Publications

November 2000
Background Note

Note on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and Phantom Stock Plans

By: Dwight B. Crane and Indra Reinbergs

Provides a brief overview of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and phantom stock plans for owners of closely held companies. ESOPs can be used as a tool of corporate financing, and can provide employees with ownership interests. Phantom stock plans can reward... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Motivation and Incentives; Management Teams; Corporate Governance; Ownership Stake; Taxation

Web

Real Estate Private Equity - Course Catalog

third will look at the management and investment issues from the perspectives of both general partners and limited partners. The analysis will also include a study of firm economics and the resulting incentives from the 2/20 standard... View Details

10 May 2004
Research & Ideas

Rethink the Value of Joint Ventures

More generally, multinationals often create incentives to have joint ventures by penalizing the risk-taking involved in going it alone. The overall multinational entity must reevaluate its attitude toward joint ventures and make sure that... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

September 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Compilation

PEARL Project, The: Work Patterns at Ditto (A)

By: Leslie A. Perlow

Describes life on a product development team, the behaviors that are rewarded, and the difficult tradeoffs members often have to make as a result. This is a rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Time Management; Groups and Teams; Work-Life Balance; Motivation and Incentives; Information Technology Industry

June 2000 (Revised July 2000)
Case

ORIX KK

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Andrew Eggers

Describes the challenges facing a Japanese financial services company as it attempts to maintain its ability to attract and retain talented employees. The CEO's ideas of corporate governance and evidence from the competitive labor environment suggest the need for more... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Geographic Location; Financial Services Industry; Japan

July – August 2010
Column

Powerlessness Corrupts

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Powerlessness damages organizations--especially in the middle ranks, says HBR columnist Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Hemmed in by rules and treated as unimportant, people get even with management by overcontrolling their own turf. Kanter urges leaders to give employees... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Opportunities; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence

Find at Harvard

2012
Working Paper

Do Market Leaders Lead in Business Process Innovation? The Case(s) of E-Business Adoption

By: Kristina S. McElheran

This paper explores the relationship between market position and business process innovation. Prior research has focused on the alignment between new technologies and the internal capabilities of firms to pursue them. I extend the investigation to include external... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Technological Innovation; Leadership; Business Processes; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Technology Adoption; Manufacturing Industry; United States

SSRN

Read Now

February 2008
Case

EFI, Inc. (A)

By: David B. Godes and Lauren Barley

EFI has a unique sales compensation challenge. They cannot allocate sales credit for their core product to individual salespeople. So, they've historically paid the sales force as a team. This has worked out fine, since they've been a near-monopoly seller of a single... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Compensation and Benefits; Performance Evaluation; Groups and Teams; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives

September 2005
Case

Martha Goldberg Aronson: Leadership Decisions at Mid-Career

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2005, Martha Goldberg Aronson must decide whether to accept an overseas posting in a functional role with Medtronic Corp. The move would be a professional stretch, but would entail leaving a position with a plan half completed and moving her young family overseas.... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Work-Life Balance; Personal Development and Career; Motivation and Incentives; Opportunities; Leadership

October 2001 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Acme Investment Trust: January 2001

By: Josh Lerner

The managers of a large corporate pension fund must decide whether to invest in a private equity fund that is offering a guaranteed rate of return of 20% on part of its portfolio. The background behind and implications of the guarantee are explored. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Private Equity; Motivation and Incentives; Asset Management; Investment Funds; Financial Strategy; Financial Services Industry

14 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 14, 2010

the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry