staubach Company, a real estate services provider with a first-rate... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Strategy; Integration; Real Estate Industry; North America; South America; Central America

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

rather than focus simply on products and sales. And Gulati's research, including interviews with 500 executives spanning industries and geographies, asserts that outside-in success is not confined to any one sector. "I see the move... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

Web

Social Enterprise - Faculty & Research

Social Enterprise Social Enterprise April 2013 Article Who Is Governing Whom? Executives, Governance, and the Structure of Generosity in Large U.S. Firms By: Christopher Marquis and Matthew Lee We examine how organizational View Details

31 Mar 2008
HBS Case

JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day Crisis

of February 13, independent of this event. Do they think the elements of the structure and systems within the JetBlue operation are internally consistent with one another and externally consistent with the organization's overall business... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Air Transportation

26 Aug 2024
Blog Post

HBS Lingo 101

Harvard Law School. Together with HLS, we offer the JD/MBA which is the oldest joint degree program at Harvard. Structured to be completed in four years, the joint degree program integrates two complementary disciplines that prepare... View Details

09 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization

how one CEO we’ve talked with builds in multiple perspectives to his decision-making. At his industrial products company, he has established bi-weekly meetings with his senior team focused on two questions: What do we know now that we... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

07 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

How Teams Work: Lessons from the Pandemic

to chart teams’ interactions as they transitioned to remote work. The name of the firm and its industry are confidential, but its teams routinely traveled together to visit clients prior to the pandemic. Drawing on past research about... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

2020
Working Paper

Overcoming the Cold Start Problem of CRM Using a Probabilistic Machine Learning Approach

By: Eva Ascarza

The success of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) programs ultimately depends on the firm's ability to understand consumers' preferences and precisely capture how these preferences may differ across customers. Only by understanding customer heterogeneity, firms can... View Details

Keywords: Customer Management; Targeting; Deep Exponential Families; Probabilistic Machine Learning; Cold Start Problem; Customer Relationship Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Consumer Behavior; Analytics and Data Science; Mathematical Methods; Retail Industry

SSRN

29 Jan 2018
Book

How 'Teaming' Saved 33 Lives in the Chilean Mining Disaster

maintenance of machinery; “We structured, structured, structured all aspects of execution.” As drill attempts continued to fail, one after another, Sougarret communicated gracefully with the families. Despite these failures, Sougarret and... View Details

Keywords: by Amy C. Edmondson; Mining

07 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 7

Stephan Heblich, and William R. Kerr Abstract We identify the impact of local firm concentration on incumbent performance with a quasi natural experiment. When Germany was divided after World War II, many firms in the machine tool View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

08 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team

little performance variability—because the tasks are standard, because the firm or industry has reduced variability, or because the business model limits the bandwidth of performance variance. Think about the difference between sales... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

April 2025
Case

#FutureFresenius: Implementing a New Strategy to Transform the Company and Advance Patient Care

By: David J. Collis, Benjamin C. Esty and Haisley Wert

In February 2024, Fresenius CEO Michael Sen reflected on the company’s transformation journey from his office in Bad Homburg, Germany. With revenues of €22 billion and a mission to advance patient care, Fresenius had built a strong reputation through decades of... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Finance; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Alignment; Health Industry; Germany; United States

August 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Novo Nordisk Foundation

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

In 2024, Novo Nordisk A/S was one of the most profitable firms in the world, thanks largely to just two GLP-1-based drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy. Unusually, this incredibly profitable firm was controlled not by individual private shareholders, but by a non-profit... View Details

Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Diabetes; Obesity; Foundation; Non-profit Management; Profit; Corporate Governance; Business or Company Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Expansion; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Denmark; Europe

Web

Curriculum - Business & Environment

decisions involving sustainability issues. Cases are set in a variety of industry contexts, including energy, agriculture, transportation, chemicals, and investment. Some of the environment-related cases recently taught (Spring and Fall... View Details

December 2009 (Revised February 2010)
Case

The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) in 2009

By: Luis M. Viceira and Brendon Christopher Parry

In late June 2009, management at The Investment Fund for Foundations (TIFF) was considering expanding the footprint of the TIFF Diversified Fund (TDF), the first truly comprehensive endowment management vehicle offered under the TIFF banner. The recent large capital... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Asset Management; Financial Strategy; Investment Funds; Risk Management; Product Marketing; Financial Services Industry; United States