Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(5,587)
- Faculty Publications (476)
- Article
A 'Present' for the Future: The Unexpected Value of Rediscovery
Although documenting everyday activities may seem trivial, four studies reveal that creating records of the present generates unexpected benefits by allowing future rediscoveries. In Study 1, we use a "time capsule" paradigm to show that individuals underestimate the... View Details
- October 2014
- Article
The Transparency Trap
By: Ethan Bernstein
To get people to be more creative and productive, managers increase transparency with open workspaces and access to real-time data. But less transparent work environments can yield more-transparent employees. Employees perform better when they can try out new ideas and... View Details
- 2014
- Article
Why Was Boston Strong?: Law Enforcement Lessons from the Boston Marathon Bombing
By: Dutch Leonard, Christine M. Cole and Arnold M. Howitt
On April 15, 2013, at 2:49 pm, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people died, and more than 260 others needed hospital care, many having lost limbs or suffered horrific wounds. Those explosions began about... View Details
- September 10, 2014
- Article
Getting Cross-Cultural Teamwork Right
By: Tsedal Neeley
People struggle with global teamwork, even though it’s essential to success in multinational firms. Despite their efforts to nimbly manage differences in time zones, cultures, and languages, cross-border collaborators often fail to reach shared understanding or common... View Details
- Article
How Much (More) Should CEOs Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay
By: Sorapop Kiatpongsan and Michael I. Norton
Do people from different countries and different backgrounds have similar preferences for how much more the rich should earn than the poor? Using survey data from 40 countries (N = 55,238), we compare respondents' estimates of the wages of people in different... View Details
- Article
What's Your Language Strategy?: It Should Bind Your Company's Global Talent Management and Vision
By: Tsedal Neeley and Robert Steven Kaplan
Language pervades every aspect of organizational life. Yet leaders of global organizations—where unrestricted multilingualism can create friction—often pay too little attention to it in their approach to talent management. By managing language carefully, firms can hire... View Details
- July 2014
- Case
BMVSS: Changing Lives through Innovation One Jaipur Limb at a Time (Abridged)
By: Srikant Datar, Saloni Chaturvedi and Caitlin Bowler
Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is an Indian not-for-profit organization engaged in assisting differently-abled persons by providing them with the legendary low-cost prosthesis, the Jaipur Foot, and other mobility-assisting devices, free of cost. Known... View Details
- July 2014
- Teaching Note
Rebecca S. Halstead: Steadfast Leadership
By: Boris Groysberg and Deborah Bell
The case reviews Rebecca Halstead's career history, detailing how, through her personal attributes, skills, experiences, challenges, and organizational practices she developed into a successful leader and commander in the U.S. Army. The teaching note discusses... View Details
- July–August 2014
- Article
Unlock the Mysteries of Your Customer Relationships
By: Jill Avery, Susan Fournier and John Wittenbraker
Consumers have always had relationships with brands, but sophisticated tools for analyzing customer data are finally allowing marketing organizations to personalize and manage those relationships. With this new power comes a new challenge: people now expect companies... View Details
- May 2014 (Revised March 2017)
- Case
Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan
Unilever's new Global Brand VP must not only revitalize Lifebuoy soap's sagging market performance, but simultaneously impact the health of one billion people worldwide. The latter challenge comes from Unilever's new CEO who has introduced the Unilever Sustainable... View Details
Keywords: Multinational Management; Corporate Social Responsibility; Strategy Implementation; Marketing Strategy; Mission And Purpose; Change Management; International Business; Global; Fast-moving Consumer Goods; Soap; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Care and Treatment; Environmental Sustainability; Global Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Health Industry; India
- May 2, 2014
- Article
If You're Feeling Unappreciated, Give Someone Else Credit
By: Josh Baron and Rob Lachenauer
Conflict in a family business can escalate quickly, but it's crucial to avoid it whenever possible. The article emphasizes recognizing the signs of escalating conflict and taking steps to prevent it. When disagreements arise, people often resort to legal action, which... View Details
- May 2014
- Case
Goldman Sachs: Anchoring Standards After the Financial Crisis
By: Rajiv Lal and Lisa Mazzanti
Goldman Sachs, a longtime venerable financial institution headquartered in New York City, had a partnership culture that was known to value its clients. But when the financial crisis hit in 2008 and Goldman Sachs emerged relatively unscathed, its public image took a... View Details
- April 2014
- Case
Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (A)
By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bethany S. Gerstein and Melissa Valentine
In 2006, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals was a fast-growing biotechnology company. Its leadership team was divided over whether to keep R&D organized in functional departments or transition to interdisciplinary teams. As a small company, Merrimack's R&D organization had... View Details
- 2014
- Book
Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World
By: John P. Kotter
Based on the award-winning article in Harvard Business Review, from global leadership expert John Kotter. It's a familiar scene in organizations today: a new competitive threat or a big opportunity emerges. You quickly create a strategic initiative in response and... View Details
- March 2014
- Course Overview Note
Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage
This note gives an overview (for instructors) of the MBA elective course "Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage" (CSCA). The course gives students a deep dive on competitive advantage, on its relation to overall strategic performance (defined as performance... View Details
- 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
Keywords: Genomics; Gene Sequencing; Life Sciences; Plant Breeding; Human Genome Program; Beijing Genomics Institute; BGI; Rice Genome; Technological Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Research; Research and Development; Science; Genetics; Science-Based Business; Strategy; Commercialization; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China; United States
- January 2014 (Revised February 2014)
- Teaching Note
Rana Plaza: Workplace Safety In Bangladesh (A) and (B)
By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez
On April 24, 2013 the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Over 1,100 people were killed in the worst industrial accident since the Union Carbide plant gas leak in Bhopal, India. Most of the victims worked for garment factories,... View Details
- January 2014
- Teaching Note
Dr. Benjamin Hooks and Children's Health Forum
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Ai-Ling Malone
The case includes law, business, and public health perspectives on an African American leader's social entrepreneurship and leadership in other social movements. Later in his life, Dr. Benjamin Hooks championed the eradication of lead poisoning. Prior to that Hooks... View Details
- November 2013
- Exercise
People Management (Abridged)
By: Boris Groysberg
Highlights critical gaps between research and practice in the field of strategic human resources management. Also, aims to debunk some myths and preconceptions that general managers bring to their HR decisions. Before class, participants fill out a true-or-false... View Details
- November 2013 (Revised August 2023)
- Case
'These People are Fiduciaries...'
By: Lena G. Goldberg and Amy W. Schulman
The fiduciary duties of loyalty and care, the corporate opportunity doctrine and the business judgment rule are introduced in the context of three vignettes drawn from decided cases that explore: a classic test of loyalty when one partner elects to take advantage of an... View Details