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Crisis ManagementRemove Crisis Management →

New research on crisis management from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including how to avoid panicking in the face of adversity, what companies learned from 9/11 and other crises, and the proper use of risk management.
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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.

What’s the Best Administrative Approach to Climate Change?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: James Heskett's readers point to examples of complex environmental problems conquered through multinational cooperation. Can those serve as roadmaps for overcoming global warming? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Cut Salaries or Cut People? The Best Way to Survive a Downturn

by Rachel Layne

When times are tight, companies usually respond with employee layoffs. But what if they held on to workers and cut their salaries instead? New research by Christopher Stanton and colleagues has the answer. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Companies Managed Risk (and Even Benefitted) in World War Internment Camps

by Julia Hanna

Foreign businesses located in at-war countries are often victims of expropriation. Historian Valeria Giacomin explores how German businesses in the United Kingdom and India mitigated risk and even benefitted when their employees were placed in internment camps during the World Wars. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Op-Ed: What Mark Zuckerberg Can Learn About Crisis Leadership from Starbucks

by Bill George

Starbucks and Facebook present a contrast in crisis leadership, says Bill George. While Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson stepped up to take responsibility and met with victims, Mark Zuckerberg delayed action and side-stepped responsibility. 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.

Turbulence, Firm Decentralization and Growth in Bad Times

by Philippe Aghion, Nicholas Bloom, Brian Lucking, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen

What makes some firms more resilient than others to large negative macro shocks? This paper finds that the internal organization of firms—specifically, the extent to which decision-making is decentralized from headquarters to plant managers—is an important mediating factor through which macroeconomic shocks affect firm performance and, ultimately, growth.

Cost-cutting Leads to Turbulence in the Airline Industry

Re: Susanna Gallani

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.

Target's Expensive Cybersecurity Mistake

Re: Suraj Srinivasan

Professor Suraj Srinivasan explores one of the largest cyber breaches in history, analyzing why failures happen, who should be held accountable, and how preventing them is both a technical problem and a matter of organizational design. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Prospective Students Steer Clear of Schools Rocked by Scandal

by Dina Gerdeman

Who says there is no such thing as bad publicity? When a college experiences a scandal, applications drop. Michael Luca explains what colleges and other businesses should learn when bad news dips the demand curve. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Panic Management: Keep Your Eyes on the Road

by Dina Gerdeman

Many of us respond with a knee-jerk reaction when adversity hits, but a more considered approach is better for a successful resolution. Joshua Margolis discusses the resilience regimen. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics

by John Quelch

When it comes to emergency preparedness for pandemics, the World Health Organization is falling short, argues John A. Quelch. A better solution: The World Bank. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

As Tim Cook, How Would You Tackle Apple's Next Challenge?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP With Apple's technology now apparently less secure, CEO Tim Cook suddenly has some critical decisions to make. James Heskett guides us through the options and asks for suggestions. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

What Companies Should Not Do in the Next Banking Crisis

by Michael Blanding

Following the banking meltdown of 2008, many struggling companies in Spain did what they shouldn’t have: sacrificed their future for short-term gain. Professor Claudia Steinwender calls it the Groucho Marx Criterion. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Leadership Lessons of the Great Recession: Options for Economic Downturns

by Sandra Sucher & Susan Winterberg

In the new case study “Honeywell and the Great Recession,” Sandra Sucher and Susan Winterberg explore employer tradeoffs when a downturn hits: conducting layoffs vs. orchestrating furloughs. Plus: Video interviews with Honeywell CEO Dave Cote. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why Good Deeds Invite Bad Publicity

by Michael Blanding

Many executives assume that investments in corporate social responsibility create public goodwill. But do they? Felix Oberholzer-Gee and colleagues find surprising results when it comes to oil spills. Closed for comment; 21 Comment(s) posted.

Tragedy at Toyota: How Not to Lead in Crisis

by William George

"Toyota can only regain its footing by transforming itself from top to bottom to deliver the highest quality automobiles," says HBS professor Bill George of the beleaguered automobile company that in recent months has recalled 8 million vehicles. He offers seven recommendations for restoring consumer confidence in the safety and quality behind the storied brand. Key concepts include: Toyota Motor Corporation's problem is first and foremost a leadership crisis. It needs a credible leader with a strong, cohesive plan. Competitors Ford and GM are working to regain the market share they have lost to Toyota. Rather than blame floor mats and panicky drivers, as Toyota did when complaints first arose, it should have acknowledged that its vaunted quality system failed. Toyota should seize the opportunity to make radical changes to renew the company and restore consumers' trust. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Sharpening Your Skills: Leading Change

by Staff

Nothing like a global recession to test your change-management skills. We dig deep into the Working Knowledge vault to learn about building a business in a down economy, motivating the troops, and other current topics. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

Don’t Just Survive—Thrive: Leading Innovation in Good Times and Bad

by Lynda M. Applegate & J. Bruce Harreld

The financial crisis provides a sobering reminder of what happens when innovation fails to drive productive economic growth. For over a decade, money from around the world poured into the United States seeking innovation. Despite these massive investments, when adjusted for inflation, U.S. GDP grew slowly with much of the growth coming from government, professional, and business services, including real estate and outsourcing. What's more, inflation adjusted wages stalled for many, even as consumer spending increased. This paper argues that innovation is not a side business to a real business: rather, innovation is the foundation of a successful business. Key concepts include: Entrepreneurs can be found and a culture of entrepreneurship can be developed in companies of any size and age. Entrepreneurial leaders must relentlessly—but not recklessly—pursue opportunity. They must look beyond the resources currently controlled to harness the power, resources, and reach of their organizations and networks. Breakthrough innovations that change people's lives and the very structure and power dynamics of industries cannot be managed as "silos," tucked away in corporate, university, or government research labs, in incubators, or within venture capital funded entrepreneurial start-ups. Access to the marketplace is needed to help speed commercialization and adoption. Emerging opportunities must be nurtured and the transition to high growth must be managed. Once breakthrough innovations catch hold, growth must be funded and managed to exploit the full value of the opportunity. Incremental innovations must ensure that businesses that have passed through the high-growth stage can continue to deliver the resources, capabilities, and platforms needed to fuel the emerging opportunities of the future. Different organizational structures, cultures, governance and risk management systems, and leadership styles are needed to manage the business innovation lifecycle from an initial idea to a sustainable business that leverages entry position and capabilities to exploit the full potential for growth and evolution over time. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

by Martha Lagace

Think you could be CIO? Jim Barton is a savvy manager but an IT newbie when he's promoted into the hot seat as chief information officer in The Adventures of an IT Leader, a novel by HBS professors Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan and coauthor Shannon O'Donnell. Can Barton navigate his strange new world quickly enough? Q&A with the authors, and book excerpt. Key concepts include: The role of CIO is one of the most volatile, high-turnover jobs in business. Why? The driving cause is more than rapid change in IT. Rather, IT is at the crossroads of major organizational change. Barton soon realizes that IT-specific knowledge is not a key to success. Instead, he must take care to collaborate equally with the senior management team and his own staff. Like Barton, today's senior executives are continuously confronted with situations with multiple uncertainties, needing collaboration and input from experts who may know more than they do about the specifics. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.