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• Article | Harvard Business Review | July–August 2019

  The Soul of a Startup

  Ranjay Gulati

  There’s an essential, intangible something in start-ups—an energy, a soul. It inspires enthusiasm and fosters a sense of deep connection and mutual purpose. While this spirit persists, engagement is high and businesses keep their edge.
  But all too often, companies lose their souls as they mature. Firms add new systems and structures and bring in experienced professionals—and in the process somehow crush their original energizing spirit. In research into more than a dozen fast-growth ventures and 200-plus interviews with founders and executives, the author has discovered how firms can overcome this problem. His work shows that there are three crucial dimensions to a start-up’s soul: business intent, or a loftier reason for being; unusually close customer connections; and an employee experience characterized by autonomy and creativity—by “voice” and “choice.” All three provide meaning to stakeholders.
  Drawing on the experiences of Netflix, Warby Parker, Study Sapuri, and others, this article describes how sizable companies can still protect and nurture the three elements. Doing that is the secret to staying great as you grow.

  Keywords: Business Startups; Mission and Purpose; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Creativity; Business Growth and Maturation;

  Citation:

  Gulati, Ranjay. "The Soul of a Startup." Harvard Business Review 97, no. 4 (July–August 2019): 85–91.  View Details

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• Article | Strategic Management Journal

  Frame Flexibility: The Role of Cognitive and Emotional Framing in Innovation Adoption by Incumbent Firms

  Ryan Raffaelli, Mary Ann Glynn and Michael Tushman

  Why do incumbent firms frequently reject nonincremental innovations? Beyond technical, structural, or economic factors, we propose an additional factor: the degree of the top management team's (TMT) frame flexibility, i.e., their capability to cognitively expand an innovation's categorical boundaries and to cast the innovation as emotionally resonant with the organization's identity, competencies, and competitive boundaries. We argue that inertial forces generally constrict how TMTs perceive innovations but that frame flexibility can overcome these constraints, increasing the likelihood of adoption and broadening the organization's innovation practices. We advance a theoretical model that relaxes the assumption that cognitive frames are static, showing how they become flexible via categorical positioning, and introduce a role for emotional frames that appeals to organizational members' sentiments and aspirations in innovation adoption.

  Keywords: innovation adoption; cognition; framing; emotional resonance; incumbent inertia; Innovation and Invention; Technology Adoption; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management;

  Citation:

  Raffaelli, Ryan, Mary Ann Glynn, and Michael Tushman. "Frame Flexibility: The Role of Cognitive and Emotional Framing in Innovation Adoption by Incumbent Firms." Strategic Management Journal 40, no. 7 (July 2019): 1013–1039.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2019

  Barber Cardiosystems

  Ranjay Gulati and Paul S. Myers

  Barber Cardiosystems, based in Melbourne, Australia, designs and manufactures therapeutic devices used for treatment of coronary conditions. Over four decades, it has grown to be among the top 200 medical device companies in the world. It competes against much larger companies through a continuous effort to control costs and increase productivity. It does so by aligning operational and human resource practices, particularly employee incentives, with its strategy. Concerns arise in the face of increased competition about whether the company can continue to reduce costs and maintain its margins while keeping both its generous bonus scheme and commitment to guaranteed employment. The company's executive team must decide how to respond. This case is suitable for use in undergraduate, MBA, and executive courses in organizational behavior, leadership, and strategic management. It is especially useful in a module on strategic alignment or organizational design.

  Keywords: organizational behavior; strategic alignment; Cost Management; Performance Productivity; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Strategy; Leadership; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Australia;

  Citation:

  Gulati, Ranjay, and Paul S. Myers. "Barber Cardiosystems." Harvard Business School Brief Case 919-505, April 2019.  View Details

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