Publications

Forthcoming
Article

The Effect of a System for Sharing Best Practices Within Pre-existing Peer Networks

By: Shelley Xin Li and Tatiana Sandino

Peer networks, such as enterprise social networks (ESNs), can facilitate knowledge transfer across employees. However, such systems can also lead to information overload or difficulty in finding useful information. We examine data from a natural field experiment where... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Best Practices; Enterprise Social Media; Management Accounting And Control Systems; Social and Collaborative Networks; Communication Technology; Knowledge Sharing; Sales; Social Media; Retail Industry

2010
Working Paper

Local R&D Strategies and Multi-location Firms: The Role of Internal Linkages

By: Juan Alcacer and Minyuan Zhao

This study looks at the role of firms' internal linkages in highly competitive technology clusters, where much of the world's R&D takes place. The leading players in these clusters are multi-location firms that organize and integrate knowledge across sites worldwide.... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Location; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Industry Clusters; Research and Development; Competitive Advantage; Semiconductor Industry

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31 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Stories of 2012

The following articles were the most read pieces on Harvard Business School Working Knowledge in 2012. Now two questions for you. What do you think was the most important business issue of the year? Fiscal cliff? China's slowdown? Also... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

29 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

Read Our Most Popular Research Stories of 2019

plans for future workforce makeup and training, and its search for opportunities from digital infrastructure and automation. What’s Really Disrupting Business? It’s Not Technology Technology doesn't drive disruption—customers do. The year’s 5 most downloaded research... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

September 2000 (Revised March 2006)
Case

ZOOTS--The Cleaner Cleaner

By: Myra M. Hart and Sharon Peyus

A successful entrepreneur (retailing) starts a new venture in dry cleaning. The case focuses on transferable models, skills, and knowledge from one venture to the next. Areas of emphasis are: managing growth, challenges of operations, financing, and competitive moves. View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Competitive Strategy; Operations; Knowledge Dissemination; Business Startups; Corporate Finance; Service Industry; Retail Industry

26 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Different Strokes for Different Folks: Experimental Evidence on Complementarities Between Human Capital and Machine Learning

Keywords: by Prithwiraj Choudhury, Evan Starr, and Rajshree Agarwal; Information Technology

29 Aug 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, August 29

women’s career narratives and demonstrate that some women deviate significantly from gender stereotypes by narrating their success using extreme levels of agency typically associated with men. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=53143... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2003
Other Unpublished Work

The Development of the Cluster Concept—Present Experiences and Recent Developments

By: Christian H.M. Ketels

This review presents an overview of the current research on clusters and cluster-based economic development. It is organized in three parts: First, it takes a look at the conceptual foundations of the cluster approach, discussing the definition of clusters, the... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Industry Clusters; Development Economics; Performance; Framework; Knowledge Sharing; Policy

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July 1997
Background Note

Basic Capital Investment Analysis

By: William J. Bruns Jr.

Discusses the net present value and internal rate of return methods for analyzing capital investments. Assumes prior knowledge of compound interest and present value methods. View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Valuation

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

What’s Your Strategy for Managing Knowledge?

Knowledge is codified using a "people-to-documents" approach: it is extracted from the person who developed it, made independent of that person, and reused for various purposes. Ralph Poole, director of Ernst & Young's... View Details

Keywords: by Morten T. Hansen, Nitin Nohria & Thomas Tierney; Consulting

September 2013
Case

The Case of the Unidentified Industries—2013

By: Mihir A. Desai, William E. Fruhan Jr. and Elizabeth A. Meyer

Helps students to understand how the characteristics of a business are reflected in its financial statements. This case consists of an exercise in which students are given balance sheet data in percentage form and other selected financial data for companies in 14... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Accounting Statements; Ratio Analysis; Financial Statements; Finance

20 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Markets or Communities? The Best Ways to Manage Outside Innovation

problems or create value in some way. What's driving this trend? Karim Lakhani: The main driver is accessing knowledge that is widely distributed in the world. Many organizations are now finding they simply do not have the ability to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

23 Oct 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Decarbonization Factors

Keywords: by Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, David Turkington, and Hui (Stacie) Wang

18 Jun 2001
Lessons from the Classroom

Why Leaders Need Great Books

"I sold funeral insurance to North Carolina black people. I myself am not black. Like everybody else who was alive fifty-nine years ago, I was so young then, you know? I still feel bad about what went on. My wife says: telling somebody might help. Here lately,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

September 1994
Case

Leadership Problems at Salomon (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Michael Santoro

Deryck Maughan, a vice chairman and co-head of investment banking at Salomon Brothers, learns that his superiors have been less than candid about their knowledge of bidding improprieties by the firm's government trading desk. He must decide what, if anything, he should... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Crime and Corruption; Rank and Position; Financial Services Industry

December 2014
Article

Location Strategies for Agglomeration Economies

By: Juan Alcácer and Wilbur Chung

Geographically concentrated industry activity creates pools of skilled labor and specialized suppliers, and increases opportunities for knowledge spillovers. The strategic value of these agglomeration economies may vary by firm, depending upon the relative value of... View Details

Keywords: Location Strategies; Location Choices; Agglomeration Economies; Strategy; Value Creation; Geographic Location; Industry Clusters; Microeconomics; Manufacturing Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

29 Jun 2009
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Leading Change

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions To Be Answered: How do I build my business in this environment? What should leaders... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

September 2013
Teaching Note

The Case of the Unidentified Industries—2013

By: Mihir A. Desai, William E. Fruhan, Jr. and Elizabeth A. Meyer

Helps students to understand how the characteristics of a business are reflected in its financial statements. This case consists of an exercise in which students are given balance sheet data in percentage form and other selected financial data for companies in 14... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Accounting Statements; Ratio Analysis; Financial Statements; Finance