Publications

27 Mar 2017
News

Lauren Cohen: Harvard’s Powerlifting Finance Prof

September 2012 (Revised May 2015)
Case

Philips-Visicu

By: Regina E. Herzlinger, Natalie Kindred and Sara M. McKinley

Would the advent of global payment models and ACOs create sufficient demand for a telemedicine offering covering the care continuum, from hospitals to the home? This was the decision facing Royal Philips Electronics (Philips), the Netherlands-based producer of... View Details

September 1986 (Revised June 1989)
Background Note

Managing Rapid Growth

Describes the issues that entrepreneurs and their firms must deal with in attempting to make the transition from entrepreneurial to professional management. The note suggests that the delegation of responsibility and the implementation of formal controls are two key... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Decision Making; Entrepreneurship; Governance Controls; Growth Management; Resource Allocation; Organizational Structure

March 2008 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Lisa Sherman (A)

By: Bill George and Jens Audenaert

Lisa Sherman is a successful executive at Verizon who is struggling with the decision to reveal her sexual orientation. After attending a diversity training workshop in which participants expressed extremely negative views about people in her community, Sherman wonders... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Identity; Personal Development and Career; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; Organizational Culture

17 Jan 2020
Blog Post

Going the Distance for Investment Excellence

basis, Cameron typically works behind the scenes, researching macroeconomic and market crosscurrents to inform clients’ long-term investment decision making—not unlike preparing a case at HBS and then discussing it in the classroom. He... View Details

28 May 2015
News

Crossing disciplines, finding knowledge

May 2010
Article

Does Product Market Competition Lead Firms to Decentralize?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

There is a widespread sense that over the last two decades firms have been decentralizing decisions to employees further down the managerial hierarchy. Economists have developed a range of theories to account for delegation, but there is less empirical evidence,... View Details

Keywords: Product; Markets; Competition; Business Ventures; Geographic Location; Employees; Research; Programs; Decisions

Find at Harvard

21 Nov 2023
Research & Ideas

Employee Negativity Is Like Wildfire. Manage It Before It Spreads.

spreading, Goldenberg says. Prior research has shown that people tend to express stronger emotions when they know other people are watching. And seeing people express intense emotions also tends to amplify the emotions of the watchers. Emotions also can spread through... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

January 2021
Article

Turbulence, Firm Decentralization and Growth in Bad Times

By: Philippe Aghion, Nicholas Bloom, Brian Lucking, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

What is the optimal form of firm organization during “bad times”? We present a model of delegation within the firm to show that the effect is ambiguous. The greater turbulence following macro shocks may benefit decentralized firms because the value of local information... View Details

Keywords: Decentralization; Growth; Turbulence; Great Recession; Organizational Design; System Shocks; Economic Growth; Performance

Find at Harvard

12 Oct 2017
HBS Seminar

Dennis Zhang, Washington University, St. Louis

30 Mar 2022
News

To Retain Employees, Support Their Passions Outside Work

November 2017 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Project Moab at Hulu

By: C. Fritz Foley and James Weber

In 2015, Elaine Paul, CFO of Hulu, and the rest of the senior leadership team, must decide if they should offer a new, advertisement-free subscription service. At the time Hulu distributed a wide variety of content including in season current programing and earned... View Details

Keywords: Video On Demand; Subscriber Models; Media; Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

September 1992 (Revised July 1994)
Case

MEM Company, Inc.: English Leather

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Laura Goode

In 1992, the president of MEM (a producer of personal care products, including men's fragrances) considered a redeployment of field sales efforts and changes in sales compensation policies. Any changes, moreover, must consider the context of strategic decisions... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Brands and Branding; Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

21 Feb 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Do Legal Origins Have Persistent Effects Over Time? A Look at Law and Finance around the World c. 1900

Keywords: by Aldo Musacchio; Legal Services

2020
Working Paper

Strategic Foresight as Dynamic Capability: A New Lens on Knightian Uncertainty

By: J. Peter Scoblic

This paper proposes to treat strategic foresight as a dynamic capability, providing a new theoretical lens on managerial judgment. Formulating strategy under uncertainty is a central challenge facing the modern firm. Analogy is thought to help managers make sense of... View Details

Keywords: Foresight; Dynamic Capabilities; Managerial Judgment; Risk and Uncertainty; Management; Strategy