Publications

March 2006 (Revised February 2007)
Case

UBS: Towards the Integrated Firm

By: Rajiv Lal, Nitin Nohria and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In late June 2005, UBS Group CEO Peter Wuffli--anointed "Master of Zurich" by the financial press--was returning to Zurich from the firm's latest three-day Senior Leadership Conference (SLC). Tapping 600 top managers, this SLC featured an outdoor event at a former... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Programs; Leadership; Talent and Talent Management; Trust

2013
Chapter

Beyond Platinum: Making the Case for Titanium Buildings

By: Jock Herron, Amy C. Edmondson and Robert G. Eccles

Buildings are the nation's greatest energy consumers. Forty percent of all our energy is used for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering machines and devices in buildings. And despite decades of investment in green construction technologies, residential and... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Energy; Attitudes; Environmental Sustainability; Construction Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States

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27 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Manly Men, Oil Platforms, and Breaking Stereotypes

condition—psychological safety—refers to team members' shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, in other words, that members' well-intentioned actions will not lead to rejection or punishment by other team members. Research shows that members... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

18 Apr 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, April 18, 2018

supplemental, qualitative investigation, we propose some potential interpretations for our findings. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54356 forthcoming Psychological Science The Effect of Graphic Warnings... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

How to Choose the Best Deal

the less relevant the other becomes, at least in the short term. A possible fallback may provide some psychological comfort, but without a realistic sense of its feasibility, it's not really a useful benchmark. Second, you must figure out... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler

November 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Technical Note

Customer Data Privacy

By: Eva Ascarza and Ta-Wei Huang

This note provides an overview of the evolving landscape of customer data privacy in 2023. It highlights two pivotal aspects that make privacy a central concern for businesses: building and maintaining customer trust and navigating the intricate regulatory... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Risk and Uncertainty; Reputation; Trust; Information Management; Retail Industry; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Europe; United States

2012
Working Paper

Earnings Management from the Bottom Up: An Analysis of Managerial Incentives Below the CEO

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Julie Wulf

Performance-based pay is an important instrument to align the interests of managers with the interests of shareholders. However, recent evidence suggests that high-powered incentives also provide managers with incentives to manipulate the firm's reported earnings. The... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Interests; Business and Shareholder Relations; Motivation and Incentives; Earnings Management; Performance Evaluation; Stock Options

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December 2003 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Sears Auto Centers (A) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

In the early 1990s Sears faced and allegations by the California Department of Consumer Affairs that the company's auto repair centers had been overbilling customers and making unnecessary repairs. Top management must evaluate the problem and come up with a plan to... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Compensation and Benefits; Management Teams; Employees; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Improvement; Auto Industry

11 Dec 2007
First Look

First Look: December 11, 2007

collection will be of great interest to scholars of entrepreneurship, international business and business history. Psychology and Experimental Economics: A Gap in Abstraction Authors:Dan Ariely and Michael I. Norton Periodical:Current... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2020
Teaching Plan

Girls Who Code

By: Brian Trelstad and Amy Klopfenstein

This teaching plan serves as a supplement to HBS Case No. 320-055, “Girls Who Code.” Founded 2012 by former lawyer Reshma Saujani, Girls Who Code (GWC) offered coding education programs to middle- and high school-aged girls. The organization also sought to alter... View Details

1982
Article

Children's Artistic Creativity: Detrimental Effects of Competition in a Field Setting

By: T. M. Amabile

Girls whose ages ranged from 7 to 11 years made paper collages during 1 of 2 residential parties. Those in the experimental group were competing for prizes, whereas those in the control group expected that the prizes would be raffled off. Artist-judges later rated each... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Early Childhood Education; Motivation and Incentives; Situation or Environment; Competition; Teaching

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2022
Other Teaching and Training Material

Organizational Behavior Reading: Managing Differences

By: Robin Ely and Colleen Ammerman

This reading provides principles and practices managers can draw upon to leverage differences in social identities - such as gender and race - to create more effective work relationships, teams, and organizations. The Essential Reading's first section draws upon... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Groups and Teams; Prejudice and Bias; Identity; Management Practices and Processes

October 2022
Case

Colette Phillips and GetKonnected!: Creating Inclusive Ecosystems

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Amy Chiu and Joyce Kim

Colette Phillips’ marketing firm had just won the City of Boston’s 2nd largest contract in history to a Black-owned company. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Get Konnected!, the networking organization for people of color that she founded 15 years earlier and led to... View Details

May 2019
Supplement

Kjell and Company: Motivating Salespeople with Incentive Compensation (D)

By: Doug J. Chung

Kjell & Company was a Swedish retail electronics chain. The company’s products consisted of home electronics and accessories. The company was noted for its excellent customer service and a fair “one-for-all” HR policy. Historically, the salespeople had been compensated... View Details

Keywords: Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Change Management; Behavior; Electronics Industry; Sweden

October 3, 2012
Blog Post

Tonight's Presidential Debate Will Be Decided by Body Language

By: Amy Cuddy

Keywords: Nonverbal Behavior; Persuasion; Influence; Public Speaking; Nonverbal Communication; Behavior; Debates; Power and Influence

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March 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Akamai's Underwater Options (A)

By: Brian J. Hall, Houston Lane and Jonathan Lim

Akamai's stock price declines dramatically with the NASDAQ in 2000, causing virtually all employee options to go underwater. Ownership and retention incentives are largely destroyed, and employee morale falls sharply. Management weighs the pros and cons of various... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Stock Options; Attitudes; Compensation and Benefits