Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior

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About the Unit

Through its research, teaching, and course development, the Organizational Behavior Unit creates and disseminates knowledge that advances the understanding of how to lead and manage with the aim of increasing personal and organizational effectiveness. Although specific research interests span a wide range of subjects, the faculty share a problem driven, interdisciplinary, multi method approach that has led to significant impact on theory and practice.

Our current intellectual agenda builds on the rich history of OB at HBS and focuses squarely on the organizational changes and challenges arising from today's increasingly global and more competitive economy. In the last decade, the faculty have been recognized for their work on leadership in an increasingly diverse and dynamic environment, the evolution of managerial careers in our society, managing diversity, and organizational design and change to meet evolving needs and expectations in a changing world.

Recent Publications

Annette Rodriguez

By: Leslie A. Perlow and Matthew G. Preble
  • September 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
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Cristina Ventura: The Career of a Catalyst

By: Linda A. Hill, Allison J. Wigen and Ruth Page
  • August 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Pre-Abstract: This multimedia case should be assigned to students in advance of class. Instructors should consider the timing of making the B videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details. Abstract: This multimedia case follows the career of Chief Catalyst Officer for the Lane Crawford Joyce Group (LCJG), Cristina Ventura. After beginning her career in luxury in Europe and Asia, Ventura was recruited in 2011 to open Apple’s flagship stores in Hong Kong and South China. Not long after, Ventura was introduced to Jennifer Woo at LCJG—a private, family company with a 170-year history in Asia. Attracted by Woo’s vision and leadership, and eager to work for a local Chinese company, Ventura came on board as Senior Vice President for Joyce, LCJG’s edgiest business with a long-standing luxury clientele. From there, she was promoted to Chief Catalyst Officer, a role that combined her expertise in luxury and technology and her talent for bridging people. The case documents how Ventura went about building an ecosystem, connecting corporates, entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and government stakeholders, to help catalyze innovation for LCJG and the industry as a whole.
Keywords: Leadership; Innovation; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Entrepreneurship; Luxury; Family Business; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Asia; China; Hong Kong
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Ashesi University: The Journey From Vision to Reality

By: Ranjay Gulati and Caroline de Lacvivier
  • August 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
In 1997, Patrick Awuah had a dream: to bring liberal arts education to Ghana. Amid the country’s declining economy and pervasive corruption problems, Awuah saw education as an opportunity to reverse its fortunes by investing in the next generation of African leaders. Five years later, he and his team established Ashesi University, which differentiated itself from Ghana’s traditional educational model by remaining privately funded (and therefore independent from Ghana’s public school system), religiously unaffiliated, and – in service of its mission of developing future leaders – operative under an honor code that allowed students to take exams without supervision, an unprecedented practice in Ghana. This case follows Awuah’s efforts to establish and grow Ashesi University and provides insight into the role that leadership can play in operationalizing purpose, especially in entrepreneurial ventures.
Related

Melissa Landry Koller

By: Leslie Perlow and Hannah Weisman
  • August 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
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Amrit Jalan

By: Leslie A. Perlow and Hannah Weisman
  • August 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
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David Aron

By: Leslie Perlow and Hannah Weisman
  • August 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
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Dishoom: From Bombay with Love

By: Anjali Bhatt and Thomas J. DeLong
  • August 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Shamil and Kavi Thakrar, co-founders of Dishoom, faced critical decisions as they looked to expand the UK-based restaurant group. Shamil, the CEO, was confident in Dishoom's potential for growth but he was concerned about preserving the culture and values centered around the notion of "seva" or selfless service. He knew that this strong culture underpinned the nostalgic and culturally rich customer experience that defined the organization's success to date. At the same time, Thakrar wondered if Dishoom's culture was a double-edged sword, contributing to employee burnout. How could he ensure that Dishoom’s organization and culture were set up for the growth ahead? This case considers the challenge of how leaders design and manage culture in the face of organizational scaling.
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Pitch Perfect: Investing in Transportable Presentation Skills to Support Poly-vocal Personae

By: James Riley and Susan S. Silbey
  • 2024 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
For organizations requiring independent and creative thinking skills for complex problem-solving, especially within a multi-disciplinary pool of collaborators, conventional socialization practices flattening individuality for the sake of uniformity is not necessarily productive. This paper, based on a 14-month field study, shows how such an organization invested in their heterogenous workforce with a common set of transportable skills, and how these skills enabled the workers to develop a poly-vocal personae via dramaturgical role distancing, thus moderating dissonance between their diverse professional identities and the practical realities of their workplace.
Keywords: Creativity; Identity; Competency and Skills; Groups and Teams
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Contact Information

Organizational Behavior Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
OB@hbs.edu