knowledge workers - Publications - Faculty & Research

08 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

NFL Head Coaches Are Getting Younger. What Can Organizations Learn?

workers in tech” (ages 30 and up). Does younger mean better? This trend in the NFL and the business world begs the question: Are younger workers better than their older counterparts? Research from Wharton... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

05 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 5

candidates are ready to provide information about their preferences for particular employers, and employers value and are prepared to act on this information. In this paper we study how a signaling mechanism, where each worker can send a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Jan 2022
In Practice

7 Trends to Watch in 2022

hiring in order to attract a sufficient number of applicants to meet their needs. They will also need to relax the many superfluous conditions they have applied in evaluating job seekers. Abandoning business models based on the assumption that low-wage View Details

Keywords: by HBS News

20 Apr 2020
Book

Why COVID-19 Raises the Stakes for Healthy Buildings

(Environmental Insights) COVID-19 Business Impact Center (Harvard Business School) Read COVID-19 coverage from Working Knowledge Many elite companies already use their building’s efficiency or grandeur to send a signal to customers and... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Real Estate; Health

03 Apr 2017
What Do You Think?

How About Investing in Human Infrastructure?

Hare said, “Should we do better in investing in people? They’re an asset of course we should!” Guy Higgins and Lewisman agreed, with conditions: “ (as with the GI Bill) make the offer to men and women who have some life experience and emotional maturity (and ensure)... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Construction

16 Aug 2024
In Practice

Election 2024: What's at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

Ahead of the Democratic National Convention, HBS Working Knowledge gathered insights from Harvard Business School faculty about what’s at stake for companies, and how the election might impact workplaces. They offer an assessment as the... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

08 Jul 2015
What Do You Think?

Do Americans Work Too Much and Think About Work Too Little?

recognized Robert E. Downing's advice that we may need to define work before asking the question. For knowledge workers, "it is very difficult to determine when the workers are actually working Maybe we... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Financial Services

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

The Organizational Model for Open Source

the open source community are often intrinsically motivated. It is important to realize, however, that hackers are a diverse group. I have interviewed hobbyists, students, academics, software professionals, and government workers who... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

05 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 5, 2019

case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/818043-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 618-044 ZBJ: Building a Global Outsourcing Platform for Knowledge Workers (A) ZBJ.com (ZBJ), an online platform that connects... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

01 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Keeping Track: Performance Measurement, Control & Strategy

professor Robert Simons has been adding to that body of knowledge and practice through an extensive research agenda that has resulted in numerous books, articles, and case studies. Working Knowledge editor... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert Simons

16 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Report from China: The New Entrepreneurs

workers there. Was that a surprise? A: Again, bear in mind that we met a very limited and select group of people. I think different faculty had different reactions based on our initial personal expectations, but given the high quality of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

22 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

Getting to Eureka!: How Companies Can Promote Creativity

Amabile spearheaded a study of more than 200 knowledge workers over a three-year period, asking them to keep journal entries of their successes and frustrations at work. What she found was unexpected: It... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

20 Jul 2015
Research & Ideas

Globalization Hasn’t Killed the Manufacturing Cluster

R&D and engineering. The region is now producing an estimated 90 percent of women's luxury shoes that sell for $500 or more per pair. Why Clusters Still Work The cluster's success is largely due to a lead firm acting as what Pisano calls a View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Manufacturing; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion

08 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

they are not executed well at the stores." Boots on the ground matter a lot. "When there aren't enough workers on the selling floor, it's those ‘boring supply-chain activities' that are affected first," Ton observes. "If employees are... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

13 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

workers to attend when sick, including work overload, lack of backup, and understaffing. Some occupational cultures have the same effect, glorifying “toughing it out” as an indicator of work commitment. Finally, we can’t discount the fact... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

27 Jan 2003
Research & Ideas

New Cluster Mapping Project Helps Companies Locate Facilities

with HBS Working Knowledge editor, Sean Silverthorne, Porter discusses the importance of cluster research and the value of the CMP. Silverthorne: How can data from the Cluster Mapping Project help corporations make better location... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

27 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Customer Experts Lose Influence When Teams are Pressured

are you working on now? A: I'm continuing my broader research efforts to understand how the design of knowledge-intensive work affects teamwork, collaboration innovation, and ultimately performance. For example, I'm writing an empirical paper examining what resources... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

03 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 3

goal of residency training. The Confederacy of Heterogeneous Software Organizations and Heterogeneous Developers: Field Experimental Evidence on Sorting and Worker Effort Authors:Kevin J. Boudreau and Karim R. Lakhani Publication:In The... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

06 Feb 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas: February 6, 2018

Resource Management Review Cross-boundary Teaming for Innovation: Integrating Research on Teams and Knowledge in Organizations By: Edmondson, Amy C., and Jean-François Harvey Abstract—Cross-boundary teaming, within and across... View Details

08 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Fashion Your New E-Business Model

assembly line, marketing, sales, and after-sales service channels) A management model (the hierarchy) A social or regulatory system (specialized work, pay-for-performance incentives, worker education, unions, antitrust laws) As we enter... View Details

Keywords: by Lynda M. Applegate

Publications