by Robert Simons - Publications - Faculty & Research

27 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

How the FBI Reinvented Itself After 9/11

It is hard to imagine a more difficult and tragic trial by fire for a new leader. On September 4, 2001, Robert Mueller started his new job as the sixth director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A mere... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

16 May 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Marketplace or Reseller?

Keywords: by Andrei Hagiu & Julian Wright; Retail

02 Mar 2007
What Do You Think?

What Is the Government’s Role in US Health Care?

that all of this amount could be recouped eventually through the elimination of healthcare expenses incurred by those unable to pay now. Now comes Robert Frank, a Cornell economist, who has proposed ways of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Health

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

could have positive long-term implications to any organization’s success. “We were surprised by the magnitude of the effects,” Pany says, noting that future studies could examine just how such relationships form and evolve. “There’s just... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

16 Feb 2023
HBS Case

ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed?

The impact-investment hedge fund Engine No. 1 made a big splash in May 2021 when it managed to get three nominees elected to the ExxonMobil board of directors. It was an open effort to prod the oil giant toward renewable energy and test whether activist investing could... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Financial Services

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

auto market in the 1950s. The industry leader, unbothered by competition and looming threats, began to coast on its former glory, however, and bypass such areas as consumer preferences and industry innovation. View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

22 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

“Too Big To Fail”: Reining In Large Financial Firms

on specific proposals begin the week of June 22.] Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's proposals for fixing the broken financial system closely resemble those found in Moss's own playbook. In this instance, the book is a Special Report on Regulatory Reform,... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

you have a major industry that still has lots to reveal. We asked Jones to discuss his research and his new book. Sean Silverthorne: What inspired your interest in the beauty business and its history? Geoffrey Jones: My initial interest in the beauty industry was... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

04 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Level II Negotiations: Helping the Other Side Meet Its ‘Behind the Table’ Challenges

Keywords: by James Sebenius

04 Apr 2023
Book

Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues

While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Consumer Products; Fashion; Retail; Green Technology

31 Aug 2021
Book

Feeling Powerless at Work? Time to Agitate, Innovate, and Orchestrate

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

23 Jul 2008
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Balanced Scorecard in Action

professor and Balanced Scorecard guru Robert S. Kaplan introduces BSC Customer Profitability Metrics. From Balanced Scorecard Report. Key concepts include: In their zeal to delight customers, some companies actually lose money with them... View Details

03 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles of 2010

Judging by the most-read articles and faculty working papers over the last year, our readers continue to be fascinated by the emergence of social networks and their potential impacts on business and... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

10 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

High Note: Managing the Medici String Quartet

Why would a business school professor want to write a case study about a string quartet? The answer was easy for Robert Austin, a scholar with research expertise in the management of innovation. While attending an academic workshop near... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Music

11 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Adding Time to Activity-Based Costing

professor Robert S. Kaplan and Acorn Systems founder and chairman Steven R. Anderson (HBS MBA '95) introduce a system that calculates product, customer, and regional or branch P&Ls quickly and inexpensively. The work marries the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

04 Jul 2016
Research & Ideas

Is Your Org Chart Stuck in a Rut? Try a Scientific Experiment

increasingly challenged,” says Robert Regan, a partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, a law firm in Sydney, Australia. “To respond to this, and deal with falling margins, law firms need to find new organizing principles.” In March,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

when life goes back to normal. Forward-thinking leaders can run better organizations by creating conditions that allow customers to be more helpful. When service provision is a true partnership and customers are pitching in, employees... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Forgiving Student Loan Debt Leads to Better Jobs, Stronger Consumers

get their other finances in order, and make more substantial contributions to the economy, according to a new research study Second Chance: Life without Student Debt. The study was co-written by Harvard Business School Associate Professor... View Details