Motivation And Incentives - Publications - Faculty & Research

29 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

'Green Bonds' May Be Our Best Bet for Environmental Damage Control

George Serafeim and Malcolm Baker have long been interested in investor motivations that go beyond pure financial return to include environmental, social, and governance (ESG)... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy; Utilities; Construction; Green Technology; Public Administration

27 Oct 2008
Lessons from the Classroom

Achieving Excellence in Nonprofits

support. Internally, it is important so that people working within the nonprofit have a clear idea of concrete goals that the organization is saying it will achieve, because this will help them figure out what actions to take, motivate... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

08 Nov 2016
First Look

November 8, 2016

when to hire them and in what parts of the world; and determines how to develop, compensate, and motivate them, along with how to form them into... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Jul 2006
Research & Ideas

Competition the Cure for Healthcare

Patient flow to excellent providers in addressing a medical condition is a much more powerful incentive than a small bonus because it feeds the virtuous circle of value improvement from volume and... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Health

11 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 11, 2009

from 3% to 15% as a fraction of government budget without negatively affecting publication quality and quantity. This follows incentive policy change and leadership change at... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

IBM Finds Profit in Diversity

Like many companies, IBM took big strides to eliminate discrimination by attempting to ignore cultural, racial, and other differences among its vast worldwide workforce. That ended when Lou Gerstner became CEO. Gerstner initiated a... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Thomas

09 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

Fearing Fox News, Democratic-leaning Companies Delayed Negative Announcements

cable providers to be included in their lineups, which spurred the channel's rapid growth. "They reached out to all these local cable companies and gave them financial incentives to broadcast Fox News... View Details

Keywords: by Jen Deaderick; Media & Broadcasting

16 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 16, 2008

encourage participation—or closed. This paper reviews factors that motivate decisions to open or close mature platforms. At the platform provider and sponsor levels, these decisions entail 1) interoperating... View Details

19 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Designing Cities for a Sustainable Future

On a June day in Manhattan with temperatures heading into the 90s, a straphanger named Mike is taking his customary subway ride to work. People are grumbling about the heat, but hey, it's summer, it's supposed to be hot, and besides, "Whaddya gonna do?" New Yorkers... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Construction; Real Estate

25 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 25

concerning whether patents are a creative or a destructive influence on the process of technological development. In this paper I examine the basic patent tradeoff between incentives and monopoly distortions... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

22 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

The Hedge Fund as Activist

performance, most investors have found it easier to vote "with their feet" by selling shares, rather than making formal complaints. Large shareholders, however, have stronger incentives to monitor management. The conventional... View Details

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood; Financial Services

28 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

It's that paradox—that struggle can be both something to overcome on the way to success and something to embrace for the meaning it gives our lives—that motivated Harvard Business School Professor Joseph... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

15 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

High Ambition Leadership

of the firm. There is substantial evidence for this: see Danny Miller and Isabelle Le Breton-Miller's book Managing for the Long Run: Lessons in Competitive Advantage from Great Family Businesses. These leaders also start with the View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

30 Nov 2011
Research & Ideas

Only Capitalists Can Save Capitalism

Adds Paine: "Of course we recognize that there are serious obstacles to the view we recommend," including a lack of structure, tools, and incentives within businesses to do the sort of work that's needed,... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

03 May 2004
What Do You Think?

How Much Is Enough?

Summing Up The concept of "just enough" triggered the sensitivities of many of us, judging from the quantity of responses to this month's column. Respondents divided themselves not into the usual pro and con camps, but into... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

09 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Catching Up With Boards--Jay Lorsch

performance and succession, corporate strategy, and executive compensation. In a recent interview at Harvard Business School, governance expert Jay Lorsch, the School's Louis Kirstein Professor of Human... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner

23 Apr 2014
HBS Case

Are Electronic Cigarettes a Public Good or Health Hazard?

health," one health advocate said. Consisting of a small barrel-shaped design that mimics an actual cigarette, the devices vaporize a liquid nicotine solution, which is then inhaled without the tar and carcinogens found in smoke.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage; Advertising

11 Feb 2002
Research & Ideas

Secrets of the Successful Businesswoman

as the appointment that you have with the CEO." Striking a balance between work and personal life was one of the five traits of leadership success that McGovern emphasized in her talk at Harvard Business School. The others:... View Details