Scarcity - Publications - Faculty & Research

2020
Working Paper

EMEs and COVID-19: Shutting Down in a World of Informal and Tiny Firms

By: Laura Alfaro, Oscar Becerra and Marcela Eslava

Emerging economies are characterized by an extremely high prevalence of informality, small-firm employment and jobs not fit for working from home. These features factor into how the COVID-19 crisis has affected the economy. We develop a framework that, based on... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Emerging Economies; Informality; Firm-size Distribution; Health Pandemics; Developing Countries and Economies; Economy; System Shocks; Latin America

Citation

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Teaching Interest

Doing Business in Africa

By: John D. Macomber

This course introduces frameworks and models for smart and focused investing and operations across sectors, nations, industries, and time frames in Africa. Students will learn tools and skills to help navigate the business landscape of Africa in terms of selection... View Details

Keywords: Africa

01 May 2013
What Do You Think?

Why Isn’t ‘Servant Leadership’ More Prevalent?

Servant leadership is experienced so rarely because of trends in the leadership environment, the scarcity of human qualities required, demands that the practice places on the practitioner, and the very nature of the practice itself. As... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

11 Apr 2024
In Practice

Why Progress on Immigration Might Soften Labor Pains

high-skilled immigration. The first scenario will harm US firms by reducing the supply of workers in a tight market. The impact will be worse in sectors that are growing faster and where immigrants’ skills are more important, such as the semiconductor industry. The... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

09 Apr 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

The Dark Side of Performance Bonuses

salaries? Researchers present evidence that workers dislike inequality in equity compensation more than salary compensation because of the perceived scarcity of equity. Subjectivity in Tournaments: Implicit Rewards and Penalties and... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

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

21 Mar 2019
HBS Case

The Ferrari Way

makers in creating an engine that not only performs well but sounds great to the driver. “They go crazy trying to make a turbo engine sound good,” Thomke says. “Most manufacturers wouldn’t bother. It’s too much effort to find that perfect compromise.” A strategy of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

24 May 2021
Op-Ed

Can Fabric Waste Become Fashion’s Resource?

COVID-19 has broken fashion’s supply chain. As a result, an already wasteful industry has become more wasteful. Even before the pandemic, the global apparel industry was producing about 92 million tons of textile waste a year. That’s about one garbage truck’s worth of... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Shelly Xu; Fashion

29 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

Will Demand for Women Executives Finally Shrink the Gender Pay Gap?

onto the exec team.” "When there's more scarcity and higher demand, that puts a premium on the type of person and on your willingness to pay." That push for gender diversity in senior management could spell an opportunity for women to... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

15 Mar 2017
Lessons from the Classroom

More Than 900 Examples of How Climate Change Affects Business

This word cloud is composed of blog posts by more than 900 students describing how individual organizations are likely to be affected by climate change. Image by Patrick Clapp Last fall, first-year MBA students at Harvard Business School received a new assignment in... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Green Technology

13 Nov 2017
Research & Ideas

Want to Be Happier? Spend Some Money on Avoiding Household Chores

Will You Measure Your Life?" From McRibs to Maseratis: The Power of Scarcity Marketing What do you think? Are you happier when you spend money on services instead of stuff? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

12 Mar 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Firing the CEO

alternatives-at least for emergency situations. But they rarely do. In a fast-growth economy like Brazil's, with a scarcity of available top management talent, companies are reluctant to fire any senior executive, let alone their chief... View Details

17 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

Why a Blended Workforce May Be Key to Lasting Competitive Advantage

In recent years, companies have been anxious about the lack of skilled workers to fill pivotal jobs. But then came COVID-19 and a subsequent recession. The ensuing business turmoil and record-high unemployment may have temporarily distracted companies from their... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph B. Fuller

Research Summary

Overview

The overarching goal of my research is to produce works that are influential and informative to both academics and practitioners in the field of operations management. To accomplish this, I collaborate with industry partners who provide knowledge about their field,... View Details

16 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Luxury Isn’t What It Used to Be

Collection was created to challenge consumer expectations from Godiva and to reinforce Godiva as a brand that delivers newness and discovery." The fact that it costs around $100 a pound and is only available from November through February no doubt creates an aura... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Consumer Products

02 Jan 2007
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles of 2006

looks like a "win-win" answer to the scarcity of good managers and the predominance of low-involvement entry-level jobs. But are sufficient numbers of entry-level employees ready for self-management? And is management ready? The... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

10 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Privatization and the New European Economy

competitiveness." In addition, he commented, an increased need for capital and scarcity of public resources have influenced the phenomenon. Brand noted that worldwide, 60 percent of privatizations were done via public offerings in... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner; Air Transportation; Transportation

23 Feb 2009
Research & Ideas

Creative Entrepreneurship in a Downturn

data security, etc. And indeed, we see companies that have stepped into the breach, such as the very large University of Phoenix from an earlier downturn or a tiny firm like Fidelis Security Systems during the current recession. With firms scaling back and with the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

02 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 2

scarcity of freshwater and farmable land, Brazil decided to leverage its wealth of both resources to attract global agribusiness players to the historically poor São Francisco Valley (SFV) in the country's northeast. To do so, Brazil... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

18 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 18, 2009

while offering increased payments to good-type agents. I estimate that a leading affiliate network could have invoked an optimal payment delay to eliminate 71% of fraud without decreasing profit. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-072.pdf Running... View Details