Encouragement Design - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Jan 2021
Research & Ideas

Is A/B Testing Effective? Evidence from 35,000 Startups

including design thinking and lean startup approaches, that have given rise to some of the world’s biggest technology companies. But does the Silicon Valley mantra “fail fast, fail often,” which encourages... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

18 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Learning in Action

months. During the test period, Bean encourages extensive feedback at all times, and formally solicits feedback at three points: when the product is first received, at the midpoint, and at the end of the test. The midpoint evaluations are... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin

09 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Driven: How Human Nature Shapes Organizations

in a mutual caring way and also to help their firm excel. The designer can encourage this by fostering firm-wide symbols, rituals, and norms. However, any such social contract must be a mutual commitment to... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Lawrence & Nitin Nohria

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

4+2 = Sustained Business Success

products. Apply new technologies to enhance all operating processes, not just those dedicated to designing new products and services. Leadership Choosing great chief executives can raise performance significantly. Closely link the... View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, William Joyce & Bruce Roberson

30 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Future of IT Consulting

expertise in designing and coding complex computer applications. SAP and Seibel have developed unique package software, and have provided specialized consulting services to assist in the implementation of the package software. A third... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Johnston; Consulting

14 Apr 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Facts and Figuring: An Experimental Investigation of Network Structure and Performance in Information and Solution Spaces

Keywords: by Jesse Shore, Ethan Bernstein & David Lazer

05 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

The Accidental Innovator

new. Q: Is there a way innovators can encourage good accidents? In other words, is there anything we can control to foster this process? A: Great question. Artists think they develop a talent for causing good accidents. Equally or perhaps... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

10 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: First Look: October 10

and Michael W. Toffel Abstract Several innovative regulatory programs are encouraging firms to police their own regulatory compliance and voluntarily disclose, or "confess," the violations they find. Despite the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Branding Sells Cereal, Handbags, and Vacations. Can It Sell a Country?

Administration. “Part of that is affecting what people in other countries perceive your country to be.” What does it take to create Denmark’s reputation for modern design or Bali’s Eat Pray Love-style picture of tropical centeredness?... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Tourism

08 Mar 2004
Research & Ideas

Creating Value in Your Business Ecosystem

robustness by consistently incorporating technological innovations and by providing a reliable point of reference that helps participants respond to new and uncertain conditions. And they can encourage ecosystem niche creation by offering... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

17 Dec 2014
Research & Ideas

How Our Brain Determines if the Product is Worth the Price

at an imaging center on the Stanford University campus, each participant was given $40 of shopping money before viewing a series of 80 products and their prices on a screen inside the fMRI machine. "This made the shopping experience more real," Karmarkar... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

06 Jan 2016
What Do You Think?

Why Do Leaders Get Their Timing Wrong?

designed to facilitate effort while encouraging every employee to contribute. The effort of each employee and circle is tracked by means of proprietary software. The notion was introduced in March of last... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Auto; Fashion

19 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

What Motivates People to Give Generously—and Why We Sometimes Don't

motivations around good deeds. Given their respective backgrounds in economics and social psychology, Exley and Zlatev each draw on different literature in their work, and their study designs tend to look quite different, but together... View Details

Keywords: by Jen McFarland Flint, HBS Alumni Bulletin

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

clear instructions about what they can do, and designing transparency into why their partnership will make a positive difference for everyone involved, business leaders can improve interactions among their customers and employees, and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

A Penny for Your Thoughts? For Big-Picture Ideas, the Right Pay Structure Matters

workers, key issues such as how employees are paid and how they view the scope of their jobs can be crucial to their willingness to contribute ideas that help the company thrive, says Susanna Gallani, assistant professor at Harvard Business School. Companies that View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

01 Jun 2007
What Do You Think?

How Should Pay Be Linked to Performance?

performance." Generally speaking, respondents favored schemes designed to reward long-term as well as short-term performance, encourage retention, recognize special needs of an organization, be based on... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

22 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 22

introducing change on your team-by establishing a collective goal, encouraging open dialogue, ensuring leadership support-and then spreading change to the rest of your firm. If you and your colleagues are grappling with the "always... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2022
Book

Innovation Isn’t Just for Startups: How Big Companies Can Succeed

Meanwhile, starting in 2013, Analog Devices CEO Vince Roche encouraged innovators from the top down and transformed the semiconductor giant into a designer of integrated, strategic systems—including a... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

16 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

The Most Successful Startups Have Hands-On Founders

performance, the researchers say. Founders are usually very busy people—they recruit key employees, raise funds, find a board, develop partnerships, set strategy, and design the organization, to name a few responsibilities. What often... View Details