Happiness - Publications - Faculty & Research

29 Jan 2015
Op-Ed

The Fall of Greece

and, in any case, did not manage to reform the country in a fast enough pace. Driving from Athens to Thessaloniki in 20 hours is hardly an achievement—even if there is a lot of traffic. Moreover, I am happy to see old faces go: I am a big... View Details

Keywords: by George Serafeim

30 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Do Mergers Hurt Product Quality?

whether we should be happy or sad when companies merge." Quantifying Quality Sheen faced the challenge of tracking both product pricing and product quality before and after company mergers. As a finance scholar, he depends on... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consumer Products

12 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Power to the People: The Unexpected Influence of Small Coalitions

Olson argued. "It became the dominant, unquestioned view," Trumbull says. Olson's beliefs have been popular with both liberals and conservatives, he observes. Liberals routinely believe that big banks and corporations control government policy, even if they're not... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

06 Mar 2006
What Do You Think?

The China Dilemma for U.S. Firms: Comply, Resist, or Leave?

"I would be very happy if both Google and Yahoo resisted these constraints. The real bottom line is people, no matter where they reside. . . . Please do not limit this discussion to China." Nicole Herbots put it this way:... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

29 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Whence IT Value?

During the past few years inventory turns among U.S. manufacturers have climbed steadily, and it appears as if productivity has improved nicely. One explanation for these happy trends is that the massive investments we've been making in... View Details

Keywords: by Andrew McAfee

30 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

Looking Behind Bad Decisions

receive a 5 percent pay increase, and want to know whether to be happy or not, you find out the increases of your colleagues to create meaning of the 5 percent. People do not choose less for themselves. If I ask people whether they would... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

08 Nov 2024
HBS Case

What Wartime Service Taught These Historic Leaders

making it a moving beacon for the American entrepreneurial spirit while having some fun amid a bleak war. "Disney had this mission of bringing happiness and joy to people. You saw this in Disney from a very young age." He also used his... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Entertainment & Recreation

15 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

A Mass Crisis Can Overwhelm Health Care. Liberia Found a Solution.

Response to Covid-19 (Harvard Business Review) What Quarantine Can Teach You About Spending and Happiness (Wall Street Journal) Read COVID-19 coverage from Working Knowledge The health care system in the US is larger and far more complex,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

16 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Earnings Calls That Get Lost in Translation

activities that are increasingly going on, it's important to be able to cater to investors' appetite for information. Investors are no longer happy being fed with only the information that managers decide to give them. There are high... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

04 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: Harder Than I Thought

is? Three days before, someone from the So-Cal Times-Perez, Barton now realized, or one of her flunkies-had called his East Coast office at Erlington Financial Group for a quote he'd been only too happy to provide. Anticipating a hopeful... View Details

Keywords: by Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan & Shannon O'Donnell; Aerospace

25 Feb 2020
Research & Ideas

For Migrant Workers, Homesickness Can Reduce Productivity

economic construct; it’s a psychological construct—the happiness one gets by being close to family and friends—and it needs to be taken into account.” By giving workers the flexibility to take vacation time when it is most meaningful to... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

09 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Around the World of Entrepreneurial Ventures

failed at Singulus it was unlikely that he could have bounced back to his former position or commanded a salary that was similar to the comfortable one he'd left behind. As it turned out, this business story had a happy ending. Singulus... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

18 Apr 2007
HBS Case

How Magazine Luiza Courts the Poor

so in an innovative manner, through virtual showrooms that use computers and sales staff to help customers navigate the store's inventory and make a purchase. "The company had an amazing influence on customer behavior," Frei notes. "People were View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

28 May 2007
Research & Ideas

How Property Ownership Changes Your World View

important to be happy was 34 percent; and 17 percent more squatters with titles believed that other people could be trusted. The only question that did not show a significant difference related to the meritocratic belief that effort pays... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

08 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 8

have documented the modest (though reliable) link between household income and well-being, we examined the accuracy of laypeople's intuitions about this relationship by asking people from across the income spectrum to report their own View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

26 Jan 2009
Research & Ideas

Where is Home for the Global Firm?

A: It was the happy confluence of several factors. It began in 2003 when some of my large-sample empirical research with [University of Michigan professor] Jim Hines led me to think harder about moves that several firms, including Stanley... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

03 Mar 2015
First Look

First Look: March 3

Business School Case 715-024 Bhutan: Governing for Happiness Unique among the world's countries, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan had abandoned the traditional policy goal of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in favor of pursuing... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Jun 2020
In Practice

Are Digital Organizations Better at Overcoming COVID?

You About Spending and Happiness (Wall Street Journal) Read COVID-19 coverage from Working Knowledge Ariel D. Stern: For leaders, digital tools expand and enhance services Some of the most successful organizations will use digital... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

April 2025
Case

Giving Up on a Passion: Elizabeth Rowe at the Boston Symphony Orchestra

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz, Maisie Wiltshire-Gordon and Alexis Lefort

For 20 years, Elizabeth Rowe was a world-renowned principal flutist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. But in 2024, Rowe decided to leave her position to pursue a new full-time career as a leadership coach. At 50, Rowe was well under the typical retirement age, and,... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

05 Dec 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Walmart Defying Economic Gravity?

earner happy to have the job ; and (2) wastage (that) seems to abound in the cavernous stores ." Cheri Thomas cited saturation of its markets, especially in the United States, as a concern, adding that "Walmart's fixation on low... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

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