Publications

22 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

Companies Can Expand Their Talent Pool by Giving Ex-Convicts a Second Chance

Employers looking to fill critical job vacancies may want to turn to a largely untapped pool of willing workers: people with criminal records. Employers are often wary of hiring workers with past convictions, leading to double-digit unemployment rates for formerly... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

2022
Working Paper

Are Experts Blinded by Feasibility?: Experimental Evidence from a NASA Robotics Challenge

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Zoe Szajnfarber, Jason Crusan, Michael Menietti and Karim R. Lakhani

Resource allocation decisions play a dominant role in shaping a firm’s technological trajectory and competitive advantage. Recent work indicates that innovative firms and scientific institutions tend to exhibit an anti-novelty bias when evaluating new projects and... View Details

Keywords: Evaluations; Novelty; Feasibility; Field Experiment; Resource Allocation; Technological Innovation; Competitive Advantage; Decision Making

SSRN

Read Now

20 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Seven Things That Surprise New CEOs

maintaining a personal balance and staying grounded can the CEO achieve the perspective required to make decisions in the interest of the company and its long-term prosperity. View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch & Nitin Nohria

April 2017 (Revised August 2020)
Case

The U-Turns of National Truck Stops

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Alexander W. Schultz

Raj Makam had spent months trying to restructure a 2006 investment he had made in National Truck Stops, Inc. (NTS) as a senior member of Oaktree Capital Management’s (Oaktree) Mezzanine finance business within their Corporate Debt platform. It was the first time they... View Details

Keywords: Mezzanine Financing; Corporate Debt; Bankruptcy; Real Assets; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Restructuring; Private Equity; Cost vs Benefits; Atlanta; New York (city, NY)

10 May 2022
News

Being Your Own Boss Can Pay Off, but Not Always with Big Pay

July 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Case

XM Satellite Radio (A)

By: David B. Godes and Elie Ofek

XM Satellite Radio is a radically new way to listen to radio. Management must develop a marketing strategy to launch the firm and the category. A crucial aspect of the strategy is to determine which of two business models the company will pursue. Should it focus... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost Management; Marketing Channels; Marketing Strategy; Problems and Challenges; Partners and Partnerships; Sales; Competitive Strategy; Communications Industry

November 2021
Case

LKQ-Stahlgruber

By: Guhan Subramanian and Caeden Brynie

Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, LKQ Corp. became the leading aftermarket auto parts distributor in the U.S. by the early 2000s. Beginning in 2012, the company began similarly consolidating the European marketplace. However, by 2017, the... View Details

Keywords: Consolidation; Acquisition; Decision Making; Strategy; Opportunities; Europe; Germany

2009
Working Paper

Do Analysts Follow Managers Who Switch Companies? An Analysis of Relationships in the Capital Markets.

By: Francois Brochet, Gregory S. Miller and Suraj Srinivasan

We examine the importance of professional relationships developed between analysts and managers by investigating analyst coverage decisions in the context of CEO and CFO moves between publicly listed firms. We find that top executive moves from an origin firm to a... View Details

Keywords: Business and Stakeholder Relations; Capital Markets; Decisions; Managerial Roles; Financial Institutions; Investment; Market Participation; Public Ownership; Relationships

SSRN

17 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

If the CEO’s High Salary Isn't Justified to Employees, Firm Performance May Suffer

studies support an economic idea known as Tournament Theory, which says that as pay differences between job levels increase, the value of receiving a promotion also rises—spurring employees to put in more effort. “People make work View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

28 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

Can Apprenticeships Work in the US? Employers Seeking New Talent Pipelines Take Note

implemented in Colorado in 2017. College for all? Fuller, who is faculty co-director of the Harvard Project on Workforce, says that “the US has had a rallying cry of ‘college for all’ in the last 30 years. It’s a great ambition.” “We have this national narrative:... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

February 2024
Teaching Note

AB InBev: Brewing Up Forecasts during COVID-19

By: Mark Egan and C. Fritz Foley

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 224-020. In July 2021, the CEO of AB InBev's European operations and his team strategized to position the company for success post-pandemic. As the world's largest beer company, boasting over 500 brands, revenue of $46 billion, and a... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting; Investor Relations; Beverage Industry; Corporate Finance; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Health Pandemics; Analytics and Data Science; Digital Transformation; Crisis Management; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

28 Aug 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Channels of Influence

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Umit G. Gurun & Christopher J. Malloy

13 Jun 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, June 13

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=52729 May 2017 Judgment and Decision Making Is Saving Lives Your Task or God's? Religiosity, Belief in God, and Moral Judgment By: Barak-Corren, Netta, and Max... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Deconstructing LEGO’s Decarbonization

Immersive Field Course, our group had researched the opportunities and challenges facing the renowned LEGO Group. Known for their innovative and sustainable approach to making their iconic plastic bricks, the company also faces challenges... View Details

12 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

The Three Components of Family Governance

family informed about these. Help the family reach decisions and speak with one voice about its goals. Keep the board of directors informed about family views about the company and maintain a dialogue with the board about key business... View Details

28 Apr 2011
Working Paper Summaries

When Smaller Menus are Better: Variability in Menu-Setting Ability and 401(k) Plans

Keywords: by David Goldreich & Hanna Halaburda

2012
Article

The Excess Burden of Government Indecision

By: Francisco J. Gomes, Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Luis M. Viceira

Governments are known for procrastinating when it comes to resolving painful policy problems. Whatever the political motives for waiting to decide, procrastination distorts economic decisions relative to what would arise with early policy resolution. In so doing, it... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Risk and Uncertainty; Investment Portfolio; Decision Choices and Conditions; Retirement; Policy; Government and Politics