• Research Summary

Current working papers

Organizational restructuring: the influence of formal and informal structure on tie formation. This paper considers how changes in formal structure and a key element of informal structure – the embeddedness of employee... View Details

• 14 Nov 2007
• Working Paper Summaries

Accountability in Complex Organizations: World Bank Responses to Civil Society

Keywords: by Alnoor S. Ebrahim & Steve Herz

• January 2001 (Revised May 2003)
• Case

Novartis Pharma: The Business Unit Model

By: Srikant M. Datar, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In June 2000, Novartis reorganized its pharmaceutical business to form global business units in oncology, transplantation, ophthalmology, and mature products. The remaining primary care products continued to be managed within global functions (e.g., R&D and marketing).... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Recruitment; Product Marketing; Organizational Structure; Problems and Challenges; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

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Datar, Srikant M., Carin-Isabel Knoop, and Cate Reavis. "Novartis Pharma: The Business Unit Model." Harvard Business School Case 101-030, January 2001. (Revised May 2003.)

• 2007
• Book

Global Accountabilities: Participation, Pluralism, and Public Ethics

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Edward Weisband

This edited volume contributes analytical depth to the diverse debates on accountability in modern organizations. It explores the nature, forms and impacts of accountability efforts in civil society organizations, public and inter-governmental agencies, and private... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Business and Government Relations

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Ebrahim, Alnoor, and Edward Weisband. Global Accountabilities: Participation, Pluralism, and Public Ethics. U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

• March–April 2020
• Article

What's Really Holding Women Back? It's Not What Most People Think

By: R. Ely and Irene Padavic

Ask people to explain why women remain so dramatically underrepresented in the senior ranks of most companies, and you will hear from the vast majority a lament that goes something like this: High-level jobs require extremely long hours, women's devotion to family... View Details

Keywords: Overwork; Employment; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Culture

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Ely, R., and Irene Padavic. "What's Really Holding Women Back? It's Not What Most People Think." Harvard Business Review 98, no. 2 (March–April 2020): 58–67.

• October 2015 (Revised October 2016)
• Case

Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear! (Abridged)

By: Willy C. Shih

This case is set inside IBM Research's efforts to build a computer that can successfully take on human challengers playing the game show Jeopardy! It opens with the machine named Watson offering the incorrect answer "Toronto" to a seemingly simple question during the... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Big Data; Business Analytics; Product Development Strategy; Machine Learning; Machine Intelligence; Artificial Intelligence; Product Development; AI and Machine Learning; Information Technology; Analytics and Data Science; Information Technology Industry; United States

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Shih, Willy C. "Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear! (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 616-025, October 2015. (Revised October 2016.)

• September 1989 (Revised July 1992)
• Case

Pepsi-Cola U.S. Beverages (A)

Responding to changes in Pepsi-Cola's competitive environment, Roger Enrico, president and CEO of PepsiCo Worldwide Beverages, formed a task force to investigate a possible reorganization of Pepsi's domestic soft drink business. The task force recommends reorganizing... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Organizational Design; Food and Beverage Industry

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Pearson, Andrall E. "Pepsi-Cola U.S. Beverages (A)." Harvard Business School Case 390-034, September 1989. (Revised July 1992.)

• June 2010
• Article

Change for Change's Sake

By: Freek Vermeulen, Phanish Puranam and Ranjay Gulati

No one disputes that firms have to make organizational changes when the business environment demands them. But the idea that a firm might want change for its own sake often provokes skepticism. Why inflict all that pain if you don't have to? That is a dangerous... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Creativity; Power and Influence; Adaptation

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Vermeulen, Freek, Phanish Puranam, and Ranjay Gulati. "Change for Change's Sake." Harvard Business Review 88, no. 6 (June 2010).

• May 1993 (Revised October 1993)
• Case

Vanity Fair Mills: Market Response System

Describes the "Quick Response" program developed by Vanity Fair Mills (VFM), a division of the VF Corp. Beginning in 1989, VFM reorganized its manufacturing systems, invested heavily in computer and telecommunications equipment, and formed "partnership" agreements with... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Logistics; Distribution Channels; Manufacturing Industry

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Buzzell, Robert D. "Vanity Fair Mills: Market Response System." Harvard Business School Case 593-111, May 1993. (Revised October 1993.)

• May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
• Case

Asea Brown Boveri

By: Robert L. Simons and Christopher A. Bartlett

In 1987, two European rivals--Asea AB of Sweden and BBC Brown Boveri Ltd. of Switzerland--merged to form Asea Brown Boveri. The new company employed 150,000 employees in 850 legal entities operating in 140 countries. The case describes the challenges facing Percy... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Globalization; Problems and Challenges; Leadership Style; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Structure; Reports

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Simons, Robert L., and Christopher A. Bartlett. "Asea Brown Boveri." Harvard Business School Case 192-139, May 1992. (Revised January 2000.)

• 11 May 2009
• Research & Ideas

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

thought would be short-lived. But when we looked at the turnover rates again a few years later, we discovered the rate was about the same, but the driving cause was more than just the rapid change in IT: It was also because IT was the nexus of major View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

• June 2012
• Article

Meta-organization Design: Rethinking Design in Interorganizational and Community Contexts

By: Ranjay Gulati, P. Puranam and Michael Tushman

This article provides conceptual foundations for analyzing organizations comprising multiple legally autonomous entities, which we call meta-organizations. We assess the antecedents of the emergence of such collectives and the design choices they entail. The article... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design

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Gulati, Ranjay, P. Puranam, and Michael Tushman. "Meta-organization Design: Rethinking Design in Interorganizational and Community Contexts." Special Issue on Strategy and the Design of Organizational Architecture edited by R. Gulati, P. Puranam, M. Tushman. Strategic Management Journal 33, no. 6 (June 2012): 571–586.

• May 2016 (Revised June 2017)
• Case

India's Amul: Keeping Up with the Times

By: Rohit Deshpandé, Tarun Khanna, Namrata Arora and Tanya Bijlani

Amul is an Indian dairy cooperative founded in 1947—eight months before India's independence from British rule—and owned by over three million farmers in the state of Gujarat. It is India's largest food product marketing organization, selling 46 products, including... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Expansion; Dairy; India; Cooperatives; Milk; Leadership; Agriculture; Agribusiness; Competition; Marketing; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; India

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Deshpandé, Rohit, Tarun Khanna, Namrata Arora, and Tanya Bijlani. "India's Amul: Keeping Up with the Times." Harvard Business School Case 516-116, May 2016. (Revised June 2017.)