Publications

October 2004 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Sonoco Products Company (A): Building a World-Class HR Organization

By: David A. Thomas, Boris Groysberg and Cate Reavis

Describes the steps the vice-president of human resources takes in revamping an HR function that was noncooperative and, at times, competitive and introducing the company to the notion of HR as a strategic business partner. Explores changes made to the company's... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Compensation and Benefits; Management Succession; Measurement and Metrics; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Case

Disney's "The Lion King" (A): The $2 Billion Movie

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In 1994, just 10 years after its filmed entertainment division lost $33 million, Disney's animated creation "The Lion King" became the second highest grossing film ever. In addition to drawing $740 million in worldwide box office sales, its merchandise sales exceeded... View Details

Keywords: Value Creation; Marketing Strategy; Expansion; Creativity; Film Entertainment; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Product Development; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Retail Industry

25 Feb 2015
Lessons from the Classroom

Scholars and Students Unpack the Digital Business Revolution

focuses on the economics and strategy of digital: how organizations need to adapt and change in this new environment, and the individual skills required to succeed in a digital economy. "You know that a significant change has taken... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education; Technology

18 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 18

advance research on teamwork in health care should consider using or adapting one of these instruments before creating a new one. Because instruments vary considerably in the behavioral processes and emergent states of teamwork that they... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles, Papers of the Decade

concerned about cash, and employees worry about their jobs. But a downturn is no time to stop spending on marketing. The key, says professor John Quelch, is to understand how the needs of your customers and partners change, and adapt your... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

28 Jun 2010
HBS Case

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Health-care reform is more than a political football. For twenty years it's been a ground-level topic of increasing importance for the administrators, physicians, nurses, and frontline employees who interact with patients every day. "Cincinnati Children's Hospital... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

June 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Teaching Note

Qualcomm Inc., 2019

By: David B. Yoffie

Teaching Note for HBS No. 718-514. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Intellectual Property; Information Technology; Standards; Business Model; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Telecommunications Industry; Semiconductor Industry

September 2007 (Revised February 2010)
Case

Compass Box Whisky Company

Compass Box Whisky Company is facing a changing supply situation and is evaluating switching to a business model with high inventory and long lead times. The company must consider what the change will mean for operations, risk, and measuring profitability. View Details

Keywords: Financial Statements; Business Model; Profit; Product; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty

May 2002 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Garanti Bank: Transformation in Turkey (Abridged)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Daniel Galvin and Maximilian Martin

Discusses the complete transformation and turnover in every division of Garanti Bank. Describes the multiple change projects managed and cross-cultural issues confronted during the 1990s and the organizational challenge of transforming Garanti Bank into one of Turkey's... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Restructuring; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Banking Industry; Turkey

June 2000
Case

Rebirth of the Swiss Watch Industry, 1980-1992 (B): Hayek and Thomke at SMH

By: Michael L. Tushman and Daniel Radov

Describes the course pursued by Hayek, Thomke, and others in the formation of SMH. Discusses the new strategy and its implementation, charting the dramatic recovery of the large Swiss watchmakers. Ends with an exploration of Hayek's efforts to build on SMH's successes. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Organizational Structure; Cost Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Alignment; Success; Asia; Hong Kong

June 1996
Case

Becton Dickinson: Managing the Global Enterprise, 1996

Becton Dickinson, a U.S.-based maker of medical and diagnostic devices, has been organized into a mixed structure of U.S.-based divisions and country/region organizations. In 1995, three businesses shifted to become worldwide divisions, forcing a reexamination of the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business or Company Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

10 Mar 2011
What Do You Think?

To What Degree Does the Job Make the Person?

new job. In other words, is there a self-selection bias in studies of the effects of job on a person's chemical makeup? As Stephanie Smith put it, "Perhaps it's a case of either the hormones and natural adaptability of the person... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Linking the Globe: The Role of Media and Communications

said, making businesses "glocal"—a combination of global and local. For example, "In Europe, soccer is big, so as a publisher if you decide to launch a magazine, you can distribute it throughout the continent. But you have to View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss; Information; Publishing; Journalism & News; Media & Broadcasting

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

The State of the Markets

Predicting that 24-hour trading will become a reality in the next two to three years, Cochrane suggested three ways to deal with it: Home-market adaptation. "If a company is based in, say, Germany, the home exchange will adapt to... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

January 2025
Case

Shifting Winds: DEI in Corporate America

By: Clayton S. Rose, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and David Lane

In the 2020s, intense and conflicting social and political pressures challenged organizational leaders around the world. Prominent among these were powerful competing views on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) in the United States. Public... View Details

24 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Don’t Just Survive—Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate & J. Bruce Harreld

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (E): IKEA's Opening Day

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in 2016 as Amine Benkirane, CEO of the furniture retailer KITEA, observes KITEA’s dormant sales on the day IKEA opens its first store in Morocco. It then provides information on IKEA’s Morocco store, as well as a detailed pricing comparison between IKEA... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; For-Profit Firms; Business Strategy; Strategic Planning; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry; Africa; North Africa; Morocco

November 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Zara: Managing Stores for Fast Fashion

By: Zeynep Ton, Elena Corsi and Vincent Marie Dessain

Pablo Isla, the CEO of Zara, wanted to improve operational efficiencies in managing its store network. In particular, he wanted to improve labor productivity at the stores. He considered outsourcing certain store operations to third parties, changing the way store... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Managerial Roles; Service Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Efficiency; Performance Productivity; Retail Industry