American Dream - Publications - Faculty & Research

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

It Came in the First Ships: Capitalism in America

was the American Dream in its earliest form, and for the people living the dream, it had an aura of double-edged incredulity. There was disbelief not only at their own good fortune, but also at the... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas K. McCraw

June 2022
Case

Michelin’s Green Gold Bahia Program: Leaving With Grace

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Shalene Gupta and Susan J. Winterberg

In 2015, the top management of French tire-maker Michelin, was evaluating Michelin’s approach to divesting its rubber plantations ten years after incorporating a novel strategy.
In 2004, Michelin had a Brazilian rubber challenge. Its Bahía plantation had been hit... View Details

Keywords: Divestment; Supply Chain Management; Natural Resources; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Rubber Industry; Auto Industry; Brazil; France

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08 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 8, 2019

November 20, 2018 Journal of the American College of Cardiology Operational Efficiency and Effective Management in the Catheterization Laboratory By: Reed, Grant W., Michael L. Tushman, and Samir R. Kapadia Abstract—Operational efficiency... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

23 Jan 2008
Op-Ed

A House Divided: Investment or Shelter?

their ilk sprung up. For a machinist at an automobile plant, the American dream was to own a 3-bedroom expandable Cape Cod cottage. “Americans who lacked the prescience to pick up shares in Google or Amazon... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas; Banking; Construction; Real Estate

25 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

More Proof That Money Can Buy Happiness (or a Life with Less Stress)

organizations and institutions to empower everyone.” [Image: iStockphoto/mihtiander] Related reading from the Working Knowledge Archives Selling Out The American Dream View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Keeping Credit Flowing to Consumers in Need

preserve liquidity and affordability? What will be the implications for young families, particularly low- to moderate-income families? Is the American dream of homeownership to be abandoned? In the midst of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

28 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

The Clock Is Ticking: 3 Ways to Manage Your Time Better

number of meetings required of employees has risen by 12.9 percent on average since the pandemic began. And according to Reclaim.ai., a calendar-app company, the average full-time, white-collar American worker spends 21.5 hours a week in... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

12 Sep 2023
Book

Successful, But Still Feel Empty? A Happiness Scholar and Oprah Have Advice for You

many). In the last decade, the percentage of Americans who say they are “not too happy” rose to 24 percent from 10 percent; “very happy” respondents dropped to 18 percent from 36 percent, the book reports, citing the University of... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

03 Oct 2023
Research Event

Build the Life You Want: Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey Share Happiness Tips

And I say she's a lot happier than most people I've met. Nobody's happy. But she's doing a good job. Why, they say, why? Is it because of the lovely things? Is it because of the incredible renown? Is it because of the mythical success and the iconic position in View Details

Keywords: by HBS Staff

06 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Leaders Lose Their Way

(R-NV) resigned after covering up an extramarital affair with monetary payoffs. Lee B. Farkas, former chairman of giant mortgage lender Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, in April was found guilty for his role in one of the largest bank fraud schemes in View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

14 Feb 2023
HBS Case

Is Sweden Still 'Sweden'? A Liberal Utopia Grapples with an Identity Crisis

Sweden has long seemed like a social-welfare capitalist dream come true, where companies and labor unions collaborate in harmony with government support. Swedish citizens are among the wealthiest in the world, and they enjoy publicly... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

01 Jun 2023
HBS Case

A Nike Executive Hid His Criminal Past to Turn His Life Around. What If He Didn't Have To?

the success of the Jordan brand. He discusses how education can break the street-to-jail cycle and why business leaders should give formerly incarcerated people a second chance. Crushed to see his dream job evaporate and fearing that no... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Apparel & Accessories

20 Sep 2016
First Look

September 20, 2016

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51619 forthcoming American Economic Journal: Applied Economics Racial Discrimination in the Sharing Economy: Evidence from a Field Experiment By: Edelman, Benjamin G., Michael Luca, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Jun 2016
First Look

June 28, 2016

employee at Google's London office, Markus Berger, was thinking whether he should quit his job and go after his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Berger's idea was to create Dinr, a company that would offer an upscale food ingredient... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

All Those Zoom Meetings May Boost Connection and Curb Loneliness

Americans are lonelier than ever—a problem the COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated. Could interactions on platforms like Zoom and Twitch come close to replicating the real-life contact people crave? New research suggests that’s more... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

05 Oct 2020
Book

Want to Be Happier? Make More Free Time

or free time and family? Soon after settling into her dream job, Whillans worked and traveled constantly, but her partner was miserable, with no job or friends nearby. During one work trip, the couple was fighting long distance, and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

10 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Being Your Own Boss Can Pay Off, but Not Always with Big Pay

For generations, American workers have dreamed of striking out on their own, starting their own business, being their own boss—and ideally making a lot of money in the process. That sentiment appears to be... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

11 Jul 2019
Sharpening Your Skills

Deconstructing 'Customer Experience'

with customers. Fix This! Why is it so Painful to Buy a New Car? Car-buying sends shivers up the backbones of American consumers, so why hasn’t the industry stepped up to create a better experience? Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail; Service

30 Jun 2021
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2021

voting. It is the willingness to work together at the grass roots and in government to solve problems, as I argue in my own recent book, Think Outside the Building. "Instead of theories about democracy or its rise and fall, I plan to focus on how View Details

Keywords: by Kathryn Haviland

13 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

The Consumer Appeal of Underdog Branding

political, and economic times. Americans throughout history have embraced the American Dream, which proclaims that through hard work and perseverance anyone can be successful, regardless of class, caste,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

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