Core Values - Publications - Faculty & Research

12 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

New Research Explores Multi-Sided Markets

School, defines these multi-sided markets as platforms that serve two or more distinct groups of customers who value each other's participation. Examples: EBay provides markets for both buyers and sellers, dating club clients are both men... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

16 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Are You a Strategist?

reinforcing parts. Rich in organizational detail, and anchored on purpose, such systems of value creation "make strategy the animating force in a company," says Montgomery. "They're the crucial link between lofty ideas and action." To... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

01 Dec 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is Quality of Labor? And How Is It Achieved?

out why a handful of organizations are able to achieve true excellence. One of several things they all do is hire for attitude and train for skills. By "attitude," they typically mean the ability to identify with and "live" View Details

Keywords: by by Jim Heskett

14 Dec 2007
Op-Ed

When Your Product Becomes a Commodity

profits? If you've heard it, you've probably wondered if it was just a convenient excuse or if the manager had a valid point. The truth is, even when a raw material has no value added and quality standards are set by law or the industry,... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

can truly build advantage in this new world. About the Author Dina Gerdeman is a senior writer at Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. [Image: ipopba] Book Excerpt Putting AI at the Core By Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani On May... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industries

method, under the guidance of a teacher, at the lowest possible level in the organization. Wipro Gains Efficiency In the paper, Staats and Upton describe how Wipro first launched its lean initiative in 2004 with a core team of managers.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer

16 Feb 2010
Research & Ideas

The Outside-In Approach to Customer Service

According to a new book by Harvard Business School's Ranjay Gulati, it is customer-centric firms—those with a so-called outside-in perspective—that are most resilient during turbulent markets. An outside-in perspective means that companies aim to creatively deliver... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products

09 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Organizations

like that was explicitly designed to engage the drives, the skills, the smarts, and the emotions of such people in a collaborative effort to design, produce, and sell products and services of value to the wider world? After we have... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Lawrence & Nitin Nohria

07 Jul 2011
What Do You Think?

So We Adapt. What’s the Downside?

to their book, Built to Last, advised us to "Preserve the core but stimulate progress." Phil Clark argued that commitment, embodied for him in habit, "gives us time to pay attention and think about what is happening around... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

24 Sep 2013
First Look

First Look: September 24

Earnings Call By: Eccles, Robert G., and George Serafeim Abstract—One of the challenges companies claim to face in making sustainability a core part of their strategy and operations is that the market does not care about sustainability,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Apr 2011
HBS Case

Reinventing the National Geographic Society

publications, National Geographic's subscription revenue has declined significantly, from $284 million in 1999 to $211 million in 2009. The value of becoming a member of the Society, once a matter of prestige, has eroded. The institution... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Publishing

17 Feb 2022
Book

When Employees Feel a Sense of Purpose, Companies Succeed

and child” so that they can enjoy “a healthy, happy family.” In building its culture, the firm focuses squarely on recognizing and affirming employees’ individuality. One of Ovia’s core values is “Be... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

14 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Can Entrepreneurs Drive People Movers to Success?

problems from (in)convenience to price to congestion, he says. “Robust computer control is at the core of a successful PRT.” The concept is well known—you have likely encountered automated, driverless people movers in cities such as... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Transportation

10 Feb 2003
Research & Ideas

Commodity Busters: Be a Price Maker, Not a Price Taker

Each step is crucial. Failure to take any one will put your company on the slippery slope to being a price taker. Step 1: Create customer value. There are two parts to the creation of customer value. You must provide a reason for the customer to do business with you.... View Details

Keywords: by Benson P. Shapiro

10 Nov 2015
Op-Ed

Authentic Leadership Rediscovered

organizations who have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their core values who have the courage to build their companies to meet the needs of all their stakeholders, and who recognize the importance of... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

Eiichi Shibusawa continues to gain influence in Japan—even though he died almost a century ago. Japan’s government announced earlier this year that the 19th century business leader would be the face on 10,000 yen ($90) bank notes—the highest View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

05 Oct 2020
Book

Want to Be Happier? Make More Free Time

times to get their core work done said they had greater control over their workdays, were less stressed, and were happier with their jobs overall, Whillans found. Also, be aggressive about shielding your time in other ways, Whillans... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Oct 2015
First Look

October 13, 2015

Amy, Elizabeth Baily Wolf, Peter Glick, Susan Crotty, Jihye Chong, and Michael I. Norton Abstract—Four studies tested whether cultural values moderate the content of gender stereotypes, such that male stereotypes more closely align with... View Details

02 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating in Three Dimensions

is an essential skill, and where the science of negotiation is headed. Negotiation is a core competence for life, "not merely an important skill to be wheeled out for special occasions," they argue. James K. Sebenius is the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

heard." "Retailers like Mercadona and QuikTrip have created ways to institutionalize improvement.” Ton notes that another commonality between QuikTrip and Mercadona lies in the strongly held values of its leadership. QuikTrip's... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

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