Publications

January 2020 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Freelancer, Ltd.

By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jennifer L. Hoffman, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes

Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500... View Details

Keywords: Freelancers; Platforms; Digital Labor; Labor; Human Resources; Management; Internet and the Web; Growth and Development Strategy; Digital Platforms; Information Industry; Australia; United States; Philippines

26 Sep 2024
HBS Case

If a Car Can Drive Itself, Can It Make Life-or-Death Decisions?

“Automating Mortality: Ethics for Intelligent Machines.” You Might Also Like: Struggling With a Big Management Decision? Start by Asking What Really Matters How Humans Outshine AI in Adapting to Change What... View Details

Keywords: by Tom Quinn; Auto; Technology

28 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Sophisticated Investors May Be Harming Fintech Lending Platforms

data science makes this model obsolete. Behavioral scientists tell us that where there is human interaction, people will have biases that influence their decisions, typically in the wrong way. “Now decisions are increasingly based on hard... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Banking; Financial Services

May 2008
Article

Working in the Gray Zone

By: Michel Anteby

Supervisors often turn a blind eye when employees use company resources and time to work on personal projects. They realize that stamping out such behavior may do more harm than good. View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Effectiveness; Behavior

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

and patenting data for 1,315 employees at the Indian R&D center of a Fortune 500 technology firm, I exploit a natural experiment where the assignment of managers for newly hired college graduates is mandated by rigid HR rules and is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2009
Teaching Note

TH!NK: The Norwegian Electric Car Company (TN)

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III

Teaching Note for [808070]. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Market Entry and Exit; Brands and Branding; Environmental Sustainability; Product Launch; Auto Industry; Norway

December 1982 (Revised December 1984)
Case

Hi-Tech Corp.

By: Fred K. Foulkes and William E. Fruhan Jr.

Hi-Tech examines the financial implications of a reduction in the work force via a voluntary severance program which offers up to two and a half times annual pay if an employee voluntarily terminates employment. View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Financial Management; Retirement; Employees; Compensation and Benefits; Corporate Finance; Technology Industry; Europe

February 2014
Article

Governance and CEO Turnover: Do Something or Do the Right Thing?

By: Ray Fisman, Rakesh Khurana, Matthew Rhodes-Kropf and Soojin Yim

We study how corporate governance affects firm value through the decision of whether to fire or retain the CEO. We present a model in which weak governance—which prevents shareholders from controlling the board—protects inferior CEOs from dismissal, while at the same... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Value; Retention; Resignation and Termination; Corporate Governance; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations

Read Now

01 Jun 2021
What Do You Think?

Are Employers Ready for a Flood of 'New' Talent Seeking Work?

talent that we know is on the way. A personal experience, however anecdotal it is, may provide food for thought. Last month, a female acquaintance with a long work record, a positive attitude, a high level of motivation, and familiarity with View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

31 May 2016
First Look

May 31, 2016

functional proximity over base proximity when locating preventive health services. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51094 forthcoming Production and Operations Management Multi-Echelon Inventory View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Government’s Positive Role in Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship

Public Efforts to Boost Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Have Failed—and What to Do about It. Government has played similar catalytic roles in creating hubs of innovation is places such as Tel Aviv and Singapore. Such success stories... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

March 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

SCORE! Educational Centers (D)

Describes Rob Waldron's actions upon assuming leadership of SCORE! Educational Centers, an after-school tutoring enterprise. Examines the issue of acquiring and growing a small, self-owned company into a professional organization. Focuses on the steps Waldron takes to... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business Growth and Maturation; Employee Relationship Management; Teaching; Recruitment; Education Industry; United States

March 2019
Supplement

Gender and Free Speech at Google (B)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Sarah Mehta

In November 2018, 20,000 Google employees participated in a walkout to protest the company’s decision to grant a $90 million exit package to a former executive accused of sexual misconduct. The case explores organizers’ demands and asks how the company’s senior leaders... View Details

Keywords: Free Speech; Ethnicity; Gender; Race; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Labor; Employment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Technology Industry; United States; California

January 2002
Case

Metromove.com Business Plan

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Sheila Marcelo

Enables analysis of a business plan in a volatile market. Also enables analysis of the decisions entrepreneurs must make as they start a new business, develop the concept, choose partners, and find funding. View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Decisions; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships

August 2024
Case

Lucky Ones Coffee: Employing People with Disabilities

By: Richard S. Ruback, Robin Greenwood, Joe Higgins, Matthew Preble and Dave Habeeb

Katie Holyfield and Taylor Matkins founded The Lucky Ones Coffee in 2017 with a mission to create jobs in Park City, Utah for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The company quickly earned strong support from the local community, and by early 2023... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Service Industry; Tourism Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Utah; United States

28 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 28

PublicationsManager-Specific Effects on Earnings Guidance: An Analysis of Top Executive Turnovers Authors:Francois Brochet, Lucile Faurel, and Sarah McVay Publication:Journal of Accounting Research (forthcoming) Abstract We investigate how View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

December 2022
Supplement

Freelancer, Ltd. Case Supplement

By: Christopher Stanton, Karim R. Lakhani, Jin Hyun Paik and Nina Cohodes

Over the course of the 2010s, the rapid advancement of mobile technologies and the rise of online freelancing platforms seemed to portend a radical transformation of labor markets into on-demand, flexible talent pools. Even though several Fortune 500 companies,... View Details

Keywords: Labor Markets; Freelancers; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Globalized Firms and Management; Human Capital; Employment; Digital Platforms; Global Range; Adoption; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Employment Industry; Information Industry; Australia; United States; Philippines