Publications

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12 Mar 2018
Blog Post

Applying to HBS in Round 3?

difference I wanted in the world. Even though I loved my job and the people I worked with, I knew I wanted more out of a profession. I am passionate about eliminating animal suffering and slowing the depletion of natural resources for... View Details

01 Jun 2011
News

Building a Social Network

percent. A second proposal under consideration would overhaul the existing initiative by taking the “deep” networks approach of sinking resources into already-successful groups and shutting down others. YPO members would pay separate dues... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

Web

Buildings & Cities - Business & Environment

Confronting Climate Change Buildings & Cities Cities are a key place to innovate to reduce greenhouse gases The world is currently undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in human history. More than half of the global population is... View Details

09 Feb 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Executive Compensation and Misconduct: Environmental Harm

Keywords: by Dylan Minor

19 Jan 2010
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing the Economic Crisis

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered: How do I lead in a crisis? What roles does the Board play? What are the emotional needs of people who lay... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

2024
Working Paper

Does Pension Automatic Enrollment Increase Debt? Evidence from a Large-Scale Natural Experiment

By: John Beshears, Matthew Blakstad, James J. Choi, Christopher Firth, John Gathergood, David Laibson, Richard Notley, Jesal D. Sheth, Will Sandbrook and Neil Stewart

Does automatic enrollment into retirement saving increase household debt? We study the randomized roll-out of automatic enrollment pensions to ~160,000 employers in the United Kingdom with 2-29 employees. We find that the additional savings generated through automatic... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Saving; Personal Finance; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Compensation and Benefits

2023
Working Paper

Setting Gendered Expectations? Recruiter Outreach Bias in Online Tech Training Programs

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Karim R. Lakhani and Roberto Fernandez

Competence development in digital technologies, analytics, and artificial intelligence is increasingly important to all types of organizations and their workforce. Universities and corporations are investing heavily in developing training programs, at all tenure... View Details

Keywords: STEM; Selection and Staffing; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Training; Equality and Inequality; Competency and Skills

SSRN

June 2009
Case

Executive Remuneration at Royal Dutch Shell (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Kaitlyn Simpson

The remuneration committee at Shell decided to exercise their discretionary power to award five top executives a bonus for 2008, even though they had not met the necessary performance measures under the compensation plan. Proxy advisors RiskMetrics and the British... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Executive Compensation; Performance Evaluation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry

Educators

March 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

ACCION International: Maintaining High Performance Through Time

By: Michael Chu

ACCION International has been a major innovator in microfinance for 30 years. Reviews organizational context under which key industry-shaping concepts were developed (from peer group lending, guarantee funds, equity investment funds, and regulated commercial banking... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Equity; Microfinance; Employee Relationship Management; Non-Governmental Organizations

Educators

November 1999
Case

Doyle's Dealmaking Dilemma: Negotiating the Job Search

By: James K. Sebenius

MBA student Doyle Williams searches for his ideal job in a private equity group and uses his negotiation skills to try to attain the best possible compensation package. View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Job Interviews; Job Search; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics

Find at Harvard

March 1996 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Change Agent Program at Siemens Nixdorf, The

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, John F. McGuire and Afroze A Mohammed

To change its culture, the German computer giant Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems launched a program to train 21 "change agents" who would lead entrepreneurial projects designed to get results and to serve as models of a new style. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Culture; Training; Leadership Development; Programs; Human Resources; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Computer Industry; Germany

Find at Harvard

Keywords: IT; Software; Consulting; Outsourcing

01 Dec 2018
News

INK: The Bookshelf

to salvation. So it’s this strange idea of a leader cutting off resources, but as with all great teams, it shows that having resourcefulness is more important than having resources.” PERSONAL PICK Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by... View Details

09 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 9

institutions in which ongoing crises of legitimacy demonstrate the need for a renewal of embedded liberalism and a revitalization of global governance. They are as follows: the activities of transnational corporations, particularly with regard to core standards in... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Research Summary

The Unexpected Effects of Workplace Transparency

By: Ethan S. Bernstein

Workplace transparency provides a foundation for learning and control, and therefore for satisfaction and productivity. Yet my research shows that an obsession with transparency-enhancing tools and structures can backfire, producing the unintended consequences of... View Details

Keywords: Transparency; Privacy; Productivity; Field Experiments; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Human Resources; Leadership; United States; Europe; China; Japan

2000
Chapter

Leveraged Management Buyouts at KKR: Historical Perspectives on Patient Equity, Debt, Discipline, and LBO Governance.

By: George P. Baker and George Smith

Keywords: Governance; History; Leveraged Buyouts; Executive Compensation; Borrowing and Debt

June 2025
Article

Riding the Passion Wave or Fighting to Stay Afloat? A Theory of Differentiated Passion Contagion

By: Emma Frank, Kai Krautter, Wen Wu and Jon M. Jachimowicz

Prior research suggests that employees benefit from highly passionate teammates because passion spreads easily from one employee to the next. We develop theory to propose that life in high-passion teams may not be as uniformly advantageous as previously assumed. We... View Details

Keywords: Passion; Emotional Contagion; Emotions; Groups and Teams; Employees; Power and Influence; Performance Improvement

2024
Working Paper

Private Equity and Digital Transformation

By: Brian K. Baik, Wilbur Chen and Suraj Srinivasan

We study the role which private equity (PE) plays in digital transformation. We find that PE investment is associated with greater investments into portfolio firm’s digital technologies, as measured by IT expenditures and the hiring demand for AI skills. This... View Details

Keywords: Digital Transformation; Private Equity; Selection and Staffing; Investment Portfolio; Value Creation

June 2021
Teaching Note

Amazon: Cult or Culture?

By: Boris Groysberg, Kerry Herman and Amy Klopfenstein

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 421-008. Amazon was one of the first entrants in e-commerce. Under the leadership of founder Jeff Bezos, Amazon had expanded beyond books to manufacturing and selling a wide range of products and services globally. Bezos had built a... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Growth Management; Information Technology; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management; Retail Industry; Technology Industry