Publications

Educators

January 12, 2023
Article

Progressive Decentralization: A High-level Framework

By: Jad Esber and Scott Duke Kominers

We explain a high-level framework for designing for future decentralization up front, and offer some guidance about when and how to do so. The guidelines apply to both web3 projects and more traditional organizations. View Details

Keywords: Crypto Economy; Cryptocurrency; Decentralization; Decentralized Autonomous Organizations; Entrepreneurial Journey; Entrepreneurial Management; Organization Behavior; Organization And Management Theory; Organization Form; Organizational Structure

11 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 11

http://hbr.org/product/indispensable-when-leaders-really-matter/an/11129-HBK-ENG Unconscious Thought Reduces Intrusion Development: A Replication and Extension Authors:Julie Krans, Dorte Janecko, and Maarten W. Bos Publication:Journal of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Teaching Interest

Harnessing Employee Talent: The Diversity Advantage

This course offers a comprehensive examination of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) within organizational contexts, focusing on practical strategies for fostering inclusive environments and driving positive change. Furthermore, this course... View Details

Article

Chris Argyris (1923–2013)

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Chris Argyris, a pioneer in the fields of organization development, organizational learning, and action science, passed away on November 16, 2013. Argyris was born in Newark, New Jersey, on July 16, 1923, to Greek immigrant parents, and grew up in Irvington, New... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Personal Development and Career

Find at Harvard

28 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Making the Decision to Franchise (or not)

challenge of serving customers with different preferences and behaviors when that model is stretched across multiple markets." As a starting point in their research, the authors focused on the organizational... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

16 Jul 2007
Research & Ideas

Understanding the ‘Want’ vs. ’Should’ Decision

options, which is in their long-term best interest to do? For the first project we obtained access (with the help of HBS professor Anita Elberse) to a data set containing information about the film rental and return behaviors of a sample... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Retail; Entertainment & Recreation

2009
Working Paper

Taking a 'Deep Dive': What Only a Top Leader Can Do

By: Howard H. Yu and Joseph L. Bower

Unlike most historical accounts of strategic change inside large firms, empirical research on strategic management rarely uses the day-to-day behaviors of top executives as the unit of analysis. By examining the resource allocation process closely, we introduce the... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Resource Allocation; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure

SSRN

2009
Working Paper

Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting

By: Lisa D. Ordonez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky and Max H. Bazerman

Goal setting is one of the most replicated and influential paradigms in the management literature. Hundreds of studies conducted in numerous countries and contexts have consistently demonstrated that setting specific, challenging goals can powerfully drive behavior and... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives

Article

Employee Selection as a Control System

By: Dennis Campbell

Theories from 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 study... View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Making; Business Model

Find at Harvard

23 Jun 2023
HBS Case

This Company Lets Employees Take Charge—Even with Life and Death Decisions

by management layers, making independent decisions about everything from where to buy bandages to how to discipline a nurse who slacks off. “Working in an organization that trusts you and cares for you makes things possible you had not... View Details

Keywords: by Annelena Lobb; Health

February 2013
Article

Exceptional Boards: Environmental Experience and Positive Deviance from Institutional Norms

By: Judith Walls and Andrew J. Hoffman

This paper explores the phenomenon of positive organizational deviance from institutional norms by establishing practices that protect or enhance the natural environment. Seeking to explain why some organizations practice positive environmental deviance while others do... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Networks; Organizational Culture; Governing and Advisory Boards; Environmental Management

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Research Summary

Supply Chain Inventory Planning

My work studies management decision-making in demand and supply planning contexts with a focus on forecasting and inventory planning decisions. I examine these decision-making processes from both a supply chain (i.e. across firm) and an... View Details

31 Aug 2021
Book

Feeling Powerless at Work? Time to Agitate, Innovate, and Orchestrate

Although CEOs hold positions of power, many can feel powerless in certain ways—particularly when it comes to influencing the behaviors and performance of their employees. Yet perhaps they aren’t taking the time to understand what drives... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

23 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Status: When and Why It Matters

Consumers pay handsomely for products that are considered the best of the best in their league, whether they are the fastest cars, the fanciest handbags, or the finest wines. But for what, exactly, are they paying a premium? The superior quality of the product or the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

2010
Working Paper

Employee Selection as a Control System

By: Dennis Campbell

Theories from 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 study... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Decision Making; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Management Systems; Financial Services Industry

January 1985 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Turner Construction Co.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

In June, 1984, a vice president at Turner Construction Co. must decide whether to approve a construction project being considered by one of Turner's territorial offices and how to manage that territory general manager's apparent reluctance to pursue another account... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Projects; Market Entry and Exit; Integration; Contracts; Marketing Strategy; Sales; Business or Company Management; Business Offices; Geographic Location; Construction Industry

Educators

Research Summary

"How Social Networks Moderate Loss Aversion"

The literature on consumers’ relationships with their brands emphasizes that, when people form relationships with brands that mirror their social relationships, the norms of social relationships are used as guiding principles in their interactions with... View Details

2011
Working Paper

Risky Trust: How Multi-entity Teams Develop Trust in a High Risk Endeavor

By: Faaiza Rashid and Amy C. Edmondson

This paper explicates the challenge of risky trust, which we define as trust that exists between parties vulnerable to high economic, legal, or reputational risks at individual or organizational levels. Drawing from analyses of data collected in a grounded case study... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Leadership; Business Processes; Groups and Teams; Risk and Uncertainty; Trust; Construction Industry; United States