Publications

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

Article

Organizational Ambidexterity in Action: How Managers Explore and Exploit

By: Charles A. O'Reilly III and Michael L. Tushman

Dynamic capabilities have been proposed as a useful way to understand how organizations are able to adapt to changes in technology and markets. Organizational ambidexterity, the ability of senior managers to seize opportunities through the orchestration and integration... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Opportunities

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01 May 2020
What Do You Think?

Does Remote Work Mix with Organizational Culture?

Original Post We all have had conversations over the last few weeks with people working from home for the first time while sheltering from COVID-19. I've tried to use the opportunity to conduct an informal survey: How is it going? Do you think you'd like to View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2009
Chapter

Organizational Design: Balancing Search and Stability in Strategic Decision Making

By: Jan Rivkin and Nicolaj Siggelkow

Managers often must make decisions that depend on decisions in other parts of the organization. These interactions create a network of interdependent choices and make strategizing difficult. In this chapter, the authors explore the intersection between organizing and... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Strategy; Balance and Stability

November–December 2023
Article

Storytelling That Drives Bold Change

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

When tackling urgent organizational problems, leaders usually work hard to identify underlying causes, tap a wide range of knowledge, and experiment with solutions. But once they’ve mapped out a plan, there’s one more crucial step they must take: crafting a story so... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Emotions; Communication Strategy

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February 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Cultural Change at Nissan Motors

By: John P. Kotter

Depicts the reformation of Nissan Motor Co.'s corporate culture and the company's subsequent turnaround in market share and profits. In 1985, Yutaka Kume became president of Nissan and thereafter, he continually emphasized the need for internal change throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Behavior; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Change Management; Management; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry

Research Summary

Team, Individual, and Organizational Learning From Experience in Two High-Hazard Industries

High-hazard industries such as nuclear power and chemical process plants must learn and improve without sole reliance on trial-and-error. Considerable attention and resources are placed on learning from operating experience, including exchange of best practices, peer... View Details

Article

Organizational Innovation in the Multinational Enterprise: Internalization Theory and Business History

By: Teresa da Silva Lopes, Mark Casson and Geoffrey Jones

This article engages in a methodological experiment by using historical evidence to challenge a common misperception about internalization theory. The theory has often been criticized for maintaining that it assumes a hierarchically organized MNE based on knowledge... View Details

Keywords: Internalization; Multinational Strategy; Business History; Organization And Management Theory; Globalization; Entrepreneurship; Governance; History; Organizations; Theory; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; North and Central America

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Teaching Interest

MBA Required Curriculum Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LEAD)

By: Rakesh Khurana

This course focuses on how managers become effective leaders by addressing the human side of enterprise.

The first modules examine teams, individuals, and networks in the context of:

The determinants of group... View Details

February 2013 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization

By: Linda A. Hill, Anthony J. Mayo and Dana M. Teppert

Iz-Lynn Chan, assistant director of retail business group and service quality and vice president of Far East retail consultancy for Far East Organization, a private real estate developer group in Singapore, raises service standards in the company's hospitality... View Details

Keywords: Hospitality; Organizational Change And Transformation; Leadership; Leading Change; Change Management; Service Industry; Singapore

2001
Simulation

Negotiating Corporate Change

By: J. K. Sebenius

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Negotiation

15 Mar 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Initiating Divergent Organizational Change: The Enabling Role of Actors’ Social Position

Keywords: by Julie Battilana

November 2011
Case

Celeritas, Inc.: Leadership Challenges in a Fast-Growth Industry

By: Michael Beer and Ingrid Vargas

In 2011, Celeritas is a leading data communications company in the crowded, highly competitive, and ever-evolving enterprise-network optimization market. Having experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2003, Celeritas has recently seen sales decline and has begun... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Morale; Conflict; Organizational Change; Team Building; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Leadership; Communication; Groups and Teams; Attitudes; Conflict and Resolution; Information Technology Industry; Communications Industry

March 2019
Supplement

KITEA (D): Further Changes

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Gamze Yucaoglu

The case opens in February 2016, when the official date of IKEA’s store opening (March 16, 2016) is announced after a five-month delay. It reviews the changes that Amine and Othman Benkirane had made to KITEA’s workforce in the extra five months afforded by the delay... View Details

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