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Organizational Change and AdaptationRemove Organizational Change and Adaptation →

New research on organizational change and adaptation from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including how companies can react to market disruptions, maximizing economic value while developing organizational capabilities, and how the FBI reinvented itself after 9/11.
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What Jobs Are Being Done at Home During the COVID-19 Crisis? Evidence from Firm-Level Surveys

by Alexander Bartik, Zoë Cullen, Edward L. Glaeser, Michael Luca, and Christopher Stanton

At least 16 percent of American workers will switch from office-based settings to working at home at least two days per week after COVID-19 subsides. This has significant implications for companies, employees, and policymakers alike.

Does Remote Work Mix with Organizational Culture?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP: Readers who themselves work from home think differently about how organizations should respond to remote work initiatives. James Heskett sums up the dicussion. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Remote Work Changes What We Think About Onboarding

by Boris Groysberg

COVID-19 has turned many companies into federations of remote workplaces, but without guidance on how their onboarding of new employees must change, says Boris Groysberg. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The New Rules for Remote Work: Pandemic Edition

by Dina Gerdeman

Welcome to the new world of remote work, where employees struggle to learn the rules, managers are unsure how to help them, and organizations get a glimpse into the future. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Readers Ask: I Need Tips for Working at Home

by Kristen Senz

Working at home brings with it confusing new rules of conduct. Remote work expert Prithwiraj Choudhury answers questions from our readers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

by Dina Gerdeman

We asked Harvard Business School experts how the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to change business practice. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

For Migrant Workers, Homesickness Can Reduce Productivity

by Kristen Senz

Workers in the global economy increasingly perform their jobs far away from home. It turns out, says Prithwiraj Choudhury, that homesickness is a significant barrier to their productivity. Here's what employers can do. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

by Julia Hanna

A case study by William Kerr explores Walmart's plans for future workforce makeup and training, and its search for opportunities from digital infrastructure and automation. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Big Companies Can Outrun Disruption

by Martha Lagace

Large companies can be easy targets for disruption, but Gary Pisano says there are steps that can keep them ahead of the innovation curve. Rule 1: Don't emulate startup cultures. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Design Rules, Volume 2: How Technology Shapes Organizations: Chapter 6 The Value Structure of Technologies, Part 1: Mapping Functional Relationships

by Carliss Y. Baldwin

Technology shapes organizations by influencing the search for value—something that someone perceives as a good—in an economy made up of free agents. To understand the organizations that will develop and implement particular technologies we must first understand the technologies’ value structure, including three main issues that make it difficult to value technologies.

How Should Managers Deal with the Challenges of Building an Inclusive Workplace?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP Few doubt the benefits of a diverse workplace. James Heskett's readers offer insights on the most effective management approaches to inclusion. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Religion in the Workplace: What Managers Need to Know

by Dina Gerdeman

Two recent US Supreme Court cases demonstrate that religion in the workplace issues are increasing. How can managers be prepared? It starts with the right attitude, says Derek van Bever. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Celebrating 'The Men and Women of the Corporation' 40 Years Later

by Robin J. Ely

Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s Men and Women of the Corporation inspired and informed a generation of scholars studying gender, status, and power. Robin J. Ely interviews Kanter about her groundbreaking research and why it remains relevant today. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

by Michael Blanding

Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods seemed a Wall Street dream come true. But then Amazon's data-driven efficiency met the customer-driven culture at Whole Foods—and the shelves began to empty. Dennis Campbell and Tatiana Sandino discuss their new case study. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Two Decades Later, is the 'New Economy' Finally Here?

by James Heskett

SUMMING UP Have recent advances in technology such as artificial intelligence ushered in (finally) the "new economy?" Not so fast, answer James Heskett's readers. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Using Language to Build a Global Company

by Sean Silverthorne

In her new book The Language of Global Success, Tsedal Neeley describes Japanese tech giant Rakuten's five-year effort to adopt English as its lingua franca of business. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Flexing the Frame: TMT Framing and the Adoption of Non-Incremental Innovations in Incumbent Firms

by Ryan Raffaelli, Mary Ann Glynn, and Michael Tushman

Organizations continuously face decisions about whether or not to adopt innovations. Often, however, senior teams do not adopt an innovation even when the organization has the resources to do so. Using real examples, this paper theorizes how the processes of cognitive and emotional framing inform managerial choices about whether or not to adopt innovations.

Reputation is Vital to Survival in Turbulent Markets

by Sean Silverthorne

Reputation and resilience are key ingredients that determine whether companies will survive tumultuous markets, according to a new paper by Geoffrey Jones, Tarun Khanna, Cheng Gao, and Tiona Zuzul. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Break the Rules of How Business is Done

by Julia B. Austin

Making just small changes to how you do business inside and outside the company can help you attract bright employees and increase innovation, argues Julia B. Austin. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

When Business Performance Falters, is Culture Change the Fix?

by James L. Heskett

SUMMING UP: Culture change is not a cure-all for corporate management problems, but it is an important element to be considered, say James Heskett's readers. What do YOU think? Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.