Structural Balance - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

How Teams Work: Lessons from the Pandemic

interpersonal interactions essential to knowledge workers and looks at how teams tried to facilitate them. They include: Task interactions, when team members collaborate on activities that directly contribute to output; Process interactions, such as the agenda-setting... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

27 Jan 2009
First Look

First Look: January 27, 2009

models and policies are incomplete without taking into account the bargaining process and, in particular, the way in which this process interacts with underlying control structures in the household. Testing the Commitment Hypothesis in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Aug 2019
Research & Ideas

How Scale Changes a Manager's Responsibilities

reaching a point where you or anyone have more than eight direct reports, it’s time to scale out a management team. Ideally, bring in some managers who know how to manage versus just promoting from within. I like to build teams with a View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

29 Mar 2022
Book

5 Qualities That Help Companies Thrive for Decades—Even Centuries

minute, and then builds up creating an asset on the balance sheet,” he says. 3. Companies innovate to have a positive impact on society Leaders who leave legacies head enterprises that make creating public good a priority. They innovate... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

corporate governance structure tailored to the firm. Q: What should CEOs be thinking about in terms of better leveraging their legal resources? Are new organizational structures needed to support this?... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

2013
Working Paper

These Are the Good Old Days: Foreign Entry and the Mexican Banking System

By: Stephen Haber and Aldo Musacchio

In 1997, the Mexican government reversed long-standing policies and allowed foreign banks to purchase Mexico's largest commercial banks and relaxed restrictions on the founding of new, foreign-owned banks. The result has been a dramatic shift in the ownership structure... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Balance and Stability; Foreign Direct Investment; Banks and Banking; Society; Economics; Banking Industry; Mexico

Citation

SSRN

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14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

sample have worked hard to keep workers productive, motivated, engaged, and connected through concerted actions. To compensate for the stress caused by remote working, several companies introduced flexible schedules to allow balancing... View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

14 Aug 2012
First Look

First Look: August 14

entails the risk of becoming dependent on outside owners of IP. To address this tension we propose the concept of "IP modularity." We argue that, by managing a system's modular structure in conjunction with its IP, firms can... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Nov 2005
Research & Ideas

Unilever: Transformation and Tradition

and the Board was anachronistic, and contributed to the fragmentation of Unilever's post-war organization between Britain and the Continent. By securing that Board, and ultimately Special Committee, meetings were held in both Rotterdam and London, Unilever began to... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Consumer Products

20 Oct 2010
Op-Ed

Export Competitiveness: Reversing the Logic

empirical data confirms the presence of this effect but does not indicate that it renders export-driven growth strategies infeasible (Wood/Mayer, 2009). Overall, the discussion remains far from having reached a consensus. At the minimum, there is a sense that there is... View Details

Keywords: by Christian Ketels

22 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Use Artificial Intelligence to Set Sales Targets That Motivate

Setting the right sales targets for employees is a difficult balancing act, with long-term consequences on growth and morale. Setting a target too low, making it easily achievable, might cause an an employee to not put in the effort.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?

they can’t make an overall risk assessment. Gazette: This week, a panel of banking regulators and treasury officials from the G20 countries said it will put forward “robust” new regulations in October in response to the “intrinsic volatility and View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Financial Services; Technology

18 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Stuck in Commuter Hell? You Can Still Be Productive

example, finding a comfortable balance between juggling the needs of their young children along with the requests of a demanding boss. This conflict in roles can lead to burnout, guilt, and hostility both at work and at home—and, in the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

should they balance operational activities and advocacy efforts? How can they better measure performance against their missions and improve accountability to stakeholders?" The authors discuss their book in the following Q&A.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

14 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 14

important role in reducing both the real and financing frictions faced by small businesses. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52278 Where Should We Build a Mall? The Formation of Market Structure and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 16

organization's strategy and structural needs. In some situations, functional experts can raise their profile by cultivating just two of the competencies. But those who are strong in all four are likely to be the most influential.... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

10 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

The COVID Two-Step for Leaders: Protect and Pivot

enterprise means striking a balance between standardizing operations and pursuing innovations. Bain & Company’s Darrell Rigby, Sarah Elk and Steve Berez elaborate on the role of the agile leadership team: ”To find the optimal balance,... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

27 Oct 2002
Research & Ideas

Want a Happy Customer? Coordinate Sales and Marketing

structure, formal management processes, information technology, the informal social network, and people. Organizational structure is a natural beginning but most people expect too much from it. There is no "perfect" structure.... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro

November 2017
Teaching Note

Amazon.com, 2016

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

Teaching Note for HBS No. 716-402. On January 28, 2016, Amazon announced record 2015 operating profits of $2.2 billion on $107 billion of sales, and the markets responded with cautious optimism. For years, founder and CEO Jeffrey Bezos had prioritized growth and... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Market Platforms; Two-Sided Platforms; Competition; Internet; Corporate Strategy; Online Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Hardware; Information Technology; Mobile Technology; Online Technology; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Web; Web Sites; Price; Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle