Publications

March 2020 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Social Salary Setting at Spiber

By: Ashley Whillans and John Beshears

Can a “set your own salary” system boost employee happiness and motivation? Spiber made synthetic silk built from proteins mimicking the proteins found in spider silk, the world’s toughest known material by weight. Kazuhide Sekiyama and Junichi Sugahara established... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Happiness; Negotiation Tactics; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Biotechnology Industry; Japan; United States

June 2002
Case

Oxfam America in 2002

Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America,a major international relief and development nongovernmental organization (NGO), is working with his staff to undertake a major strategic shift in the organization. The organization is placing a growing emphasis on... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business or Company Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Non-Governmental Organizations

I am a second-year PhD student in the Health Policy and Management program at Harvard Business School where my advisor is Dr. Rob Huckman. I live in Brookline with my fiance Natalie and our two cats, Joe and Huey. Before grad school I was a research assistant in the... View Details

01 May 2018
News

Elon Musk’s Unusual Compensation Plan Isn’t Really About Compensation at All

March 2023
Article

Giving-by-proxy Triggers Subsequent Charitable Behavior

By: Samantha Kassirer, Jillian J. Jordan and Maryam Kouchaki

How can we foster habits of charitable giving? Here, we investigate the potential power of giving-by-proxy experiences, drawing inspiration from a growing trend in marketing and corporate social responsibility contexts in which organizations make charitable... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Behavior

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March 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Kyocera Corp.

By: John P. Kotter

Examines the three factors critical to this company's remarkable success in the high tech field. The first factor is the founder, Dr. Inamori's powerful leadership. The second is the strong corporate culture or philosophy of the firm. The third element in Kyocera's... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Information Infrastructure; Leadership Style; Management Systems; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Practice; Profit; Planning; Technology Industry; Electronics Industry

January 1990 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Colliers International Property Consultants

By: Nitin Nohria

Describes the origins, organizational structure, management practices, and use of information technology (IT) in Colliers, a real estate network. Colliers provides local firms with a way to maintain local autonomy while gaining national and international coverage.... View Details

Keywords: Property; Organizational Structure; Information Technology; Management Practices and Processes; Partners and Partnerships; Business Model; Mission and Purpose; Business Growth and Maturation; Conflict and Resolution; Quality; Real Estate Industry

12 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Can Our Parenting Struggles Make Us Better Leaders?

I’m not just a professor and business consultant; I’m also a parent to two kids. As I’ve often mused, the challenges leaders face at home and at work aren’t necessarily all that different. In particular, both contexts leave leaders struggling between their desire to... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati; Air Transportation

2012
Working Paper

Colonial Institutions, Trade Shocks, and the Diffusion of Elementary Education in Brazil, 1889–1930

By: Aldo Musacchio, Andre Martinez-Fritscher and Martina Viarengo

In this paper, we examine the role of trade shocks in promoting the diffusion of elementary education in subnational units in Brazil during a period (1889–1930) in which they had relative financial autonomy to collect export taxes and spend on public goods. The... View Details

Keywords: History; Literacy; Voting; Education; Spending; Performance Improvement; Government and Politics; Brazil

SSRN

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March 2009 (Revised January 2024)
Background Note

A Strait of Uncertainty: Taiwan's Development in the Shadow of China

By: William C. Kirby, J. Megan Greene, Tracy Yuen Manty, Daniel Fu, Yuanzhuo Wang, Noah B. Truwit and Aqib Zakaria

Relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on the Chinese Mainland, and the Republic of China (ROC), on Taiwan, had improved significantly since 2008. Taiwan investment in China had played a major role in China’s economic boom in recent decades. ... View Details

Keywords: History; Development Economics; Investment; Economic Growth; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Financial Crisis; China; Taiwan

04 Jan 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The Learning Effects of Monitoring

Keywords: by Dennis Campbell, Marc Epstein & Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez; Entertainment & Recreation

Research Summary

Mutiny in the Workplace: When Leaders Are Challenged From Within

My dissertation focuses on the rarely studied phenomenon of mutiny in organizations. Based on three recent cases of mutiny in professional organizations, I examine the process by which employee dissatisfaction transforms into collective mobilization... View Details

2022
Book

Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies

By: Ranjay Gulati

This book offers a compelling reassessment and defense of purpose as a management ethos, documenting the vast performance gains and social benefits that become possible when firms manage to get purpose right. Few business topics have aroused more skepticism in recent... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Performance Effectiveness; Organizational Culture

27 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 27, 2009

automatically consider the potentially dubious motives of agents who cause harm indirectly. Experiment 4 demonstrates an effect of indirect agency on purchase intentions. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/09-012.pdf Product-Market Competition and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

2017
Case

Uncommon Schools (A): A Network of Networks

By: John J-H Kim and Sarah McAra

In 2013, Brett Peiser, CEO of the charter school management organization (CMO) Uncommon Schools, is reassessing the nonprofit’s strategy. For nearly 10 years, Uncommon had fulfilled its mission to bring high-quality education to students in low-income, urban areas... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Nonprofit Organizations; Teaching; Talent Management; Innovation; Organization Structure; Education; Early Childhood Education; Middle School Education; Organizational Structure; Performance Consistency; Strategy; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Education Industry

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September 2011 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Ganging Up on Cancer: Integrative Research Centers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (A)

By: Heidi K. Gardner, Edo Bedzra and Shereef M. Elnahal

Dr. Barrett Rollins, Chief Scientific Officer of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, attempts to engender cross-scientist collaboration by applying project management principles to medical research. The resulting innovation, Integrative Research Centers, are novel in... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Motivation and Incentives; Employees; Performance Evaluation; Leadership Style; Leadership; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management

July–August 2019
Article

The Soul of a Startup

By: Ranjay Gulati

There’s an essential, intangible something in start-ups—an energy, a soul. It inspires enthusiasm and fosters a sense of deep connection and mutual purpose. While this spirit persists, engagement is high and businesses keep their edge.
But all too often,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Mission and Purpose; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Creativity; Business Growth and Maturation