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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,413)
- People (5)
- News (272)
- Research (1,921)
- Events (6)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (999)
Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier: Field Experimental Evidence of the Effects of AI on Knowledge Worker Productivity and Quality
The public release of Large Language Models (LLMs) has sparked tremendous interest in how humans will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accomplish a variety of tasks. In our study conducted with Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, we examine... View Details
- 2015
- Working Paper
Toxic Workers
By: Michael Housman and Dylan Minor
While there has been a strong focus in past research on discovering and developing top performers in the workplace, less attention has been paid to the question of how to manage those workers on the opposite side of the spectrum: those who are harmful to organizational... View Details
Keywords: Strategic Human Resource Management; Misconduct; Worker Productivity; Superstar; Ethics; Performance Productivity; Personal Characteristics; Employees
Housman, Michael, and Dylan Minor. "Toxic Workers." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-057, October 2015. (Revised November 2015.)
- March 2018 (Revised September 2019)
- Case
Chewy.com (A)
By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and Matthew G. Preble
In late 2013, Ryan Cohen, cofounder and CEO of online pet products retailer Chewy.com, faces a “bet the company decision”—whether to stay with a third-party logistics provider (3PL) for all of its e-commerce fulfillment or to take the function in house. Cohen worries... View Details
Keywords: Pet Food; Pet Products; Retail; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Decision Choices and Conditions; E-commerce; Retail Industry; Service Industry; Florida; United States
Rayport, Jeffrey F., and Matthew G. Preble. "Chewy.com (A)." Harvard Business School Case 818-079, March 2018. (Revised September 2019.)
- 2016
- Working Paper
The Microstructure of Work: How Unexpected Breaks Let You Rest, but Not Lose Focus
By: Pradeep Pendem, Paul Green, Bradley R. Staats and Francesca Gino
How best to structure the work day is an important operational question for organizations. A key structural consideration is the effective use of breaks from work. Breaks serve the critical purpose of allowing employees to recharge, but in the short term, translate to... View Details
Keywords: Breaks; Productivity; Attention; Workload; Harvesting; Working Conditions; Behavior; Performance Productivity; Organizations
Pendem, Pradeep, Paul Green, Bradley R. Staats, and Francesca Gino. "The Microstructure of Work: How Unexpected Breaks Let You Rest, but Not Lose Focus." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-058, December 2016.
- August 2018
- Article
Creative Sparks or Paralysis Traps? The Effects of Contradictions on Creative Processing and Creative Products
By: Goran Calic and Sébastien Hélie
Paradoxes are an unavoidable part of work life. The unusualness of attempting to simultaneously satisfy contradictory imperatives can result in creative outcomes that simultaneously satisfy both imperatives by inducing search for, and selection of, novel and useful... View Details
Calic, Goran, and Sébastien Hélie. "Creative Sparks or Paralysis Traps? The Effects of Contradictions on Creative Processing and Creative Products." Art. 1489. Frontiers in Psychology 9 (August 2018).
- June 2010
- Supplement
FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand, Spreadsheet Supplement (Brief Case)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario
- 2017
- Working Paper
Management as a Technology?
By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen
Are some management practices akin to a technology that can explain firm and national productivity, or do they simply reflect contingent management styles? We collect data on core management practices from over 11,000 firms in 34 countries. We find large cross-country... View Details
Keywords: Management Practices; Productivity; Competition; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity
Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Management as a Technology?" Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-133, June 2016. (Revised October 2017.)
- 2011
- Chapter
Health Care Applications: From Hospitals to Physicians, from Productive Efficiency to Quality Frontiers
By: Jon Chilingerian and H. David Sherman
This chapter focuses on health-care applications of DEA. The paper begins with a brief history of health applications and discusses some of the models and the motivation behind the applications. Using DEA to develop quality frontiers in health services is offered as a... View Details
Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis; Physicians; Hospitals; HMOs; Frontier Analysis; Efficiency; Health Care and Treatment; Performance; Quality
Chilingerian, Jon, and H. David Sherman. "Health Care Applications: From Hospitals to Physicians, from Productive Efficiency to Quality Frontiers." Chap. 16 in Handbook on Data Envelopment Analysis. 2nd edition Vol. 164, edited by William W. Cooper, Lawrence M. Seiford, and Joe Zhu, 445–493. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science. New York, NY: Springer, 2011.
- June 2010
- Supplement
FoldRite Furniture Company: Planning to Meet a Surge in Demand, Spreadsheet Supplement for Instructors (Brief Case)
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Afarin Bellisario
- September 2011
- Article
On Testing Business Models
By: D. Huelsbeck, K. Merchant and Tatiana Sandino
This study explored management decisions regarding formal empirical testing of business models. It documented a test of one company's business model under seemingly favorable conditions for such a test – a successful single product firm following a consistent strategy... View Details
Keywords: Performance Measurement; Non-financial Performance Measures; Business Models; Management Control; Decisions; Business Model; Performance Evaluation
Huelsbeck, D., K. Merchant, and Tatiana Sandino. "On Testing Business Models." Accounting Review 86, no. 5 (September 2011): 1631–1654. (Awarded a Research Grant from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.)
- 2025
- Working Paper
Training Within Firms
By: Brayan Diaz, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun and Jorge Tamayo
Training investments are essential for improving worker and firm productivity, yet their
implementation is often hindered by low participation rates and insufficient worker engagement.
