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What Went Wrong with the Boeing 737 Max?

How did the evolution of Boeing’s organization and management lead up to two tragic plane crashes—the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29, 2018, in Indonesia, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 on March 9, 2019, in Ethiopia—in which a total of 346 people died? What role did cost cutting, FAA pressure, and CEO succession play in laying the foundation for this tragedy? Professor Bill George discusses the long roots that ultimately led to two tragic Boeing 737 Max crashes, and examines the response of Boeing executives to the crisis in his case, “What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max?” Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Accounting for Product Impact in the Airlines Industry

by George Serafeim and Katie Trinh

A systematic methodology for measuring product impact can be applied across a range of industries. Examining two competitor companies in the airlines industry, this study finds that analyzing each dimension of product impact allows for deeper understanding of each company’s business strategies.

Performance Hacking: The Contagious Business Practice that Corrodes Corporate Culture, Undermines Core Values, and Damages Great Companies

by Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan

Performance hacking (or p-hacking for short) means overzealous advocacy of positive interpretations to the point of detachment from actuals. In business as in research there are strong incentives to p-hack. If p-hacking behaviours are not checked, a crash becomes inevitable.

How Does a Company like Boeing Respond to Intense Competitive Pressure?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: Playing out in real time, Boeing's misguided responses to competitive pressure illustrate organizational "gaps" suffered by many organizations. James Heskett's readers discuss solutions. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Companies Can Make Up with (Very) Unhappy Customers

by Sean Silverthorne

It happens to the best of companies. One fine day a public relations nightmare explodes and shatters your hard-won trust with customers. What should you do next? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Who Will Measure up to These Two Remarkable Leaders?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP. In the wake of the loss of two great CEOs, James Heskett asks which schools are ready to turn out the next generation of transformative leaders? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Better Way to Forecast the Future

by Roberta Holland

We can forecast hurricane paths with great certainty, yet many businesses can't predict a supply chain snafu just around the corner. Yael Grushka-Cockayne says crowdsourcing can help. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Forecasting Airport Transfer Passenger Flow Using Real-Time Data and Machine Learning

by Xiaojia Guo, Yael Grushka-Cockayne, and Bert De Reyck

Passengers arriving at international hubs often endure delays, especially at immigration and security. This study of London’s Heathrow Airport develops a system to provide real-time information about transfer passengers’ journeys through the airport to better serve passengers, airlines, and their employees. It shows how advanced machine learning could be accessible to managers.

The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 2: Technical and Strategic Bottlenecks as Guides for Action

by Carliss Y. Baldwin

This paper presents analytic tools to formulate strategy in large, evolving technical systems. It explains how value-enhancing technical change comes from the effective management of technical and strategic bottlenecks in conjunction with module boundaries and property rights. The analytic tools are used to explain the evolution of three historic technologies: early aircraft, machine tools, and container shipping.

Op-Ed: The Trouble with Tariffs

by Willy C. Shih

The world's economies are interconnected by globalization, which makes threats of tariff wars doubly dangerous, says Willy Shih. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Op-Ed: It’s a Bad Idea to Ban Customers From Recording Videos

by Benjamin G. Edelman

With videos of bad business practices routinely going viral, it might be tempting to prohibit customers from recording their surroundings. But banning cameras is the wrong way to go, says Benjamin Edelman. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Cost-cutting Leads to Turbulence in the Airline Industry

When a business known for delivering an exemplary customer experience faces cutbacks, what services get chopped? Assistant Professor Susanna Gallani discusses a recent case study about an airline that looks not just to survive a downturn but emerge stronger. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Airplane Design Brings Out the Class Warfare in Us All

by Dina Gerdeman

Air rage is often blamed on overcrowded flights and postage stamp-size seats, but researchers Michael Norton and Katherine A. DeCelles find another culprit: resentment toward passengers in first class. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

After Germanwings, More Attention Needed on Employee Mental Health

by Michael Blanding

The Germanwings tragedy catapulted the issues of mental health and corporate risk and responsibility into the world's headlines. Professor John Quelch argues it's time for companies to make employee mental health more than an afterthought. Open for comment; 16 Comment(s) posted.

It’s Called ‘Price Coherence,’ and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers

by Carmen Nobel

In many markets, a product is offered at the same price regardless of whether it is sold directly by a retailer or through an intermediary. Research by Ben Edelman and Julian Wright uncovers the hidden costs for consumers. Open for comment; 8 Comment(s) posted.

Can We Get To Where We Need To Go?

by Dina Gerdeman

America's infrastructure woes and how to fix them were front and center at the recent summit, America on the Move: Transportation and Infrastructure for the 21st Century, led by Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Open for comment; 2 Comment(s) posted.

Big Deal: Reflections on the Megamerger of American and US Airways

The proposed marriage between American Airlines and US Airways would create the nation's largest airline. Professors Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Stuart Gilson reflect on a megamerger. Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Improving Fairness in Flight Delays

by Julia Hanna

Airlines and the FAA don't like flight delays any more than passengers, but what's to be done? Assistant Professor Douglas Fearing and colleagues propose a "fairness" system that could save travelers time and service providers millions of dollars annually. Key concepts include: The model could reduce flight delays by 4 percent or more on some of the worst travel days, resulting in a systemwide savings of $25 to $50 million annually. Closed for comment; 5 Comment(s) posted.

Come Fly with Me: A History of Airline Leadership

by Sarah Jane Gilbert

A new book looks at the history of the U.S. aviation industry through the eyes of its entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders—men like Pan Am's Juan Trippe and Southwest Airlines' Herb Kelleher—each emerging at different stages of the industry's evolution from start-up to rebirth. Who comes next? An interview with coauthor Anthony J. Mayo. Key concepts include: While disruptive forces can change an industry, so too can leaders themselves by the manner in which they run their enterprises. Different archetypes of leaders emerged as the U.S. airline industry evolved from start-up phase through deregulation and the shock of September 11, 2001. Airlines seem ripe for a new form of leadership to reenergize the industry. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

JetBlue’s Valentine’s Day Crisis

by Julia Hanna

It was the Valentine's Day from hell for JetBlue employees and more than 130,000 customers. Under bad weather, JetBlue fliers were trapped on the runway at JFK for hours, many ultimately delayed by days. How did the airline make it right with customers and learn from its mistakes? A discussion with Harvard Business School professor Robert S. Huckman. Key concepts include: JetBlue's dependence on a reservations system that relied on a dispersed workforce and the Web broke down when thousands of passengers needed to rebook at once. A crisis forces an organization to evaluate its operating processes rapidly and decide where it needs to create greater formalization or structure. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.