Publications

June 1998 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Microsoft CarPoint

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

CarPoint.com was Microsoft's Web-based entry into on-line automobile retailing. While it could not, in fact, "sell" or deliver any cars, it could shift much of consumer search, comparison, and decision-making, including pricing, the traditional car dealer to the Web.... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Market Entry and Exit; Consumer Behavior; Auto Industry; Retail Industry

Educators

May 2007
Article

Managing Your Boss

By: John J. Gabarro and John P. Kotter

The best way to make a major impact in your organization? Forge a strong relationship with your boss. You'll get the support and resources you need to put your great ideas into action. But "managing up" isn't easy. For example, if you're reporting to a new CEO, you... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Relationships; Value; Behavior; Communication; Decisions

2010
Chapter

Women and Leadership: Defining the Challenges

By: Robin J. Ely and Deborah L. Rhode

We use the experience of Carly Fiorina as an introduction to the continued challenges faced by women in top leadership roles. Although Fiorina, on becoming CEO of Hewlett Packard in 1999, asserted that "there is not a glass ceiling," her memoir eight years later... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Leadership; Perception; Behavior; Attitudes; Gender

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

When Gender Changes the Negotiation

negotiation can set the stage for differences in outcomes negotiated by men and by women, particularly when (1) the opportunities and limits of the negotiation are unclear; and (2) situational cues in these ambiguous situations trigger different View Details

Keywords: by Dina W. Pradel, Hannah Riley Bowles & Kathleen L. McGinn

2017
Article

The Energizing Nature of Work Engagement: Toward a New Need-Based Theory of Work Motivation

By: Paul Green, Eli Finkel, Grainne Fitzsimons and Francesca Gino

We present theory suggesting that experiences at work that meet employees’ expectations of need fulfillment drive work engagement. Employees have needs (e.g., a desire to be authentic) and they also have expectations for how their job or their organization will fulfill... View Details

Keywords: Needs; Motivation; Work Engagement; Disengagement; Authenticity; Self-Expression; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Human Needs

December 2018 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Brand Activism: Nike and Colin Kaepernick

By: Jill Avery and Koen Pauwels

Nike's selection of politically polarizing Colin Kaepernick as the spokesperson for the 30th anniversary of its iconic "Just Do It" campaign catapulted the brand into the media spotlight and made it a political flashpoint for consumers across America. Would the choice... View Details

Keywords: Digital Marketing; Entertainment; Politics; Activism; Brand Equity; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Communications; Sports; Advertising; Social Media; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States; North America

Educators

2009
Working Paper

Opening Up or Shutting Down? The Effects of Multiple Identities on Problem Solving

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan

Across three studies, I investigate the distinct effects of multiple identity conflict and enhancement within people on two crucial aspects of resolving problems with others: integrative behavior and openness. The results of two studies support the hypotheses that... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Conflict Management; Identity; Integration

Article

Forgoing Earned Incentives to Signal Pure Motives

By: Erika L. Kirgios, Edward H. Chang, Emma E. Levine, Katherine L. Milkman and Judd B. Kessler

Policy makers, employers, and insurers often provide financial incentives to encourage citizens, employees, and customers to take actions that are good for them or for society (e.g., energy conservation, healthy living, safe driving). Although financial incentives are... View Details

Keywords: Incentives; Motivation Laundering; Self-signaling; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Perception

May 31, 2016
Article

Memories of Unethical Actions Become Obfuscated over Time

By: Maryam Kouchaki and Francesca Gino

Despite our optimistic belief that we would behave honestly when facing the temptation to act unethically, we often cross ethical boundaries. This paper explores one possibility for why people engage in unethical behavior over time by suggesting that memory for their... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Ethics; Cognition and Thinking

April 2019
Article

Rituals and Nuptials: The Emotional and Relational Consequences of Relationship Rituals

By: Ximena Garcia-Rada, Ovul Sezer and Michael I. Norton

Four studies reveal the benefits of relationship rituals: couples with relationship rituals report more positive emotions and greater relationship satisfaction and commitment than those without them. We show that rituals are crucial for understanding consumption... View Details

Keywords: Rituals; Relationship Satisfaction; Relationships; Satisfaction; Spending; Behavior; Perception; Emotions

November 2008
Supplement

Differences at Work: Sameer (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Sameer (B) HBS Case No. 9-609-054, Sameer leaves the firm at the summer's end without confronting his employer about the jokes and wondering whether he made the right choice. Later Sameer's former employer calls him to apologize for their... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Moral Sensibility; Resignation and Termination; Working Conditions; Opportunities; Behavior

Max H. Bazerman is Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. His recent books... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; management consulting; pharmaceuticals

09 Jun 2021
News

Employees Are Lonelier Than Ever. Here’s How Employers Can Help.

Article

Values, Purpose, Meaning, and Expectations: Why Culture and Context Matter

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

The "rational person" standard, based on assumptions of economic self-interest, has long prevailed in legal reasoning. But understanding of decision making, behavioral choices, and possibilities for action must be enlarged to include a variety of factors that give... View Details

Keywords: Standards; Interests; Decision Making; Behavior; Value; Groups and Teams; Performance Expectations; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Motivation and Incentives

18 Dec 2013
HBS Case

Lessons from the Lance Armstrong Cheating Scandal

widespread and common. Of the top three finishers in the seven years Armstrong won the Tour de France, 20 out of 21 of them had doped at some point in their careers. (As the case notes, cycling legend Greg LeMond is a notable exception; he achieved three Tour victories... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports

March 2015
Module Note

Power and Influence in Society

By: Julie Battilana

This module aims to help students understand how power and influence are employed, both to reproduce the status quo and to effect change in society. It first helps them to understand why, more often than not, power is used to reproduce the existing way individuals and... View Details