Public Good - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Leaders Lose Their Way

politicians, and the general public frequently characterize these leaders as bad people, even calling them evil. Simplistic notions of good and bad only cloud our understanding of why View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Is Government Just Stupid? How Bad Decisions Are Made

wealthier. The American government currently subsidizes timber and paper companies for chopping down national forests. A business that operated as the government does would quickly go out of business. The government provides welfare to the timber industry because the... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, Jonathan Baron & Katherine Shonk

02 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Four VCs on Evaluating Opportunities

funny mix. When we review an investment opportunity, entrepreneurs have to have a pretty good story to tell about what they want to do. I think it helps to be cocky, there's no doubt about it, but if you're not sufficiently confident,... View Details

Keywords: by Lauren Barley

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

28 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Accountability at the World Bank

appraisals. There is an overriding contradiction at the center of the Bank's approach to public participation. On the one hand, Bank literature and policy statements are replete with testimonials to the importance of participation and... View Details

Keywords: by Alnoor Ebrahim

21 Mar 2019
HBS Case

The Ferrari Way

opportunity to test drive one of Ferrari’s cars. “He drove it for a few hours and couldn’t sleep that night.” Despite its legendary success at defining its brand, it is also a company confronting modern realities. After nearly 80 years of operating as a privately owned... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

01 Jun 2011
Working Paper Summaries

The First Deal: The Division of Founder Equity in New Ventures

Keywords: by Thomas F. Hellmann & Noam Wasserman

02 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

Blissful Thinking: When It Comes to Finding Happiness, 'Your Dreams Are Liars'

graduated. “Here’s the good news: They got everything they wanted,” Brooks said. “Here’s the bad news: They wanted the wrong thing. The result is that they’re not as happy as they could be. We need to teach a class on happiness,” Brooks... View Details

Keywords: by Dan Morrell

09 Dec 2014
First Look

First Look: December 9

Publications December 2014 Academy of Management Journal Harnessing Productive Tensions in Hybrid Organizations: The Case of Work Integration Social Enterprises By: Battilana, Julie, Metin Sengul, Anne-claire Pache, and Jacob Model... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Companies Fail—and How Their Founders Can Bounce Back

Most companies fail. It's an unsettling fact for bright-eyed entrepreneurs, but old news to start-up veterans. But here's the good news: Experienced entrepreneurs know that running a company that eventually fails can actually help a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

12 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 12, 2019

election of more conservative legislators, higher support for anti-immigration legislation, and lower public goods provision. Exploring the causes of natives’ backlash, I document that immigration increased... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

05 Dec 2022
What Do You Think?

How Would Jack Welch’s Leadership Style Fare in Today’s World?

process heavily influenced in previous years by resident scholar Peter Drucker. GE ran a business school. Managers both taught and learned just as their CEO did. But in Gelles’ opinion, the school and the company turned out some real duds. Welch fancied himself a View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Industrial Products; Media & Broadcasting; Medical Devices & Supplies; Manufacturing

27 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Asian and American Leadership Styles: How Are They Unique?

business leaders adopted already, and which styles are likely to be most successful in the future? In a talk in Kuala Lumpur on June 15 at the invitation of The Star/BizWeek publication and the Harvard Club of Malaysia, Mills explained... View Details

Keywords: by D. Quinn Mills

29 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

How Much More Would Holiday Shoppers Pay to Wear Something Rare?

Do you have that one friend who seems to snag the coolest, most fashionable shoes, jewelry, or clothes? Now new research shows that when luxury goods companies cater to these trendy consumers by controlling how rare certain items... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Retail

29 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

Is There a Method to Musk’s Madness on Twitter?

that Musk and his co-investors like Peter Thiel and others really wanted to build and protect a vision of Twitter as a public forum or a town square for free speech. Their preconception of free speech is politically and ideologically... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Technology

Research Summary

Profitable Souls: Foreign Investment and the Fate of Human Rights

By: Debora L. Spar

This is a project about foreign investment, about what happens when big multinational firms invest in small, poor, and often nasty places. Typically, most observers assume that this is a largely negative relationship: that multinationals exploit the local population,... View Details

21 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

People Trust Business, But Expect CEOs to Drive Social Change

Public trust in business remains relatively unshaken amid economic turbulence and a lingering pandemic, even as faith in the media and government falters, but leaders could do more to address social issues, a new global opinion survey shows. However, not everyone... View Details

Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis

16 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Advancing Black Talent: From the Flight Ramp to 'Family-Sustaining' Careers at Delta

want from the airline.” The strategy also made good business sense because after all, Bastian told his managers and executives, “If you take care of your people, they take care of your customers.” In committing to the strategy for the... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Air Transportation

Research Summary

Overview

By: Matthew C. Weinzierl

My academic research centers on uncovering and closing gaps between the theory and reality of tax policy. My main contribution has been to identify and address a mismatch between the goals for taxation typically assumed in theory and the goals the public and... View Details

04 Oct 2010
Research & Ideas

Introverts: The Best Leaders for Proactive Employees

named interim White House chief of staff, replacing the extraverted Rahm Emanuel. Barely known outside of Washington circles, Rouse is a quiet politician who seems to eschew the public eye, preferring instead to hunker down and deal with... View Details