Publications

2015
Chapter

Staying the Same While Changing: Organizational Identity in the Face of Environmental Challenges

By: Mary Ann Glynn, Christi Lockwood and Ryan Raffaelli

We explore the role of organizational identity in the adoption of new sustainability practices, focusing on how identity functions as a driver of (or sometimes a drag on) adoption. Drawing on illustrations from the U.S. hotel industry, we examine how sustainability... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Adoption; Accommodations Industry; United States

March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

The University of Utah and the Computer Graphics Revolution

By: H. Kent Bowen and Courtney Purrington

Computer science departments were new to universities in the 1960s, and the one created at the University of Utah by David Evans and Ivan Sutherland had a research mission to invent the field of computer graphics. Details the research process that led to many of the... View Details

Keywords: Engineering; Entrepreneurship; Management Practices and Processes; Mission and Purpose; Research and Development; Technology Adoption; Computer Industry; Education Industry; Utah

August 2024
Case

Sky Therapeutics: Innovating in Digital Therapeutics

By: Satish Tadikonda, Olivia Reszczynski and William Marks

Shad Faraz and Alex Youssef were intrigued by the opportunities in the relatively new area of Digital Therapeutics. Despite initial successes, early entrants had struggled with reimbursement and revenue-predictability challenges. However, venture investors still... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Mission and Purpose; Health Care and Treatment; Technological Innovation; Business Strategy; Health Industry; Technology Industry

November 2020
Teaching Note

Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

By: William R. Kerr and Bailey McAfee

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 820-104. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Human Capital; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Transformation; Human Resources; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

February 2003 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Large Scale Change at The WSSC

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim

Describes the organizational transformation occurring at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), a public utility. Faced with the possibility of privatization after decades of providing service in the absence of competition or performance pressures, the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Change Management; Restructuring; Privatization; Resignation and Termination; Utilities Industry

15 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 15, 2017

bankrupt the company. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53093 2017 The Moral Responsibility of Firms Corporate Moral Agency, Positive Duties, and Purpose By: Hsieh, Nien-hê Abstract—A long-standing question... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Portrait Project

Sunru Yong

faith when so many strain to drown out the message of grace? I cannot be certain where the search for answers will lead, but in focusing on the aspirations and lives of everyone around me, I hope I've glimpsed the purpose of the journey. View Details

01 Dec 2018
News

Lifelong Learning about Leadership

Business Administration, created the three-day course to lay the groundwork for participants to examine their individual paths to becoming authentic leaders and gain a better sense of their purpose and legacy. “It was refreshing to hear... View Details

30 Nov 2016
Op-Ed

Where Could More Regulation Help Small Businesses? Online Lending.

provide first principles for a regulatory framework that enables the sustainable growth of small business lending. 1. Create a national non-bank charter option for online lenders The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) should allow online lenders to apply... View Details

Keywords: by Karen Mills and Brayden McCarthy; Financial Services

Web

Online Personal Branding Course | HBS Online

the sources, benefits, and components of a successful personal brand Define your purpose and values and communicate their distinction to others Turn common personal branding pitfalls into opportunities Understand the psychological power... View Details

01 Sep 2014
News

All For One

and mix freely. It hummed with activity. On a tour that first day, she was struck by just how animated the animation studio was—with frank discussions and heated arguments in every corner. And yet, as she spent more time there, she began to discern a commonality of... View Details

Keywords: Michael Blanding; faculty; research; Market Research, Photo, Translation, Veterinary and Other Services; Professional Services

October 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (A): Becoming Truly Global

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

Since the 1980s, Procter & Gamble had leveraged its purpose, values, and principles (PVP) to create a global company. When P&G faced difficult times in 2000, the new CEO, A.G. Lafley, leveraged the PVP to drive P&G's turnaround, integrate global operations, and guide... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Leading Change; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Web

Morse and Polaroid’s Creative Ethos | Baker Library

graduate award, given to alums who “exemplify in their lives and service to the community or to the college the true purpose of a liberal arts education.” 1 Smith College president Thomas C. Mendenhall wrote of Morse, “You join your own... View Details

Web

Privacy - HBS Working Knowledge

information for commercial purposes. Such information will be utilized only for the purpose stated. To accomplish such purpose, Harvard Business School may disclose the information to its employees, consultants and agents (including, for... View Details

14 Nov 2019
News

Keeping Red Lobster Fresh

we're here for a purpose and that we should try to make a positive difference in what we do. I read the book “Purpose Driven Life” many years ago, and that was extremely helpful to me personally. And that frankly drives a lot of what I... View Details

Keywords: Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

Forthcoming
Article

How Important Is Editorial Gatekeeping? Evidence from Top Biomedical Journals

By: Joshua L. Krieger, Kyle R. Myers and Ariel D. Stern

We examine editors' influence on the scientific content of academic journals by unpacking the role of three major forces: journals' missions, aggregate supply of and demand for specific topics, and scientific homophily via editorial gatekeeping. In a sample of top... View Details

Keywords: Editors; Biomedical Research; Editorial Gatekeeping; Scientific Homophily; Intellectual Capital; Mission and Purpose; Journals and Magazines; Intellectual Property; Innovation and Invention; Human Capital; Higher Education; Publishing Industry

September 1999 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Explore, Inc.

By: Allen S. Grossman, James E. Austin, Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus

Documents the creation of a national before and after-school day care program aimed at bridging the gap between school and parents' work schedules. This high-growth, for-profit social enterprise organization operated in what was historically the domain of nonprofit or... View Details

Keywords: Microeconomics; Growth and Development; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Mission and Purpose; Performance Expectations; Quality; Social Enterprise; Travel Industry