Transparency - Publications - Faculty & Research

09 Jan 2020
Book

Rethinking Business Strategy in the Age of AI

transparent in telling you how and why they’re making decisions. They’re defined by the types of questions you’re asking and the types of data you’re telling them to collect. “[AI is] a new way of serving users and making customers happy,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

08 Oct 2018
Research & Ideas

Knowing What Your Boss Earns Can Make You Work Harder

channel may force firms to reduce horizontal inequality, firms do not face resistance to increasing vertical inequality.” Transparency policies, such as disclosure of CEO pay, “may be less effective at curbing inequality than previously... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

04 Oct 2021
What Do You Think?

How Do We Make Sure the Right People End Up with Power in Organizations?

systems or processes.” Bill Edwards added, “Trust is a trait! Like any trait, it is earned by action and repetition.” Bill Fotsch added, “Companies that have clear goals, transparency of performance and compensation aligned around those... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

6 Strategies for Building Socially Responsible—and Profitable—Companies

A dozen years ago, Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim wondered why some companies operated with an eye toward the greater good, while most did not. Back then, he always got the same response: Corporate leaders thought social and environmental practices... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

06 Jul 2016
What Do You Think?

How Do We Pay for the Costs of Globalization?

government policies, short-term corporate management thinking, the World Trade Organization (Paul saying, “Personally, I’m a long-time supporter of globalization, but the WTO decision-making process needs to be more transparent and... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Manufacturing

11 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car?

fix it. Avery is an expert on customer relationships and brand management. Schlesinger, the Baker Foundation Professor in the General Management Unit, has co-written several books on service management. Buell studies service operations and how View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Auto

18 Jul 2022
Research & Ideas

After the 'Crypto Crash,' What's Next for Digital Currencies?

in this space across the board. There needs to be more transparency and not just transparency at the abstract level, but the technology needs to be made transparent for... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Financial Services; Technology

24 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

The 'Amazon Effect' Is Changing Online Price Competition—and the Fed Needs to Pay Attention

adjusting much more rapidly, those surging gas prices become more meaningful, he says. “They need to pay more attention to these types of aggregate shocks, even if they are transitory, because they can affect retail prices much faster than was traditionally thought.”... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Retail

30 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

The Upside of Highlighting a Product's Downsides

their products and downplay risks, fearing that any negative sentiment might hurt demand. But research led by Ryan W. Buell, a professor in the HBS Technology and Operations Management Unit, and doctoral student MoonSoo Choi found that warts-and-all View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

08 Feb 2023
Op-Ed

Building an Inclusive Workplace? Prepare to Shield It from Economic Fears

needs. Employees respond better when communication is clear, when leaders are transparent about decisions, and when they believe that they are part of the process. What has your company achieved? When you have a handle on your own... View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and Nicole Gilmore

26 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

How Cellophane Changed the Way We Shop for Food

spoil. Also vital to the adoption of self-service retailing: the invention of cellophane, and continual improvements to the product. As it turned out, the evolution of self-service retailing in the United States was directly tied to the evolution of View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Retail; Advertising

20 Jan 2022
Op-Ed

3 Steps to Help Companies Rebuild Trust During the Pandemic

found that the most effective apologies acknowledged responsibility, explained why the action happened, and offered to fix the damage. Be transparent with employees. Provide the context around why a decision was made, the alternatives... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

17 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

Can Autonomous Vehicles Drive with Common Sense?

crossing a solid white line in order to maintain the flow of traffic. Transparency will build trust Ultimately, getting to commonsense AVs will involve more of a gradual process than a single testing event. Even after an AV is deployed,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Auto

22 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

Can Amazon Remake Health Care?

experiments around price transparency in health care, where patients have been given information on prices and there’s no evidence they use that information at the time they need their health care. Shopping for health care is nothing like... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Health

14 Jun 2010
Research & Ideas

The Hard Work of Measuring Social Impact

potential for real gain in building trusting, transparent relationships with donors. Accountability isn't a one-way street, either. The downward pressure on nonprofits to demonstrate results and impact puts the onus on donors as well.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

03 Dec 2020
Research & Ideas

Cut Payroll Costs with Transparency, Fairness, and Compassion

reopen or what our ability to rehire will be at that time. We chose a course of action where we could be upfront and transparent with impacted employees, offer severance, and open the door for employees to seek other immediate work.” Like... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

16 Mar 2020
Research & Ideas

How the Coronavirus Is Already Rewriting the Future of Business

clear instructions about what they can do, and designing transparency into why their partnership will make a positive difference for everyone involved, business leaders can improve interactions among their customers and employees, and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

16 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Has COVID-19 Broken the Global Value Chain?

transparency through data sharing in order to better track the chain of subcontractors. THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS More Business-Related Pandemic Coverage from Around Harvard and Beyond How to Manage Coronavirus Layoffs with Compassion... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 May 2011
What Do You Think?

How Ethical Can We Be?

decisions with a friend. For organizations, greater transparency and fewer silos, among other things, can help (as opposed to such things as signing codes of conduct or undergoing training in ethics). How do we address these problems? Do... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

20 Aug 2008
Op-Ed

The Time is Right for Creative Capitalism

integrated into a broad, often global, web of relationships. A fourth catalyst is transparency. Leaders and organizations of all kinds are increasingly operating in glasshouses. The explosion in transparency wrought by a global media,... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy Koehn

Publications