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    Mission and PurposeRemove Mission and Purpose →

    New research on institutional mission and purpose from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the co-evolution of organizational design and identity, and 10 reasons to design a better corporate culture.
    Page 1 of 14 Results
    • 22 Mar 2022
    • Cold Call Podcast

    How Etsy Found Its Purpose and Crafted a Turnaround

    Re: Ranjay Gulati

    Etsy, the online seller of handmade goods, was founded in 2005 as an alternative to companies that sold mass-manufactured products. The company grew substantially, but remained unprofitable under the leadership of two early CEOs. Ten years later, Etsy went public and was forced into a new arena, where it was beholden to stakeholders who demanded financial success and accountability. Unable to contain costs, the company was almost bought out by private equity firms in 2017—until CEO Josh Silverman arrived with a mission to save the company financially and, in the process, save its soul. Harvard Business School professor Ranjay Gulati discusses the purpose-driven turnaround Silverman and his team led at Etsy—to make the company profitable and improve its social and environmental impact—in the case, “Etsy: Crafting a Turnaround to Save the Business and Its Soul.” Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 17 Mar 2022
    • Research & Ideas

    Navigating Tradeoffs: How Purpose Becomes a Company's ‘Lighthouse in the Storm’

    by Ranjay Gulati

    Leaders wrestle with tough decisions every day. Focusing on a company's higher purpose can help them make better choices, says Ranjay Gulati in this excerpt from his book Deep Purpose. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 17 Feb 2022
    • Book

    When Employees Feel a Sense of Purpose, Companies Succeed

    by Ranjay Gulati

    Corporate cultures tend to encourage conformity. At a time when employees expect more from their jobs, companies should make space for individuality, Ranjay Gulati argues in this excerpt from his book, Deep Purpose. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 13 Jan 2020
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Recognition Incentives for Internal Crowdsourcing: A Field Experiment at NASA

    by Jana Gallus, Olivia S. Jung, and Karim R. Lakhani

    What to do if organizational hierarchy hinders a platform aimed at worker collaboration? A field experiment with NASA employees finds that they respond to managerial appreciation above other incentives.

    • 25 Nov 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    The Effect of Systems of Management Controls on Misreporting

    by Aishwarrya Deore, Susanna Gallani, and Ranjani Krishnan

    This study provides insights for designing effective management control systems. Managers must select their individual management control practices with care, craft mission statements to convey clear messages that drive organizational alignment with the firm’s overall goals, and consider the effects of interaction between components of their system of controls.

    • 25 Sep 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Corporate Purpose and Firm Ownership

    by Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

    This study shows that corporate purpose varies greatly according to the nature of firm ownership, and these differences can be least partly explained by the choices and compensation of the CEOs. The greater the pay gap between CEOs and employees, the lower the sense of corporate purpose within the organization.

    • 01 May 2019
    • Working Paper Summaries

    Rehabilitating Corporate Purpose

    by Malcolm S. Salter

    Shareholder value maximization has become the de facto expression of the institutional purpose guiding many managers’ decision making. The author proposes an alternative, justice-based guideline for corporate purpose based on established moral and organizational principles.

    • 14 Jan 2019
    • Op-Ed

    These 4 CEOs Created a New Standard of Leadership

    by Bill George

    At the height of the 2008 financial crisis, these four corporate leaders stepped forward—and changed how we think of leadership forever, says Bill George. Open for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 19 Feb 2016
    • Working Paper Summaries

    ‘Does 'What We Do' Make Us 'Who We Are'? Organizational Design and Identity Change at the Federal Bureau of Investigation

    by Ranjay Gulati, Ryan Raffaelli, and Jan Rivkin

    Both the design and identity of the FBI changed greatly in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. This study tracing the co-evolution of the Bureau’s organizational design and identity before the 9/11 attacks and through three subsequent phases finds that successful changes to organizational identity are likely to be delayed after a radical external shock: Management is likely to be constrained, appropriate design is probably unclear, or both.

    • 28 Oct 2013
    • Research & Ideas

    Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

    by Michael Blanding

    In a provocative new book, Joseph Badaracco argues that our world is increasingly characterized by struggle—for labor, technology, funds, and partners. Leaders who embrace that struggle can also reap its rewards. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 20 Mar 2013
    • Research & Ideas

    How CEOs Sustain Higher-Ambition Goals

    by Dina Gerdeman

    At a recent conference, executives underscored the importance of employee engagement, contributing to the community, and creating sustainable environment strategies. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 16 Jul 2012
    • Research & Ideas

    Book Excerpt: ‘The Strategist’

    by Cynthia A. Montgomery

    It's time for CEOs to start reclaiming strategy as a key executive responsibility, argues Cynthia A. Montgomery in her new book, The Strategist. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 17 Oct 2011
    • Research & Ideas

    How ‘Hybrid’ Nonprofits Can Stay on Mission

    by Carmen Nobel

    As nonprofits add more for-profit elements to their business models, they can suffer mission drift. Associate Professor Julie Battilana says hybrid organizations can stay on target if they focus on two factors: the employees they hire and the way they socialize those employees. Key concepts include: In order to avoid mission drift, hybrid organizations need to focus on whom they hire and whether their employees are open to socialization. Because early socialization is so important, hybrid firms may be better off hiring new college graduates with no work background rather than a mix of seasoned bankers and social workers. The longer their tenure in a hybrid organization, the more likely top managers may be to hire junior people. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

    • 22 Dec 2008
    • Research & Ideas

    10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture

    by James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser & Joe Wheeler

    Organizations with strong, adaptive cultures enjoy labor cost advantages, great employee and customer loyalty, and a smoother on-ramp in leadership succession. A book excerpt from The Ownership Quotient: Putting the Service Profit Chain to Work for Unbeatable Competitive Advantage by HBS professors Jim Heskett and W. Earl Sasser and coauthor Joe Wheeler. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.

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