Publications

May 2018
Supplement

Transformation at ING (C): Culture

By: William R. Kerr and Alexis Brownell

In 2016, ING Group began an overhaul of its company culture, culminating in a code of conduct dubbed "The Orange Code." View Details

Keywords: ING; Company Culture; Cultural Change; Change; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Netherlands

3 Feb 2020
Interview

Lou Shipley: [How to Build a Culture of Enablement]

By: Lou Shipley

This episode of Reveal brings Lou Shipley, investor, lecturer, and previous CEO of Black Duck Security. Lou details sales enablement's role in delivering sales excellence and an effective new hire onboarding experience. View Details

Keywords: Hiring; Company Culture; Sales; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture

Editorial

How Laws and Culture Hold Back Socially Minded Companies

By: George Serafeim, Daniela Saltzman and Bronagh Ward

Keywords: Corporate Purpose; Benefit Corporation; Short-termism; Culture; Corporate Law; Shareholder Activism

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October 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture

By: Frances X. Frei, Robin J. Ely and Laura Winig

On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its board of directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

October 8, 2012
Column

Henkel's Culture Shift

By: Robert Simons

This case descriibes a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Execution; Culture; New CEO; Change; Performance Measures; Accountability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Accountability; Leading Change; Competitive Strategy; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Consumer Products Industry; Germany

March–April 2020
Article

Building A Culture of Experimentation

By: Stefan Thomke

Why don’t organizations test more? After examining this question for several years, I can tell you that the central reason is culture. As companies try to scale up their experimentation capacity, they often find that the obstacles are not tools and technology but... View Details

Keywords: Experimentation; Culture; Innovation; Online; Customer Experience; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Internet and the Web; Attitudes; Decision Making; Change; Leadership

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May 2019
Supplement

Engineering Company Culture at Zaimella Ecuador (B)

By: Gary P. Pisano and Francesca Gino

January 2013
Case

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture (MM)

By: Frances X. Frei and Robin J. Ely

On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately-held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft-line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its Board of Directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies.... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Internet and the Web; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

July 2024 (Revised May 2025)
Teaching Note

Leading Culture Change at Microsoft Western Europe

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Catherine Huang

This teaching plan is designed to be used in conjunction with the case study “Leading Culture Change at Microsoft Western Europe,” HBS No. 624-096, to help faculty deepen student understanding of psychological safety and organizational culture transformation through... View Details

Keywords: Culture Change; General Management; Psychological Safety; Leadership; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams; Business or Company Management; Technology Industry; Europe

January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Expanding the Culture of Learning at Kraft Heinz

By: Ashley V. Whillans and Carolyn Watson

The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) was an American food company formed in 2015 by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc and the H.J. Heinz Company. The company sold food products like Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kool-Aid, and Philadelphia cream cheese to supermarkets,... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Culture; Work Culture; Workplace Practices; Mergers; Mergers and Acquisitions; Competitive Advantage; Human Capital; Training; Performance Evaluation; Growth and Development; Personal Development and Career; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

August 2013
Teaching Plan

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service and Company Culture

By: Frances X. Frei and Annelena Lobb

October 2013 (Revised February 2019)
Case

Chobani: Growing a Live and Active Culture (Abridged)

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Matthew Preble

Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of the Greek yogurt company Chobani, Inc., was reflecting on what explained his young company's meteoric rise. The company held over half of the U.S. Greek yogurt market and nearly 20% of the total yogurt market. The company's innovative approach to... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Culture; Growth Strategy; Growth Management; Yogurt; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy; Agribusiness; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada; Australia

June 20, 2023
Article

Cautious Adoption of AI Can Create Positive Company Culture

By: Joseph Pacelli and Jonas Heese

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Organizational Culture; Employees

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2016
Blog

Building A Culture of Health - John A. Quelch: Creating A Culture of Health

By: John A. Quelch

All American companies are in the health business whether they like it or not. The private sector directly pays for one-fifth of the whopping 17.5% of GDP spent on healthcare in the United States. Rather than viewing health merely as an insurance expense to be... View Details

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March 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Culture at Google

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Amy Klopfenstein and Sarah Mehta

Beginning in 2017, technology (tech) company Google faced a series of employee-relations issues that threatened its unique culture of innovation and open communication. Issues included protests surrounding Google’s contracts with the U.S. government, restrictions of... View Details

2014
Case

Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant: Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Culture

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Weiku Wu and Jia Guo

Meizhou Dongpo is a large catering group in China. On June 6, 1996, the first Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant was opened in Beijing. The enterprise entered the stage of rapid development in 2000, and set up Beijing Meizhou Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. In June 2003 the... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership; National Culture; China; Restaurants; China

September 1995 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Exporting American Culture

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

A large entertainment company, extensively criticized for producing violent, offensive, and anti-social material, is considering whether to sell its material to a semi-illegal operation that is beaming satellite TV into Turkey. The opportunity raises many questions... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Forecasting and Prediction; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Media; Business and Community Relations; Opportunities; Social Issues; Media and Broadcasting Industry

29 Mar 2019
Interview

Integrating Theory into Your Organization: Black Duck by Synopsys

By: Lou Shipley

The Disruptive Voice hits the road, heading to BlackDuck by Synopsys headquarters in Burlington, MA. We sit down with Lou Shipley (CEO), Patrick Carey (Director of Product Marketing), and Tim Kenny (VP of Culture) to hear how Competing Against Luck became a company... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Company Culture; Disruption; Innovation and Invention; Disruptive Innovation; Technology; Organizational Culture