Publications

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May 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Background Note

Incentive Strategy II: Executive Compensation and Ownership Structure

By: Brian J. Hall

This case analyzes incentive strategy from the perspective of a company's board of directors and owners. The focus is the role that executive compensation and ownership structure (the composition of, and financial structure between, a company's owners) play in... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Ownership; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Perspective; Strategy; Value Creation

August 2023
Background Note

Pricing and Customer Psychology

By: Elie Ofek

This note provides an overview of how psychological principles may be used as part of a seller’s pricing strategy. The note defines the concept of psychological pricing and explains the motivations for firms to engage in it. Prominent practices and tactics, with... View Details

Keywords: Price; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior

February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Microsoft Latin America

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Alberto Ballve and Antonio Davila

Mauricio Santillan, regional vice president for the Latin American division of Microsoft, has introduced a new performance measurement system to help his country managers formulate and control strategy. Microsoft Latin America's priorities are rolling out of an... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Applications and Software; Emerging Markets; Crime and Corruption; Motivation and Incentives; Management Skills; Global Strategy; Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Latin America

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Ashraf's research applies insights from psychology, sociology, and economics to understand and affect behavior in development. Her current research interests fall into three broad categories: technology adoption, motivation and incentive design, and... View Details

Keywords: Health; Microfinance; Agriculture; Women's Empowerment

September 2006
Article

Decomposing Trust and Trustworthiness

By: Nava Ashraf, Iris Bohnet and Nikita Piankov

What motivates people to trust and be trustworthy? Is trust solely "calculative," based on the expectation of trustworthiness, and trustworthiness only reciprocity? Employing a within-subject design, we run investment and dictator game experiments in Russia, South... View Details

Keywords: Trust; Change

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March 2024
Article

When Are Social Protests Effective?

By: Eric Shuman, Amit Goldenberg, Tamar Saguy, Eran Halperin and Martijn van Zomeren

Around the world, people engage in social protests aimed at addressing major societal problems. Certain protests have led to significant progress, yet other protests have resulted in little demonstrable change. We introduce a framework for evaluating the effectiveness... View Details

Keywords: Protests; Social Issues; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Power and Influence; Motivation and Incentives

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October 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Lanco Medical Group: Fostering Happiness for Growth

By: Susanna Gallani, Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago and Katherine Sonnefeldt

This case describes how Lanco Medical Group, a fast-growing pharmaceutical distributor serving Latin America, approached the design of their employee benefits and incentives program. After learning about gaps between what leadership believed motivated employees and... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth Management; Motivation and Incentives; Expansion; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America

07 Aug 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Governance Through Shame and Aspiration: Index Creation and Corporate Behavior in Japan

Keywords: by Akash Chattopadhyay, Matthew D. Shaffer, and Charles C.Y. Wang; Financial Services

June 2001
Teaching Note

Retail Operations TN

By: Ananth Raman

Describes the teaching objectives and content of the Retail Operations Module in the Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains elective course at HBS. First describes the motivation for developing a module on retail operations in a supply chain course and then addresses... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry

Research Summary

Overview

Ovul Sezer focuses on the study of self-presentation and examines how people intuitively attempt to manage impressions of others. Her work examines both the actors and their motives underlying their self-presentation attempts, and consequences of such behavior. View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Negotiation

07 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 7

Publications April 2015 Harvard Business Review How to Really Motivate Salespeople By: Chung, Doug J. Abstract—Much of what we believe about the best ways to compensate and motivate the sales force is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2016 (Revised September 2016)
Case

Hillside Beach Club: Delivering the Ultimate Family Vacation in the Mediterranean

By: Rajiv Lal and Gamze Yucaoglu

In 2015, Edip Ilkbahar, HBC’s founder and CEO, was looking over the plans for a new branch in Cyprus. Since the inception of the company by the Alarko Group of companies in 1994, Ilkbahar’s company had enjoyed high occupancy, high guest satisfaction, and high... View Details

February 1989 (Revised August 1989)
Case

Portman Hotel Co.

A brand new hotel has opened with a new service strategy: import to America Asian-style service using a butler-like employee group called the personal valets. To achieve this high level of service, the hotel has paid great attention to its human resource policies,... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Service Delivery; Employees; Accommodations Industry; Asia; North America

12 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 12, 2018

emergence of political economy and the project of creating market societies. By reconstructing ideas in their historical contexts, I address motivations and contingencies at the very foundations of modernity. Publisher's link:... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

29 Mar 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Government Incentives and Financial Intermediaries: The Case of Chinese Sell-Side Analysts

Keywords: by Sheng Cao, Xianjie He, Charles C.Y. Wang, and Huifang Yin; Financial Services

November 1997 (Revised October 2001)
Background Note

A Note on Government Sources of Financing for Small Businesses

By: Paul A. Gompers and Catherine M. Conneely

Discusses issues related to government sources of financing for small business in the United States. In addition to presenting motivations for government financing programs, the note gives a detailed presentation of major federal programs to assist small business. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Business and Government Relations

January 2004 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Lumen and Absorb Teams at Crutchfield Chemical Engineering, The

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Elizabeth Schatzel

Large discrepancies have developed between two elite technology development teams at Crutchfield Chemical Engineering in terms of motivation and creativity. To investigate, Paul Burke, director of corporate technology development, commissioned a study of the day-by-day... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Managerial Roles; Projects; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Creativity; Motivation and Incentives

December 2002 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Tesco Plc.

By: David E. Bell

Tesco, a supermarket chain, has been transformed from a third-rate retailer to a global leader in the past ten years. This case describes how that was accomplished. Interviews with Tesco employees explain the company's approach to understanding customers, motivating... View Details

Keywords: History; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain Management; Global Strategy; Globalization; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business Strategy; Retail Industry