Publications

1991
Chapter

The Future of Bureaucracy and Hierarchy in Organizational Theory: A Report from the Field

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Rank and Position

January 9, 2016
Editorial

Local Initiative Key to Quality Education

By: Akshay Mangla

Keywords: Bureaucracy; India; Governance; Education; India

Research Summary

Overview

Inside the State: Bureaucratic Norms and Primary Education in Rural India (Book manuscript in progress)

When and how do poor democracies implement primary education effectively? India has earned accolades for its robust democracy. Yet the state’s historic... View Details

Keywords: Education Reform; Bureaucracy; Policy Implementation; India

Article

Bureaucratic Norms and State Capacity in India: Implementing Primary Education in the Himalayan Region

By: Akshay Mangla

Himachal Pradesh has surged ahead of other Indian states in implementing universal primary education. Through a combination of field research methods, this paper connects these achievements to bureaucratic norms, unwritten rules within the state that guide the behavior... View Details

Keywords: India; Bureaucracy; Norms; State Capacity; Education; Government and Politics; Education Industry; India

March 2013 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Indonesia's OJK: Building Financial Stability

By: Lakshmi Iyer and David Lane

In 2013, a new financial services authority, the Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), took over responsibility for regulating capital markets and non-bank financial institutions in Indonesia. OJK was scheduled to take over bank regulation and supervision from the central... View Details

Keywords: Monetary Policy; Bank Regulation; Financial Market Regulation; Corruption; Bureaucracy; Central Bank Independence; Indonesia; Crime and Corruption; Central Banking; Ethics; Emerging Markets; Financial Markets; Corporate Governance; Financial Crisis; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Indonesia

25 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

China’s Economic System has Difficult Road Overcoming its Political System

One need only look as far as the bookshelf to see the optimism attached to China's ascension as a world economic and political power. Titles like The Dragon Awakes; The Rise of China; and When China Rules the World predict an inevitable, if not entirely welcome, rise... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

February 2016 (Revised April 2020)
Case

In the Name of Democracy? The Rise and Decline of India's Congress Party

By: Akshay Mangla and Jonathan Schlefer

In 1950 it looked highly doubtful that Indian democracy would hold—typical family income was $6 a month, only about 15% of the population was literate, there were deep religious and ethnic differences, and more than a dozen national languages were spoken. But after a... View Details

Keywords: Congress Party; Economic Development; Democratization; Economic Reform; Economic Systems; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Development Economics; India

21 May 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Business, Governments, and Political Risk in South Asia and Latin America Since 1970

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rachael Comunale

May 20, 2016
Comment

World Health Organization Lacks Leadership to Combat Pandemics

By: John A. Quelch

When it comes to emergency preparedness for pandemics, the World Health Organization is falling short. It has not provided prompt and clear leadership to the world in combating either the Ebola or Zika viruses. Its leadership has been low energy, its representatives... View Details

March 1999
Article

Practices for Managing Information Flows Within Organizations

By: Joel Demski, Tracy Lewis, Dennis Yao and Huseyin Yildirim

Firm organization determines how coworkers communicate and how information flows within the firm. Banking, accounting, consulting, and legal firms process proprietary information which their clients wish to protect. The firm's ability to safeguard and manage... View Details

Keywords: Information Management; Management Practices and Processes; Safety; Governance Controls; Customer Focus and Relationships

January 2019
Article

Making Moves Matter: Experimental Evidence on Incentivizing Bureaucrats Through Performance-Based Postings

By: Adnan Q. Khan, Asim Ijaz Khwaja and Benjamin A. Olken

Bureaucracies often post staff to better or worse locations, ostensibly to provide incentives. Yet we know little about whether this works, with heterogeneity in preferences over postings impacting effectiveness. We propose a performance-ranked serial dictatorship... View Details

Keywords: Serial Dictatorship Mechanism; Employment; Geographic Location; Motivation and Incentives; Performance

September 1991
Case

Rethinking the Corporate Workplace: Case Managers at Mutual Benefit Life

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr.

In early 1991, a spirit of innovation and organizational change was in the air at Mutual Benefit Life, with the success of the new "case manager" program its most concrete manifestation. Using powerful computer workstations, case managers could see insurance... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Change Management; Information Technology; Insurance; Human Resources; Insurance Industry

21 Aug 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Traveling Agents: Political Change and Bureaucratic Turnover in India

Keywords: by Lakshmi Iyer & Anandi Mani

November 2021
Article

The Nixon Doctrine and the Making of Authoritarianism in Island Southeast Asia

By: Mattias Fibiger

This article argues that the Nixon Doctrine was an instrument of authoritarianization in island Southeast Asia. It traces the formulation of the Nixon Doctrine and its implementation through foreign aid decisions, revealing that President Richard Nixon and his chief... View Details

Keywords: Diplomacy; Foreign Aid; Authoritarianism; Geopolitics; Nixon; International Relations; Policy; History; Southeast Asia; United States

January 2007 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Kibera and the Kenya Slum Upgrading Project (A)

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas, Arthur I Segel, Marc Diaz and John Dean Shepherd

Kenya's Minister of Housing faces tremendous pressures in dealing with the pervasive housing troubles in his country. Kibera is the largest slum in Africa and home to more than 800,000 residents, yet only measures two square kilometers, roughly half the size of... View Details

Keywords: Construction; Housing; Urban Development; Poverty; Kenya

October 2015 (Revised July 2017)
Case

OMV Petrom: Investment as Partnership—When It Takes Three to Tango

By: Dante Roscini, Emer Maloney and Daniela Beyersdorfer

Petrom was privatized by the Romanian state in 2004 and acquired by Austrian oil company OMV, with the state retaining a 20.6% stake in the company. The situation was particularly challenging for the foreign investor since the sector in which the company operated was... View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Privatization; Acquisition; Foreign Direct Investment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry; Austria; Romania

March 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Doing Business in São Paulo, Brazil

By: Laura Alfaro, Hise O. Gibson, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Pedro Levindo

The case gives readers an overview of key factors of doing business in Brazil, including Brazil’s economic transformation since its colonial years until 2023, when leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his third term, after the most polarized... View Details

Keywords: Business Cycles; Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Economic Sectors; Economy; Macroeconomics; Business History; International Relations; Political Elections; Taxation; Consumer Behavior; Brazil; Latin America; Sao Paulo