Publications

January 2012 (Revised September 2015)
Case

Tough Decisions at Marks and Spencer

By: George Serafeim

In 2007, under the leadership of CEO Stuart Rose, the iconic British retailer Marks and Spencer, with great fanfare, announced its "Plan A" initiative. Based on the five essential pillars of climate change, waste, sustainable materials, fair partnership, and health,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Retail Industry

October 2023
Case

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt: A Curriculum Provider Puts Itself on the Hook for Student Outcomes

By: John J-H Kim, Derek C. M. van Bever, Michael Norris and Max Hancock

Jack Lynch, CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) since 2017, was leading the company’s transformation from a legacy textbook publisher to a digital-first student outcomes provider, which earned subscription revenue from digital products and curriculum. In 2023, HMH... View Details

Keywords: Edtech; Textbook; Publishing; Leading Change; Change Management; Transformation; Digital Transformation; Expansion; Business Strategy; Publishing Industry; Education Industry; United States

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

Reorganize for Resilience: Putting Customers at the Center of Your Business (Harvard Business Press). Gulati, whose research explores leadership and strategic challenges for building high growth organizations in turbulent markets, is the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

03 Nov 2023
News

Global Networking Night; Sweden Club Holds Climate Forum

tunes,” according to club co-president Shyam Ayengar (MBA 2006). The club also uses the GNN as an opportunity to recap the club’s year and announce new initiatives. Many clubs shared these images from their GNN events as well: Alumni in Sweden Convene View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Organizing the Family-Run Business

Generational Changes In The Family Business Board The board of directors in the family firm usually changes over generations and as the ownership of the firm progresses through three distinct stages. 2... View Details

March 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Case

Michelin: Building a Digital Service Platform

By: Sunil Gupta and Christian Godwin

Michelin, a tire company with over a century of experience, attempts to develop a digital service platform for its fleet and dealer customers. The case focuses on the challenges of bringing a large, well-established company into the digital age. Concerned about the... View Details

Keywords: Change; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Leading Change; Growth and Development; Strategy; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Auto Industry; Travel Industry; Transportation Industry; United States; France

Web

Career Re-Entry & Flexible Work - Alumni

break, pivoting careers, starting a new venture or looking to make a change in response to a personal transition. Evolve equips women with the community, mindsets and professional toolkit needed for successful reinvention. We bring... View Details

Web

6 Steps to Building a Better Workplace for Black Employees - Recruiting

help employees be themselves, according to a new book co-edited by Anthony J. Mayo, Laura Morgan Roberts, and David A. Thomas. When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, some saw it as proof that the color of one’s skin could no longer hold people back from... View Details

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

The dot-com boom of the 1990s had changed the rules of business forever, it seemed; all you needed was a sexy IPO, cold nerve, and the magic carpet of momentum trading. But even as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists were dismissing... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

more akin to an Apple, a Tesla, or a Nest, or a GoPro—where it’s a consumer product that has the foundation of sexy hardware technology and sexy software technology,” he is quoted in a book published today, Competing in the Age of AI: Strategy and View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Blog

Leading in Tough Times: HBS Faculty Member Amy C. Edmondson on Psychological Safety

Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, has long studied the performance of teams in the workplace. Her latest book is The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the... View Details

26 Jan 2016
First Look

January 26, 2016

a set of practices to guide firms as they adopt ambidexterity. Senior leadership is crucial here. We discuss the importance of leading in a consistently inconsistent fashion. Readers will come away with a new understanding of how to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2017
Case

Aston Martin: A Second Century of Performance and Luxury

By: Vish V. Krishnan, Karim R. Lakhani and Amram Migdal

Following the March 2016 launch of DB11, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd.’s first new sports car platform in over a decade, this case discusses the future strategy of the famed British luxury auto manufacturer. Since its founding in 1902, Aston Martin has been characterized... View Details

04 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 4

insufficient labor levels, which, in turn, degrades profitability. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-040.pdf Cases & Course MaterialsCompass Box Whisky Company Harvard Business School Case 108-032 Compass Box Whisky Company is facing a View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Jan 2022
News

Making Peace with Anger

push them really hard. And then, in the process of this work, it changed the way you approached that group. So let’s take that example and talk about how that illustrates the value of the work that you were doing around anger management.... View Details

April 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Case

From Globalization to Dual Digital Transformation: CEO Thierry Breton Leading Atos Into 'Digital Shockwaves' (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley, JT Keller and James Barnett

Thierry Breton, chairman and CEO of IT company Atos, faced a pivotal juncture. After spending eight intense years scaling the company globally to over 100,000 employees in 70 countries, he was ready to take the next crucial step. Breton was convinced that rapid digital... View Details

Keywords: Dual Digital Transformation; Transformation; Disruption; Employees; Competency and Skills; Training; Decision Making; Digital Transformation