CEO Pay - Publications - Faculty & Research

07 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Fail—and How Their Founders Can Bounce Back

that goes against the normal tenets of morality and fair play. Ghosh cites as example a CEO who fires a bunch of employees in order to pay for his own severance package. In such cases, a manager's reputation... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

18 Aug 2022
Op-Ed

Your Best Employees Are Burning Out: A Framework for Retaining Talent

employers’ past transgressions. Generational factors and burnout Leaders must realize that their workers are their greatest assets in their quest to achieve institutional goals. Instead of paying lip service to caring for employees or... View Details

Keywords: by Hise Gibson and MaShon Wilson

22 Dec 2015
First Look

December 22, 2015

co-creation of markets and value, multinationals without firm-specific advantages, and born-global firms. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50242 November 13, 2015 Harvard Business Review If CEOs Care About... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

20 Oct 2015
First Look

October 20, 2015

People Who Care About Others Cooperate More? Experimental Evidence from Relative Incentive Pay By: Hernandez, Pablo, Dylan B. Minor, and Dana Sisak Abstract—We experimentally study ways in which the social preferences of individuals and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

Turning One Thousand Customers into One Million

differently from the early adopters who had been acquired in bulk or by word of mouth. In particular, they were not as forgiving of lower-quality products and services, and not as willing to pay premium prices for anything less than... View Details

Keywords: by Thales S. Teixeira and Michael Blanding; Retail; Transportation; Accommodations

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

disconnect between a company’s stated argument for diversity and the psychological reality of decision-making. “Your employees, future employees, customers and investors are watching.” As some CEOs weigh the future of their company’s DEI... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

irregularities related to the off-balance-sheet partnerships. This forced Lay—who returned as CEO after Skilling resigned that August—to announce a $544 million charge against earnings, and a $1.2 billion write-down in shareholders'... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

executives motivated who were asked to take a 50% salary reduction. Because we are now closed and have no revenue, we asked senior staff to take a 50% pay reduction until we reopen. Our CEO took a 100% View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

07 Jul 2019
HBS Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

$409.9 billion to $476.2 billion. (Walmart closed 2,214 discount stores or converted them into other formats from 1993 to 2018, with 2,576 supercenters opening during that time.) In addition to increasing Walmart’s supercenter footprint, View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

1948, and national health insurance since 1956. Workers currently pay 7 percent of social security taxes, while companies pay 31 percent. Local sales taxes top out at 25 percent, with lower rates for food... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

09 May 2017
What Do You Think?

Should Management Be Primarily Responsible to Shareholders?

Summing Up How Do We Encourage CEOs to Manage for Sustainability? Important forces encourage short-term perspectives among managers as well as investors today. These include governance biases, tax policies, faster turnover among leaders,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

bothering you about a particular problem, sometimes you have to slow down to recognize it,” Badaracco says. During a work meeting, rather than staying laser-focused on getting through the agenda, take time to look around the room and pay... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 22, 2008

sales by salesperson. Should they pay people individually on these newer products while maintaining the team-pay approach on the core? If so, it would raise a potential problem with shirking on the core product. However, not doing so... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 15, 2018

and hazards. Several techniques can enhance the power and efficacy of queries: Favor follow-up questions, know when to keep questions open ended, get the sequence right, use the right tone, and pay attention to group dynamics. Publisher's... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

16 Nov 2021
HBS Case

How a Company Made Employees So Miserable, They Killed Themselves

layoffs. By the time Breton left the company in 2005 to serve as French Finance Minister, things were looking up: The company was turning a profit. 22,000 workers must go Didier Lombard stepped in as CEO later that year, promising... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 14

Alejandro EIsztain, CEO of Cresud S.A., is faced with the difficult choice of whether to sell, develop, or continue to hold the 151,000 hectares of remaining undeveloped farmland at the company's Los Pozos farm in Argentina. Developing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Effective Leaders Share the Spotlight with Their Teams

likely to call on colleagues than were male and younger managers. Sharing the spotlight pays off The willingness to engage colleagues in the boardroom appears to also pay dividends in the stock market. Firms... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

09 Apr 2018
Sharpening Your Skills

The Dark Side of Performance Bonuses

where they stand relative to their coworkers. Does telling an employee that her job performance falls in the bottom of her group better her performance? CEO Bonus Plans: And How to Fix Them While compensation committees know how much they... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Make Restructuring Work for Your Company

companies recognize the need to restructure too late, when fewer options remain and saving the company may be more difficult. Scott Paper's new CEO was widely criticized in the news media for the magnitude of the layoffs he ordered.... View Details

Keywords: by Stuart C. Gilson

Publications