Publications

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28 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

The Clock Is Ticking: 3 Ways to Manage Your Time Better

writing in the MIT Sloan Management Review suggest that productivity and workforce engagement are maximized at four meeting-free days. But if some meetings are necessary, one productivity expert says that 25 minutes or less is ideal,... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

11 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 11, 2008

welfare-enhancing reforms, on the ability of firms and households to write contracts, and on the ability of citizens to enforce their basic rights. How Does Investor Sentiment Affect the Cross Section of Returns Authors:Malcolm Baker,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Mar 2009
Op-Ed

Credit is Not the Bogey

In this recession, we seek the bogey. If we can identify a villain, the recourse is simple: slay (or neutralize, or bail out) it. The search harks back to a management primer: identify the problem; find the solution. The search has centered on the credit industry: the... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas & Eric S. Belsky; Construction; Real Estate; Financial Services

August 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Tower Software

Tower Software (TS) is a publicly traded corporation engaged in multiple facets of the computer software business. Its flagship product, TS SERVE, is a successful proprietary network operating system. TS also develops and sells applications software for word... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Product Launch; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry

April 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Levels: The Remote, Asynchronous, Deep Work Management System

By: Joseph B. Fuller and George Gonzalez

Levels is a highly innovative startup in the health care space. They intend to revolutionize health by linking behavior—eating, exercise, sleeping, etc.—to changes in metabolism. They believe metabolic health can be managed through careful monitoring of changes in... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Business Startups; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Technology Industry; United States

Educators

February 2021
Tutorial

Getting Started in RStudio Cloud

By: Chiara Farronato and Caleb Kwon

This video provides an introduction to the free programming language R using an online cloud version of RStudio, which is the most popular editor and interface for writing and executing R code. The video begins by providing a brief background of R and RStudio and... View Details

Keywords: Data Analysis; Data Analytics; Experiment; Experimental Design; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Applications and Software

15 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 15

PublicationsBuilding Sustainable Hybrid Organizations: The Case of Commercial Microfinance Organizations Authors:Julie Battilana and Silvia Dorado Publication:Academy of Management Journal (forthcoming) Abstract We explore how new types of hybrid organizations... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2008

Working PapersFinding Missing Markets (and a disturbing epilogue): Evidence from an Export Crop Adoption and Marketing Intervention in Kenya Authors:Nava Ashraf, Xavier Gine, and Dean Karlan Abstract In much of the developing world, many farmers grow crops for local... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

13 Jul 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Economic Catastrophe Bonds

Keywords: by Joshua D. Coval, Jakub W. Jurek & Erik Stafford; Financial Services

Research Summary

Bargaining with Imperfect Enforcement

Joint work with Mark Williams, formerly of Exeter College, Oxford.

The game-theoretic bargaining literature insists on non-cooperative bargaining procedure but allows cooperative implementation of agreements. The effect of this is to allow free-reign of bargaining... View Details

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

expression of personal beliefs and values. While she is famously private, we know that she values the daily service of people who are less fortunate. As she writes in a 2020 essay, her gifts went to organizations that “have dedicated... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

05 Jul 2016
First Look

July 5, 2016

July–August 2016 Harvard Business Review Beyond the Holacracy Hype: The Overwrought Claims—and Actual Promise—of the Next Generation of Self-Managed Teams By: Bernstein, Ethan, John Bunch, Niko Canner, and Michael Lee Abstract—Holacracy and other forms of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 19

PublicationsSetting Health Priorities: Strategy versus Tactics Authors:Chu, Michael, David E. Bloom, and Elizabeth Cafiero Publication:Impact: The Magazine of PSI Abstract Health decision makers throughout the world are faced with a multiplicity of challenges. As... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Aug 2023
Book

You’re More Than Your Job: 3 Tips for a Healthier Work-Life Balance

what I can to be happy now.” Wallace was inspired to write the book—a mix of case study, research, and memoir—by witnessing the mindset shift among her millennial peers, who came of age during a recession, pandemic-related instability,... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

2008
Book

Mexico Since 1980

By: Stephen Haber, Herb Klein, Noel Maurer and Kevin Middlebrook

This book addresses two questions that are crucial to understanding Mexico's current economic and political challenges. Why did the opening up of the economy to foreign trade and investment not result in sustained economic growth? Why has electoral democracy not... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Foreign Direct Investment; Government and Politics; Growth and Development; Law Enforcement; Welfare or Wellbeing; Mexico

Article

Trust and Incentives in Agency

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Daniel F Spulber

Contracts between a principal and an agent are not formed in a vacuum. Although formal contracts between a principal and an agent contain explicit incentives for performance, the relationship between a principal and an agent also involves implicit incentives. Three... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Motivation and Incentives; Agency Theory; Contracts; Market Transactions; Performance; Relationships; Societal Protocols; Legal Liability; Cost

21 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 21, 2008

Working PapersCan Higher Prices Stimulate Product Use? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Zambia (revised) Authors:Nava Ashraf, James Berry, and Jesse M. Shapiro Abstract The controversy over whether and how much to charge for health products in the developing world... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2012
Article

New Project? Don't Analyze—Act

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger, Charles F. Kiefer and Paul B. Brown

In a predictable world, getting a new initiative off the ground typically involves analyzing the market, creating a forecast, and writing a business plan. But what about in an unpredictable environment? The authors recommend looking to those who are experts in... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Managing Yourself; Project Management; Project Strategy; Risk Management

Article

Bargaining with Imperfect Enforcement

By: Lucy White and Mark Williams

The game-theoretic bargaining literature insists on non-cooperative bargaining procedure but allows 'cooperative' implementation of agreements. The effect of this is to allow free-reign of bargaining power with no check upon it. In reality, courts cannot... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Body of Literature; Contracts; Motivation and Incentives; Code Law; Game Theory