Knowledge Workers - Publications - Faculty & Research

25 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

In America, Immigrants Really Do Get the Job Done

for policy choices.” Kerr, the Dimitri V. D’Arbeloff–MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration, has researched the economic effects of global migration of workers for more than a decade, sometimes partnering with his wife,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Technology; Service

03 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

When Showing Know-How Backfires for Women Managers

these stores had women store managers. Grocery stores offer fertile ground for research overall: The US grocery industry employed more than 4 million workers in 2019, and the retail trades employed more than 15 percent of the country’s... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Retail; Consumer Products

22 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Why Salespeople Struggle at Leading

people. That’s a big transition that many people can’t make.” Source: Harvard Business School Working Knowledge It’s a problem that can permeate any layer of a business—a star performer is tapped to become a manager, then flops on the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

10 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Being Your Own Boss Can Pay Off, but Not Always with Big Pay

For generations, American workers have dreamed of striking out on their own, starting their own business, being their own boss—and ideally making a lot of money in the process. That sentiment appears to be alive and well today, amid an... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

09 Apr 2007
Research & Ideas

Industry Self-Regulation: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?

firms are routinizing their tacit knowledge and tasks? In the same study, we also look at whether the quality management practices implemented in conjunction with ISO 9000 have spillover effects on how they address View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

11 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

Feeling Seen: What to Say When Your Employees Are Not OK

Behavior and Human Decision Processes. The benefits of talking it out Zlatev and colleagues conducted six studies involving a total of about 2,500 participants between 2018 and 2020. The results indicated that: Workers trust colleagues... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

26 May 2022
HBS Case

Apple vs. Feds: Is iPhone Privacy a Basic Human Right?

and political issues,” says Nien-hê Hsieh, the Kim B. Clark Professor of Business Administration at HBS, who coauthored the case. Staking out a clear social position can actually help a company’s bottom line, boosting employee morale, making View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

21 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Sure Thing to Increase Productivity

bang for the buck from their new AI. Choudhury has spent his career researching human capital, looking inside companies such as Microsoft, Infosys, and McKinsey to analyze what makes knowledge workers most... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Information

06 Jul 2016
What Do You Think?

How Do We Pay for the Costs of Globalization?

and limit ‘globalization’ to commercial terms To me, ‘globalization’ means increasing knowledge of how other people in the world live and think.” Doug Kinsey set forth a view shared more or less by many discussants when he said, “Sure,... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Manufacturing

31 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

How Ben Franklin’s ‘Way to Wealth’ Introduced American Capitalism to the World

Collections. Reinert, in conjunction with Carpenter and HBS Knowledge and Library Services, even developed a Way to Wealth website to provide students and scholars with an online, one-stop-shop that includes a database of editions of The... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

20 Dec 2022
Op-Ed

Employee Feedback: The Key to Retention During the Great Resignation

isolating at home, the remaining workers asked for KN95 masks, better testing protocols, and the right to turn away illegally unmasked customers. These requests were flatly refused—a surprising response from a company whose founder,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer

18 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How Eliminating Non-Competes Could Reshape Tech

Federal restrictions of employee non-compete agreements could be in the cards for 2022, paving the way for increased worker mobility in a variety of industries. Such restrictions would have hiring and strategy implications for businesses... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Technology

14 Oct 2021
In Practice

Reunited and It Feels (Not) So Good: Tips for Managing a Rocky Return

should come back to office. My ongoing research with the all-remote firm Zapier suggests that while workers can work-from-anywhere, temporarily colocating with peers a few times a year (in the case of Zapier at a retreat), strengthens... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

08 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Silos That Work: How the Pandemic Changed the Way We Collaborate

study of hundreds of billions of emails between workers at thousands of organizations globally in 2019 and 2020 reveals an unintended side-effect of remote operations: Many companies around the world became more siloed during the... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

21 Sep 2021
Office Hours

Readers Ask: How Can I Gain Power and Influence?

The global COVID-19 pandemic has shifted power dynamics not only within today’s historically tight job market, where workers have an unprecedented level of choice and control, but also within households, organizations, and society as a... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

29 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Do Disasters Rally Support for Climate Action? It's Complicated.

Environmental disasters like wildfires can ignite awareness of climate change and boost eco-friendly politicians’ careers. But do voters perceive a tradeoff between environmental policies and local economic growth? In Brazil, home to a majority of the Amazon tropical... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

27 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Hard Work Isn't Enough: How to Find Your Edge

they could decide whether to continue working or take personal time during a two-month severance period. While most workers took the two months off to find a new job or take a break, the woman kept showing up to the office, and when new... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

15 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2021

offices and forging new paths in hybrid and remote work models. Many workers decided they didn’t want to suffer through long commutes or return to jobs they hated and joined the “Great Resignation.” And ultimately, virus variants and... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

13 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

Extroverts, Your Colleagues Wish You Would Just Shut Up and Listen

meetings, say the researchers, is a vital art that comes with big rewards. “Whatever you can do to more directly convey that you are listening and are retaining information should be helpful,” says Zlatev. Advice for the workplace The authors provided some practical... View Details