Publications

February 2014
Case

BGI: Data-driven Research

By: Willy Shih and Sen Chai

BGI has the largest installed gene-sequencing capacity in the world, and to Zhang Gengyun, general manager of the Life Sciences Division, this represented an opportunity to apply his training as a plant breeder and his early career work as a biochemist to improving... View Details

Routines shape many aspects of day-to-day consumption. While prior work has established the importance of habits in consumer behavior, little work has been done to understand the implications of routines--which we define as repeated behaviors with recurring, temporal... View Details

23 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

Businesses Need a 'Catalyst' to Make CSR Practices Stick

says. The catalyst approach Some companies are now exploring a different approach to CSR, partnering with local communities on businesses that can help them earn a profit and empower locals, while also becoming self-sustaining. Kaplan explores the idea in a recent... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Article

A Multicountry Perspective on Gender Differences in Time Use During COVID-19

By: Laura M. Giurge, Ashley V. Whillans and Ayse Yemiscigil (shared authorship)

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered how people spend time, with possible consequences for subjective well-being. Using diverse samples of remote workers from the United States, Canada, Denmark, Brazil, and Spain (n = 31,141), following a preregistered... View Details

Keywords: Time; Subjective Well-being; COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Gender; Time Management; Well-being; Work-Life Balance; Global Range

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2019
Working Paper

The Future of Executive Development: The CLO's Compass and The Executive Programs Designer's Guide

By: Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas

Executive education worldwide has entered a period of disruption catalyzed by the digitalization of content, connectivity, and communication—while the demand for managerial skills is growing. The forces of disintermediation, disaggregation, and decoupling are creating... View Details

Keywords: Digitalization; Executive Education; Disruption; Leadership Development; Management Skills; Curriculum and Courses; Internet and the Web; Design

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May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

Motorola, a leader in semiconductors and telecommunications, embarked on an ambitious program of renewal beginning in the early 1980s, leading to dramatic improvements in the company's quality, cycle time, and growth. Much of this progress was attributed to a major... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Telecommunications Industry

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25 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 25, 2018

counterparts. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55026 Economists (and Economics) in Tech Companies By: Athey, Susan, and Michael Luca Abstract—As technology platforms have created new markets and new... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2001
Case

Cerner Corporation (A)

By: D. Quinn Mills and Matt Salloway

The CEO thinks people are not working long enough hours. He sends a memo. This series describes the backlash. View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Management Style; Leadership Style; Nonverbal Communication; Employees; Organizational Culture; Health Industry

October 30, 2021
Editorial

How Men and Women Treat Deadlines in the Workplace Differently

By: A.V. Whillans and Grant Donnelly

Women are less likely to ask for extensions. That hurts women—and the companies they work for. View Details

Keywords: Gender Differences; Workplace Context; Extension Request; Gender; Time Management

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May–June 2015
Article

Back to the Future: Implications for the Field of HRM of the Multi-stakeholder Perspective Proposed 30 Years Ago

By: Michael Beer, Paul Boselie and Chris Brewster

Thirty years on from the seminal work Managing Human Assets (MHA) by Beer et al., we examine how the subject has developed. We offer a normative review, based on that model, and we critique the assumption that the business of HRM is solely to improve returns to owners... View Details

Keywords: Management; Human Resources

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09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

The Benefits of “Not Invented Here”

experienced scientists, engineers, and managers from large organizations. These people take their knowledge and experience with them into the small company. Another thing they do is to work closely with... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 29, 2018
Article

How to Build Trust with Colleagues You Rarely See

By: Tsedal Neeley

Building trust is key to success for any organization. But that can be tricky when it comes to colleagues that you only interact with virtually. What does it take to build trust when you can’t meet in person? In this piece, the author suggests that professionals should... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Trust; Organizational Culture; Familiarity; Employees

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September 2006 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Bang & Olufsen: Design Driven Innovation

By: Robert D. Austin and Daniela Beyersdorfer

A successful company, recognized worldwide for exquisite design of consumer electronics products, strives to better integrate software design into its traditional physical product design processes to meet the demands of a post-iPod world. Details the Bang & Olufsen... View Details

Keywords: Diversification; Production; Applications and Software; Product Design; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Electronics Industry

05 Oct 2021
News

The One Thing Ruining Your Free Time

November 1989 (Revised February 1992)
Case

Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger

Since Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Co., Ford vehicles have been sold and serviced the same way. By the late 1980s Ford began to consider making changes in its sales and service process. Two developments forced Ford to reconsider these processes. First, Ford found... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Distribution Channels; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry; Auto Industry; Retail Industry; United States

June 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Eric Hawkins Leading Agile Teams @ Digitally-Born AppFolio (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley, Paul Leonardi and Michael Norris

Eric Hawkins, director of engineering at AppFolio—a digital technology firm that offered cloud-based business software to small and medium sized companies—was shocked by an unusual request from his senior leadership team. Could Hawkins and one of his agile teams build... View Details

Keywords: Values; Agile; Vision; Corporate Culture; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Transformation; Technology Industry; United States; California