Remote Operations - Publications - Faculty & Research

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

buell) is the Finnegan Family Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit. Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury: Remote work will become strategic I’ve been... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

05 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 5

question fail to account for the fact that employees usually care whether the pursuit of purpose is authentic and that the embrace of purpose often affects even employees whose own work is remote from the activities that put the purpose... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

rapidly leveraging new ways of doing things, both from an operational and commercial standpoint, quickly became a number one priority. Keeping up to date with the latest governmental information was a useful starting point for many, but... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

23 Nov 2021
Book

What It Takes to Build an Organizational Culture That Wins

cultural change and provides a playbook to help leaders hire productive employees, organize around teams and values, and lead by inclusion. In a nod to the times, he devotes space to tips for creating and maintaining culture in remote... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

08 Feb 2023
Op-Ed

Building an Inclusive Workplace? Prepare to Shield It from Economic Fears

leaders gain a heightened sense of the impact of decisions on the operations and people. How are your employees feeling? After leaders look inward, it’s time to start looking outward, beginning with your employees. How are they doing... View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and Nicole Gilmore

01 Sep 2021
What Do You Think?

Can We Train for Trust?

the speed of trust.” It could hardly be more true than in a business like Airbnb. Its platform, which brings those with rooms and travelers together, relies on a triangle of trust between the company, its landlords, and traveler-renters, all of whom View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

The Secret Life of Supply Chains

Like archaeologists digging on a remote hillside, business researchers have unearthed an important segment of the United States economy all but hidden from traditional innovation policy, yet accounting for tens of millions of jobs crucial... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Manufacturing; Service

14 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Lessons from COVID-19: The Business Skills Doctors Need

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, doctors faced unprecedented challenges. Vital supplies such as facemasks and cotton swabs were in short supply. New protocols had to be developed to isolate infected patients. Treating patients View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health

21 Jun 2022
HBS Case

Free Isn’t Always Better: How Slack Holds Its Own Against Microsoft Teams

When COVID-19 forced companies to send employees home two years ago, newly remote workers largely reconnected on two collaboration apps: Slack and Microsoft Teams. The pandemic propelled Slack beyond its core following in the technology... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Information Technology; Technology

28 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, February 28

Strategies By: Seamans, Robert, and Feng Zhu Abstract—Organizational structures are increasingly complex. In particular, more firms today operate as multi-sided platforms. In this paper, we study how platform firms use repositioning and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

09 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization

actual problem.” Thus, diagnosis of the situation is a prerequisite to crafting a response. They argue that volatility should be met with agility; uncertainty with information; complexity with restructuring (with internal operations... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

16 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

Why Business Travel Still Matters in a Zoom World

His broader scholarship focuses on the geography of work, particularly how location affects productivity and innovation. The ongoing rise of remote work, propelled by COVID-19, calls into question the importance of face-to-face... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Air Transportation

09 Nov 2021
Research & Ideas

The Simple Secret of Effective Mentoring Programs

least likely to seek it out, the researchers discovered. The findings emerge as companies worldwide navigate the complexities of training and acclimating new employees in hybrid or remote work settings. With so much in flux, it might be... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

14 Apr 2022
Op-Ed

Let’s Move Forward from COVID—Without Forgetting What We’ve Learned

inequities resulted in team members being unable to bring their whole selves to work, which meant that organizations were operating with sub-optimal contributions. Also, excessive hierarchy that sought to drive efficiencies actually... View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and MaShon Wilson

13 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

mention the fact that remote learning doesn't work for every child. Right? So some children need to be present in the classroom. They have special needs. And generally speaking, just think about it. Again, if you're looking at our... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Pharmaceutical

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

how they have been contributing to team goals. Reestablish norms. Most important, the relaunch is the time for team members to reevaluate how to conduct themselves and interact amid the changing circumstances. To learn more, read It’s Time To Relaunch Your View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

02 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

The Secret of How Microsoft Stays on Top

platforms, in contrast to most other firms who focused on stand-alone applications. It was an approach that permeated both their tools business—the software they provided to other programmers for developing applications; and the operating... View Details