Publications

August 2012
Case

Jess Westerly at Kauflauf GmbH

By: John J. Gabarro and Colleen Kaftan

Jess Westerly is the assistant product owner of CRM applications for computer and office supply wholesalers and retailers at Kauflauf, a fast-growing provider of subscription enterprise software headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Only months into her job, outsider... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Leading Change; Behavior; Salesforce Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Planning; Web Services Industry; Germany

March 2018
Case

Sachem Head's Activism at Autodesk

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

In 2015, activist hedge fund Sachem Head Capital, led by founder Scott Ferguson, launched an activist campaign at computer aided design (CAD) software maker Autodesk. The activist campaign, waged mainly in private, was over Autodesk's lackluster financial performance,... View Details

Keywords: Shareholder Activism; Investing; Activist Investing; Technology; CEO Turnover; Hedge Fund Activism; Benchmarking; Corporate Governance; Information Technology; Investment Activism; Performance Improvement; Management Succession; United States

10 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Women at Work

"Work/Life Balance: Are We Comfortable with the Choices We Make?" moderated by HBS professor Robin Ely, discussed their work/life decisions and the repercussions of those decisions at the 12th Annual Dynamic Women in Business... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild

May 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Justice-as-a-Service at RightNow

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Amir Reza Rezvani

The case examines the focus of an early stage company, and how an unexpected external incidence can threaten or void the business model. It encompasses issues such as minimal viable product, defining and pivoting a business model, organizational requirements for a... View Details

Keywords: Legacy Business; Teams; Startup; Business Models; Pivot; Entrepreneurship; Law; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategy; Legal Services Industry; Germany

May 2020
Teaching Note

Digitalization at Siemens

By: David J. Collis

Teaching Note for HBS No. 717-428. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Technology; Computer Industry; Health Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Rail Industry; Technology Industry

June 2018
Case

Candor at Clever

By: Ethan Bernstein and Om Lala

Clever, a high-growth EdTech company based in San Francisco, had grown quickly in market share and headcount. As with many high-growth companies, however, early employees (many of whom had never managed people before) had been given the opportunity to manage teams, and... View Details

June 2003
Supplement

Retirement at JPL

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

E-commerce at Williams-Sonoma

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Daniel Galvin

Describes Williams-Sonoma's development of a third channel of business on the Internet. Describes the strategies for managing changes in the organizational, operational, and technological structure of the company. The new e-commerce division confronts challenges posed... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Internet and the Web; Trade; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Operations; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Information Technology Industry; Retail Industry; California

January 2016 (Revised November 2019)
Case

Blackstone at Age 30

By: Josh Lerner, John D. Dionne and Amram Migdal

Since its IPO in 2007 and following the global financial crisis, Blackstone largely outpaced its alternative investment firm peers in assets under management, new business launches, profitability, and market capitalization. Under the leadership of Stephen A.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Asset Management; Private Equity; Financial Services Industry; New York (city, NY)

October 2012 (Revised April 2014)
Case

Troubles at Tesco, 2012

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

It was October 3rd, 2012, and all was not well at Tesco, the UK's largest supermarket chain with revenues of £64.5 billion ($104 billion). CEO Philip Clarke unveiled the first half-year profit drop in almost 20 years and, in the UK, the majors Asda and Sainsbury were... View Details

Keywords: Retailing; United Kingdom; Strategic Planning; Strategy; Retail Industry; United Kingdom

January 2013 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Family Matters at ProLab

By: Noam Wasserman and Yael Braid

Hillary Mallow, founder-CEO of ProLab, learns that her health-services company is two months shy of bankruptcy. She needs to act—immediately—but isn't sure where to begin. Prolab's client list and geographic presence have grown steadily over the years, so the recent... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Health Industry

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Commercial Sales Transformation at Microsoft

By: Doug J. Chung

Industry leaders should adapt to changes in the business context and consider different ways to grow. Advances in technology had shifted software demand to the cloud. As a result, Microsoft announced a strategic shift in direction from its existing ‘Windows first’... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Strategy; Transformation

March 2018
Teaching Note

Data Breach at Equifax

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

Teaching Note for HBS No. 118-031. View Details

October 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Investing at Pivotal Ventures

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Emily R. McComb and Eren Kuzucu

Launched in 2015 by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pivotal Ventures is an investment and incubation company. The company aims to support and promote transformational ideas, people and organizations, and advance social progress for women... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Management; Mission and Purpose; Venture Capital

Research Summary

Helping at Work

By: Teresa M. Amabile

This research focuses on collaboration and helping in creative project teams. Colin Fisher (UCL), Julianna Pillemer (NYU Stern School), and I developed a multi-year research program examining help received and given, including successful and unsuccessful helping... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Helping; Creativity; Creative Industries

December 2020 (Revised March 2024)
Supplement

Experimentation at Yelp

By: Iavor Bojinov and Karim R. Lakhani

November 2019
Case

Scaling at Chief

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Jeffrey J. Bussgang, Kathleen L. McGinn, Julia Kelley and Katherine Chen

Chief is a New York-based peer network that provides mentorship, support, networking opportunities, and a sense of community to women executives. Co-founders Carolyn Childers and Lindsay Kaplan launched the company in January 2019, and just two months later, Chief has... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Expansion; Growth Management; Customer Satisfaction; North and Central America; United States; New York (state, US); New York (city, NY)

January 1994 (Revised June 1996)
Case

Problems at InSpeech

By: Lynn S. Paine

InSpeech, Inc., the largest U.S. provider of speech, occupational, and physical therapists to nursing homes and hospitals, is faltering badly. The company is having trouble retaining its frontline employees--the clinicians who deliver its services--and its customers.... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Health Care and Treatment; Crisis Management; Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Health Industry