Institutional Theory - Publications - Faculty & Research

19 Aug 2013
Research & Ideas

Studying How Income Inequality Shapes Behavior

voting. Moss offers a simple analogy: Imagine you want to test a theory that punches cause stomachaches. If you examine the data and find that some people get punched without getting stomachaches, and that others get stomachaches without... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Unspoken Cues: Encouraging Morals Without Mandates

Many institutions promote and even mandate moral behavior and values among their members, but how they do it differs greatly. Some organizations such as religious groups may proscribe very specifically what is acceptable behavior—think... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education

27 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Manly Men, Oil Platforms, and Breaking Stereotypes

progress in the public sphere of work, making it difficult to expose and undermine the social and cultural bases of inequality. Workers were warm and welcoming, generous with their time, conscientious in their responses to our questions, and fun! We were interested in... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

15 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

The Right Connections

with a prestigious investment bank but the combined affiliations of the whole group. "I thought having a well-connected head of research from a renowned institution might have the greatest impact," she says. "But no matter... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

20 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 20, 2007

Tata & Sons helped revolutionize business practices in India. From instituting the eight-hour work day and paid leave to providing a retirement gratuity, Tata's policies created a standard to which other companies—and eventually... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

20 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Gender-Diverse Companies Thrive Only Where Diversity is Embraced

on the dynamics of one specific context. But the conflicting findings from past studies suggest that we may want to go beyond the scope of one industry or country to identify broader trends that may be missed in too narrow a scope. Moreover, View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

19 May 2008
Research & Ideas

Connecting School Ties and Stock Recommendations

or fraternity or sorority ties? A: Our hypothesis is on the importance of social networks, with school attended being one example that we focus on. We believe people do take pride and identify with their alma mater, and in support of this, educational View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

01 Dec 1997
News

Merton's Economics Research Wins Nobel Prize

financial theory but also has important implications for the character and performance of the global financial system. Bob's is a voice of leadership that speaks at once to the academy and the world of practice." READ MORE "Economists are... View Details

01 Oct 1998
News

Merton Named University Professor

Kim B. Clark called Merton a "terrific choice" for the McArthur University Professorship. "His interests have natural connections with faculty and students in different parts of Harvard," Clark said. "His research is at the forefront of his field, he joins View Details

01 Jun 2003
News

Male Consumers as Man-of-Action Heroes

What do men want? The conventional theory — the so–called compensatory consumption thesis — has held that men are torn between responsibility and domesticity on the one hand and a desire to live the untethered, exciting life of the rebel... View Details

Keywords: Douglas; Holt; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

01 Sep 2012
News

An Intellectual Capital: Some Influential HBS Ideas, at a Glance

articulates the theory of disruptive innovation. 2009 For the first time, annual sales of HBS cases to outside institutions surpass 5 million units, a number exceeded every year since. Eighty percent of... View Details

Keywords: Professor Elton Mayo: Professor Fritz Roethlisberger; George M. Moffett Professor of Agriculture and Business, Professor Emeritus Ray A. Goldberg; Professor Abraham Zaleznik; Professor Alfred Chandler; Professor Michael Porter; Professor Robert S. Kaplan; Professor Michael C. Jensen; Professor C. Roland Christensen; Professor Robert Menton; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Feb 1997
News

Merton Discusses Risk Management at Dean's Seminar

increasingly must make sophisticated financial decisions. Last November, Robert C. Merton, the George Fisher Baker Professor of Business Administration at HBS, discussed this problem and elaborated on the importance of risk management in financial View Details

Keywords: Elizabeth McNair

14 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: Dec. 14

Carliss Y. Baldwin Abstract The existing theory of modularity explains how modular designs create value. We extend this theory to address value appropriation. A product or process design that is modular with... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Jun 2006
News

Jay Light Named New HBS Dean

a degree in engineering physics, Light earned a DBA from Harvard’s joint program in decision and control theory in 1970. Light’s research and teaching have focused on capital markets and institutional asset... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

22 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 22

($5): http://papers.nber.org/papers/w15325 PublicationsHow Actors Change Institutions: Towards a Theory of Institutional Entrepreneurship Authors:Julie Battilana, Bernard Leca, and Eva Boxenbaum... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

that egalitarianism distance has a negative causal impact on FDI flows. This effect is robust to a broad set of competing accounts, including the effects of other cultural dimensions, various features of the prevailing legal and regulatory regimes, other features of... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 2010
Teaching Note

Disruptive IPOs? WR Hambrecht & Co. (TN)

By: Willy C. Shih

Teaching Note for 610065. View Details

Keywords: Auctions; Financing and Loans; Theory; Disruptive Innovation; Initial Public Offering; Investment Banking; Financial Services Industry; Service Industry

Citation

Purchase

16 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 16, 2007

Working PapersShamed and Able: How Firms Respond to Information Disclosure Authors:Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel. Abstract We apply institutional theory to explain how firms respond to... View Details