Businesses sometimes need to invest in new opportunities that do not fit the current business or current strategy well. The traditional advice, from Clayton Christensen’s work on disruptive innovations and Michael Tushman’s on organizational ambidexterity, is to set up the new activity as a separate unit, reporting to a manager at the corporate headquarters who can sponsor the new activity and help to integrate it with the rest of the company.
How Separate Should a Corporate Spin-Off Be?
Setting up an innovative new business unit requires making fine-grained decisions.
May 26, 2014
New!
HBR Learning
Strategy Planning and Execution Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Strategy Planning and Execution. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
How to develop a winning strategy—and put it to work.
Learn More & See All Courses
New!
HBR Learning
Strategy Planning and Execution Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Strategy Planning and Execution. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
How to develop a winning strategy—and put it to work.