Publications

March 2010
Article

Interpersonal Authority in a Theory of the Firm

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper develops a theory of the firm in which a firm's centralized asset ownership and low-powered incentives give the manager, as an equilibrium outcome, interpersonal authority over employees (in a world with open disagreement). The paper thus provides... View Details

Keywords: Theory; Assets; Ownership; Motivation and Incentives; Governance Controls; Power and Influence; Projects; Perspective; Employees

August 2007 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Baker & McKenzie (A): A New Framework for Talent Management

By: Boris Groysberg and Eliot Sherman

Describes the process by which the largest law firm in the world developed a unique framework for personnel management. In 2004, John Conroy is about to take the reigns as the leader of Baker and McKenzie, the largest law firm in the world by employees, with offices in... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Framework; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Retention; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Adoption; Legal Services Industry

2008
Working Paper

Structural Closure and Exposure: Formation of Structural Inequality in Managerial Labor Markets

By: Mikolaj Jan Piskorski

Positional advantages arise when actors obtain rewards attached to positions they occupy, but these rewards are not merited by their performance. Existing theory suggests that in competitive markets there should be no positional advantages. This paper proposes a model... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Jobs and Positions; Managerial Roles; Performance Improvement; Alignment; Competitive Advantage; Equality and Inequality

January 2008
Article

How to Change the World

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Alan Wilson has a decision to make. The CEO of his company, Grepter, wants him to relocate to Zurich, where he can gain valuable experience for a rise to the top. Karl, his best friend, hopes to lure him to a hedge fund that promises big money fast. Shiori, an enticing... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs; Compensation and Benefits; Personal Development and Career; Power and Influence

September 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Bridges to Excellence: Bringing Quality Health Care to Life

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Ingrid Marie Nembhard and Robert Galvin

General Electric launched Bridges to Excellence Diabetes Care Link, a program through which enrolled physicians receive bonuses of up to 10% of their salary for delivering quality care to diabetic patients covered by a participating employer or health plan. A day... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Motivation and Incentives; Programs; Ethics; Quality; Moral Sensibility; Service Delivery; Compensation and Benefits; Health Industry

01 Dec 1996
News

Organizations and Markets: A Challenging View of the World

psychology, and neuroscience are integrated and applied to problems in human resource management, labor economics, organizational behavior, finance, governance, and corporate control. Jensen taught the first... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

09 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Paul Lawrence and Nitin Nohria

HBS Working Knowledge editor Sean Silverthorne conducted an email interview with Paul R. Lawrence and Nitin Nohria about their new book, Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Our Choices.Silverthorne: How did the concept of the four-drive... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

20 Dec 2022
Blog Post

7 Resolutions for Recruiting in the New Year

workplace. 6. Resolve to Embrace the Right TrendsA competitor is using TikTok to attract new candidates, does that mean you should too? Maybe, and maybe not.It’s important to stay up to date on industry trends and best practices in human... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

01 Jun 2020
News

Effective Communication in the Age of Zoom

are exactly the same between dating and business. SUGGESTED RESOURCES Greenwald’s “13 Conversation Behaviors To Avoid” 100 Virtual Icebreakers SUGGESTED RESOURCES Greenwald’s “13 Conversation Behaviors To... View Details

Keywords: Zoom

Career Coach

Hillary Mann

Professional Development resources to support students in achieving their unique career goals. As a career coach, Hillary partners with students to define their career vision and leverage job search strategies such as creatively... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products; Education; Entertainment / Media; Hospitality; Publishing / Communications / Advertising; Real Estate; Retail; Social Enterprise; Sports; Startup - Joiner; Entrepreneurship

14 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

New Agenda for Corporate Accountability Reporting

the journal's editorial resources to develop this important subject. In addition, Ramanna's paper, "A Framework for Research on Corporate Accountability Reporting," forthcoming in the journal Accounting Horizons, helps to sketch... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Accounting; Energy; Utilities

Web

Making Difficult Decisions: The General Manager’s Job (MDD) - Course Catalog

Therefore, the essence of general management is to understand and fully harness the capabilities of the human resources available. Decision making goes far beyond merely knowing what one wants to accomplish.... View Details

12 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Equality and Equity in Compensation

Keywords: by Jiayi Bao and Andy Wu

May 2024
Technical Note

Education Technology in HR: A Technical Note

By: Boris Groysberg

This note considers educational technology as it intersects with HR technology. View Details

Keywords: Edtech; HR; Competency and Skills; Talent and Talent Management; Human Resources; Personal Development and Career; Education Industry; Technology Industry; United States

December 23, 2022
Article

What the World Cup Can Teach Business Leaders About Top Performers

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, Abhijit Naik and Harry Krueger

Our people are our greatest source of competitive advantage." This sentiment is often heralded in companies by everyone from middle managers to HR professionals to CEOs. It is a great sound bite. The problem: It is not true—at least, not entirely. View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Performance; Business; Leadership; Competitive Advantage; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management

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2017
Working Paper

Rethinking Measurement of Pay Disparity and its Relation to Firm Performance

By: Ethan Rouen

I develop measures of firm-level pay disparity and examine their relation to firm accounting performance. Using comprehensive compensation data for a large sample of firms, I find no statistically significant relation between the ratio of CEO-to-mean employee... View Details

Keywords: Pay Disparity; Pay Ratio; CEO Pay Ratio; Income Inequality; Executive Compensation; Wages; Equality and Inequality; Business Ventures; Performance

SSRN

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November 2013
Article

Which U.S. Market Interactions Affect CEO Pay? Evidence from UK Companies

By: Joseph Gerakos, Joseph Piotroski and Suraj Srinivasan

This paper examines how different types of interactions with U.S. markets by non-U.S. firms are associated with higher level of CEO pay, greater emphasis on incentive-based compensation, and smaller pay gap with U.S. firms. Using a sample of CEOs of UK firms and using... View Details

Keywords: CEO Compensation; International Pay; Incentives; Cross-listing; United Kingdom; Motivation and Incentives; Executive Compensation; Globalization; Corporate Governance; United Kingdom; United States

SSRN

November 18, 2010
Comment

Congress Should Focus on Social Security Reform

By: Robert C. Pozen

Keywords: Government and Politics; Compensation and Benefits; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms