Publications

Find at Harvard

December 2014 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Susie Mulder at NIC+ZOE

By: David Fubini, Joshua Margolis and Kerry Herman

Susie Mulder must decide how to lead NIC+ZOE—the women's apparel brand she had recently joined as CEO—from its start-up phase into a disciplined growth phase. With growing revenues, a successful product line, and savvy private equity investors, NIC+ZOE seems perfectly... View Details

Keywords: Clothing; Fashion; Fashion Design; Leadership; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Private Equity; Decision Making; Apparel and Accessories Industry

November 2004
Case

Technology Commercialization at the Massachusetts General Hospital

The Department of Corporate Sponsored Research & Licensing (CSRL) at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) serves as the primary interface between the hospital and the private sector. Examines the range of issues related to the commercialization of MGH's... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Conflict of Interests; Commercialization; Higher Education; Health Care and Treatment; Education Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

March 2003
Background Note

Management and Creativity in Television Broadcasting

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Douglas A Raymond

Management and creativity are sometimes assumed to be unrelated or even conflicting concepts. In the best cases, management controls enable artistic success by gathering resources and providing discipline. However, if pushed too far, the same discipline can stifle... View Details

Keywords: Governance Controls; Leadership Development; Management; Managerial Roles; Creativity

February 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Background Note

Enterprise Resource Planning

Introduces the concepts and issues related to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology. Begins with a stylized example of ERP in action. Aa brief history of the ERP industry is provided, with reference to major events and players. Additional case examples of... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Operations

May 1991
Case

Sun Hydraulics Corp. (C)

Provides a follow-up to the (A) and (B) (Condensed) case. Brings events up to date from 1985-1991. Bob Koski, Sun's CEO, has now taken on a new #2 heir apparent in Clyde Nixon. The company has a proliferation of new products and new directions. Has Sun's horizontal... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture

23 May 2014
News

Facebook Succeeds Because Deep Down, We're All Stalkers

July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Pattern Brands

By: Sunil Gupta, Elie Ofek and Julia Kelley

In March 2020, direct-to-consumer (DTC) company Pattern Brands needed to decide how to allocate resources across its different brands. Pattern Co-Founders Nick Ling and Emmett Shine hoped to avoid the pitfalls faced by some DTC companies—such as inability to scale and... View Details

January – February 2011
Article

Creating Shared Value

By: Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer

The capitalist system is under siege. In recent years business has been criticized as a major cause of social, environmental, and economic problems. Companies are widely thought to be prospering at the expense of their communities. Trust in business has fallen to new... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Economic Growth; Economic Systems; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Trust; Human Needs; Welfare; Competitive Advantage; Value Creation

Find at Harvard

October 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Customer-Centric Design with Artificial Intelligence: Commonwealth Bank

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Jin Hyun Paik and Steven Randazzo

As Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) CEO Matt Comyn delivered the full financial year results in August 2021 over videoconference, it took less than two minutes for him to make his first mention of the organization's Customer Engagement Engine (CEE), the AI-driven customer... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Customer-centricity; Banks and Banking; Customer Focus and Relationships; Technological Innovation; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance; AI and Machine Learning; Financial Services Industry; Australia

02 Nov 2015
Book

Dear Internet: You Are Extraordinary, But Not Exceptional

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Computer; Telecommunications

TeachingInterests

Strategy: Building and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

By: Andy Wu

In the fight for market leadership, your company must be able to build a winning strategy—and execute it seamlessly across multiple business lines. This program prepares you to identify and exploit sources of competitive advantage and implement game-changing... View Details

January 2011 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Executive Compensation at Talent Partners

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Talent Partners' CEO was very successful at growing the business and establishing its leadership position. He was compensated with a mix of salary and options and he did not own any equity in the company. The options were set so that if Talent Partners achieved its... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Stock Options; Compensation and Benefits

April 2003
Case

HP-Cisco Alliance (A), The

In 2002, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems strove to develop their long-standing partnership into a strategic alliance with increasing impact. Critical components of successful alliance implementation emerge from the analysis. Specifically, the case illuminates the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Design; Alliances; Organizational Structure

October 1998 (Revised November 1999)
Case

Chantal Cookware Corp.

By: H. Kent Bowen, Paul W. Marshall and Stephanie Dodson

Chantal Cookware is a small, private company with a 15-year record of success in the design, assembly, and sale of high-end cookware. It experiences serious setbacks when consumers' tastes shift from colorful enamel-on-steel products to commercial-style cookware.... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Strategic Planning; Market Entry and Exit; Product Positioning; Trends; Manufacturing Industry

April 1991
Background Note

Implementing Change: Note

Highlights the challenges of implementing major change in an organization. It first describes the common pitfalls so that implementors will be "forewarned." Next, it characterizes the guidelines for successful implementation as the "ten commandments", while offering a... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management