This study uses data from three firms–a car manufacturer, a quick-service... View Details
Keywords: Productivity; Absenteeism; Middle Managers; Training; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Employees
Diaz, Brayan, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun, and Jorge Tamayo. "Training Within Firms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-045, April 2025.
- 1981
- Chapter
Productivity Measurement at the Level of the Firm: An Application within the Service Industry
By: Hirotaka Takeuchi
- Article
Reflections on the 2013 Decade Award: 'Exploitation, Exploration, and Process Management: The Productivity Dilemma Revisited' Ten Years Later
By: Mary Benner and Michael Tushman
This paper reflects on Benner and Tushman (2003): "Exploitation, Exploration, and Process Management: The Productivity Dilemma Revisited." Our paper received the Academy of Management Review's best paper award in 2003 and the decade award in 2013. We consider the... View Details
Keywords: Organizations; Innovation and Invention; Performance Productivity; Innovation and Management
Benner, Mary, and Michael Tushman. "Reflections on the 2013 Decade Award: 'Exploitation, Exploration, and Process Management: The Productivity Dilemma Revisited' Ten Years Later." Academy of Management Review 40, no. 4 (October 2015): 497–514.
- 2012
- Article
Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank
By: B. Staats and F. Gino
Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design-related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition... View Details
Keywords: Motivation; Productivity; Specialization; Variety; Work Fragmentation; Boundaries; Performance Productivity; Organizations; Research; Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Opportunities; Market Transactions; Resource Allocation; Performance; Goals and Objectives; Learning
Staats, B., and F. Gino. "Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank." Management Science 58, no. 6 (June 2012): 1141–1159.
- February 2025
- Supplement
Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI (B)
By: Michael W. Toffel, Shane Greenstein and Sadika El Hariri
Intenseye used its $25 million series A funds to refine and expand its digital safety platform while refining its target markets and ideal customer profile. As the company implemented new approaches to create value for its clients, such as developing an AI-powered... View Details
Keywords: Safety Performance; Occupational Safety; Innovation; Safety; Operations; Health; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Digital Transformation; Supply Chain Management; Performance Improvement; Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Customer Relationship Management; Value Creation; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; United States; Europe; Middle East; Turkey
Toffel, Michael W., Shane Greenstein, and Sadika El Hariri. "Intenseye: Powering Workplace Health and Safety with AI (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 625-025, February 2025.
- January 2021 (Revised March 2021)
- Supplement
Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (B)
By: Jorge Tamayo, Erik Snowberg and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago
Toyota Argentina (TASA) and the union representing automotive industry workers in the country had been working together since 2011 to address the challenges faced by Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Zárate (Argentina). The strategy for moving forward was built on an... View Details
Keywords: Manufacturing Performance; Production; Performance Improvement; Strategy; Labor Unions; Labor and Management Relations; Agreements and Arrangements; Strategic Planning; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Auto Industry; Argentina
Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 721-412, January 2021. (Revised March 2021.)
- July 2012
- Class Lecture
The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work
What really makes people happy, motivated, productive, and creative at work? Professor Amabile's research, based on analyzing nearly 12,000 daily diaries of team members working on collaborative projects, reveals some surprising answers. Inner work life—a person's... View Details
Keywords: Employee Motivation; Fostering Performance; Improving Creativity; The Importance Of Progress; Employee Attitude; Enhancing Work Life; Improving Productivity; Inner Work Life; Motivation and Incentives; Working Conditions; Creativity; Performance Productivity; Attitudes; Employees
Amabile, Teresa M. "The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work." Harvard Business School Class Lecture 813-701, July 2012.
- Article
Tax Aversion in Labor Supply
By: Judd B. Kessler and Michael I. Norton
In a real-effort laboratory experiment, labor supply decreases more with the introduction of a tax than with a financially equivalent drop in wages. This “tax aversion” is large in magnitude: when we decompose the productivity decrease that arises from taxation, we... View Details
Keywords: Taxes; Labor Supply; Productivity; Experiments; Wages; Human Capital; Performance Productivity; Taxation
Kessler, Judd B., and Michael I. Norton. "Tax Aversion in Labor Supply." Special Issue on Taxation, Social Norms and Compliance. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 124 (April 2016): 15–28.
- May 2011
- Case
Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and William Schmidt
Baria Planning Solutions (BPS) is a consulting firm that specializes in using spend analysis to help companies identify savings through reduced procurement costs and improved supplier performance. Management is concerned about the disappointing performance of the sales... View Details
Keywords: Quantitative Analysis; Technology; Operations Management; Product Lines; Manufacturing; Capacity Planning; Production Planning; Production; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Supply Chain Management; Salesforce Management; Planning; Consulting Industry; North and Central America
Wheelwright, Steven C., and William Schmidt. "Baria Planning Solutions, Inc.: Fixing the Sales Process." Harvard Business School Brief Case 114-568, May 2011.
- Forthcoming
- Article
No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm
By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham and Jorge Tamayo
How do firms pair workers with managers, and which constraints affect the allocation of labor within the firm? We characterize the sorting pattern of managers to workers in a large readymade garment manufacturer in India and then explore potential drivers of the... View Details
Keywords: Assortative Matching; Productivity; Global Buyers; Readymade Garments; Labor; Organizational Design; Performance Productivity; Fashion Industry
Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm." Review of Economics and Statistics (forthcoming). (Pre-published online October 29, 2024.)