Publications

April 2020
Case

Ment.io: Knowledge Analytics for Team Decision Making

By: Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Jeffrey T. Polzer, Susie L. Ma and Shlomi Pasternak

Ment.io was a software platform that used proprietary data analytics technology to help organizations make informed and transparent decisions based on team input. Ment was born out of founder Joab Rosenberg’s frustration that, while organizations collected ever... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Information Technology; Knowledge; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Management; Operations; Information Management; Product; Product Development; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Industry; Information Industry; Information Industry; Information Industry; Middle East; Israel

January 2002
Case

Banco Solidario: The Business of Microfinance

Examines the founding and evolution of a for-profit microlending organization in Bolivia. Explores the mechanics of microlending, nonprofit and for-profit approaches to serving the informal sector, and how the industry evolves over a 15-year period. View Details

Keywords: Microfinance; Emerging Markets; Bolivia

September – October 2008
Article

Care Platforms: A Basic Building Block for Care Delivery

By: Richard Bohmer and David Lawrence

Without significant operational reform within the nation's health care delivery organizations, new financing models, payment systems, or structures are unlikely to realize their promise. Adapting insights from high-performing companies in other high-risk, high-cost,... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Management Systems; Standards; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Design; Customization and Personalization; Health Industry

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01 Dec 2016
Video

Using Data to Explore Uncharted Territories

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

$15 Billion in Five Years: What Data Tells Us About MacKenzie Scott’s Philanthropy

campaign rare in its scale and unprecedented in its pace. Sizing up the nonprofit world To build a data-driven portrait of Scott’s giving, we began with a list of 1,964 recipients listed on the Yield Giving website, including 360 View Details

Keywords: by Matthew Lee, Brian Trelstad, and Ethan Tran

2016
Working Paper

The Mirroring Hypothesis: Theory, Evidence and Exceptions

By: Lyra J. Colfer and Carliss Y. Baldwin

The mirroring hypothesis predicts that organizational ties within a project, firm, or group of firms (e.g., communication, collocation, employment) will correspond to the technical patterns of dependency in the work being performed. A thorough understanding of the... View Details

Keywords: Modularity; Innovation; Product And Process Development; Organization Design; Design Structure; Organizational Ties; Mirroring Hypothesis; Industry Architecture; Product Architecture; Complex Technical Systems; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Product Development

SSRN

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21 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 21, 2010

http://www.people.hbs.edu/mnorton/norton%20ariely%20in%20press.pdf Working PapersThe Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization Authors:Nicholas Bloom,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Jacqueline Ng Lane

Jackie Lane is an Assistant Professor in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School and a co-Principal Investigator of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard (LISH) at the Digital Data Design Institute (D^3) at Harvard. She... View Details

March 1991 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Steve Mariotti and NFTE

Less than three years ago, Steve Mariotti created NFTE, a nonprofit organization for teaching entrepreneurship to disadvantaged youths. The organization has gained national recognition, and offers a variety of programs on a budget of nearly half a million dollars. It... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Teaching; Business Startups

2015
Working Paper

Making a Difference: Leader Evaluation, Selection, and Impact

By: Gautam Mukunda

The relationship between leader selection and impact is important to both researchers and practitioners. This paper introduces Leader Filtration Theory (LFT)—a theory from political science—to managerial audiences, applies it to organizations, and uses it to improve... View Details

Keywords: Leaders; Leader Selection; Individual Impact; Leadership; Selection and Staffing

14 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Curiosity, Not Coding: 6 Skills Leaders Need in the Digital Age

senior executives at their organizations have the right mindset and skills to lead in the digital era. Those closer to the nuts and bolts of digital functions—the chief technology officers, chief information... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards; Technology

January 1990 (Revised June 1995)
Case

Colliers International Property Consultants

By: Nitin Nohria

Describes the origins, organizational structure, management practices, and use of information technology (IT) in Colliers, a real estate network. Colliers provides local firms with a way to maintain local autonomy while gaining national and international coverage.... View Details

Keywords: Property; Organizational Structure; Information Technology; Management Practices and Processes; Partners and Partnerships; Business Model; Mission and Purpose; Business Growth and Maturation; Conflict and Resolution; Quality; Real Estate Industry

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October 2014 (Revised January 2016)
Case

IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design

By: Ryan W. Buell and Andrew Otazo

The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,... View Details

Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Service Management; Service; Design; Service Delivery; Innovation and Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Peru

February 2020
Article

Using Charity Performance Metrics as an Excuse Not to Give

By: Christine L. Exley

There is an increasing pressure to give more wisely and effectively. There is, relatedly, an increasing focus on charity performance metrics. Via a series of experiments, this paper provides a caution to such a focus. While information on charity performance metrics... View Details

Keywords: Charitable Giving; Prosocial Behavior; Altruism; Excuses; Self-serving Biases; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Performance; Measurement and Metrics; Behavior

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June 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Global Business Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Warren Brackin, Alex Cabanas, Phil Shellhammer and David L. Ager

Dave Walker, vice-president of business service opportunities and chairman of the governance team at Procter & Gamble, must decide what to do with P&G's 5,700 employee Global Business Services (GBS) group. GBS brought together internal services such as finance,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Change Management; Decision Making; Globalized Firms and Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Design

26 Sep 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Playing Favorites: How Firms Prevent the Revelation of Bad News

Keywords: by Lauren Cohen, Dong Lou & Christopher Malloy; Financial Services

April 1995 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Identify the Nonprofit

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ramona Hilgenkamp

This case presents financial statements and selected ratios for seven unidentified nonprofit organizations and asks that each set of financial information be matched with one of the following nonprofit entities: a public television station, a suburban hospital, a... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Financial Statements