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- All HBS Web
(2,857)
- People (2)
- News (311)
- Research (2,279)
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- Faculty Publications (1,464)
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- March 2012
- Article
The Incentive Bubble
By: Mihir Desai
The past three decades have seen American capitalism quietly transformed by a single, powerful idea—that financial markets are a suitable tool for measuring performance and structuring compensation. Stock instruments for managers, high-powered incentive contracts for... View Details
Keywords: Economic Systems; Financial Markets; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Governance; Equality and Inequality; Human Capital; United States
Desai, Mihir. "The Incentive Bubble." Harvard Business Review 90, no. 3 (March 2012).
- February 2020
- Article
Why Prosocial Referral Incentives Work: The Interplay of Reputational Benefits and Action Costs
By: Rachel Gershon, Cynthia Cryder and Leslie K. John
While selfish incentives typically outperform prosocial incentives, in the context of customer referral rewards, prosocial incentives can be more effective. Companies frequently offer “selfish” (i.e., sender-benefiting) referral incentives, offering customers financial... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Prosocial Behavior; Judgment And Decision-making; Referral Rewards; Motivation and Incentives; Consumer Behavior; Decision Making
Gershon, Rachel, Cynthia Cryder, and Leslie K. John. "Why Prosocial Referral Incentives Work: The Interplay of Reputational Benefits and Action Costs." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 57, no. 1 (February 2020): 156–172.
- November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 12: Aligning Performance Goals and Incentives
By: Robert Simons
This module reading explains how managers use performance goals and incentives to ensure that employee actions align with the overall business strategy of the organization. The module begins by discussing how managers use goals to communicate business strategy, the... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Performance Goals; Performance Measures; Incentives; Benchmarks; Motivation; Compensation; Bonuses; Strategy
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 12: Aligning Performance Goals and Incentives." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-112, November 2016. (Revised December 2016.)
- April 2019
- Article
Incentives for Public Goods Inside Organizations: Field Experimental Evidence
By: Andrea Blasco, Olivia S. Jung, Karim R. Lakhani and Michael Menietti
Understanding why employees go the extra mile at work is a key problem for many organizations. We conduct a field experiment at a medical organization to study motivations for employees to submit project proposals for organizational improvement. In total, we analyze... View Details
Keywords: Field Experiment; Innovation; Contest; Incentives; Free-rider Problem; Healthcare Organizations; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Innovation and Invention; Organizations; Performance Improvement; Perspective
Blasco, Andrea, Olivia S. Jung, Karim R. Lakhani, and Michael Menietti. "Incentives for Public Goods Inside Organizations: Field Experimental Evidence." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 160 (April 2019): 214–229.
- Article
New Interest in Incentive Financing
By: Samuel Hayes
The article presents the findings of a study on incentive financings as they apply to institutional investors, particularly life insurance company investors. The author made contact with investment officers in 29 insurance companies, and have collected a considerable... View Details
Hayes, Samuel. "New Interest in Incentive Financing." Harvard Business Review 44, no. 4 (July–August 1966): 99–112. (Reprinted: Brigham, Earl, Ricks, R. B., Readings in the Essentials of Managerial Finance. Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1968.)
- 2014
- Other Unpublished Work
No Margin, No Mission? A Field Experiment on Incentives for Public Services Delivery
By: Nava Ashraf, Oriana Bandiera and Kelsey Jack
A substantial body of research investigates the effect of pay for performance in firms, yet less is known about the effect of non-financial rewards, especially in organizations that hire individuals to perform tasks with positive social spillovers. We conduct a field... View Details
Keywords: Incentives; Non-monetary Rewards; Intrinsic Motivation; Mission and Purpose; Social Enterprise; Motivation and Incentives
Ashraf, Nava, Oriana Bandiera, and Kelsey Jack. "No Margin, No Mission? A Field Experiment on Incentives for Public Services Delivery." (March 2014. Conditionally accepted, Journal of Public Economics.)
- March 2021
- Article
Active Choice, Implicit Defaults, and the Incentive to Choose
By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian
Home-delivered prescriptions have no delivery charge and lower copayments than prescriptions picked up at a pharmacy. Nevertheless, when home delivery is offered on an opt-in basis, the take-up rate is only 6%. We study a program that makes active choice of either home... View Details
Keywords: Active Choice; Defaults; Implicit Defaults; Incentives; Consumer Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Motivation and Incentives
Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian. "Active Choice, Implicit Defaults, and the Incentive to Choose." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 163 (March 2021): 6–16.
- 2024
- Working Paper
Corporate Culture Homogeneity and Top Executive Incentive Design: Evidence from CEO Compensation Contracts
By: Dennis Campbell, Ruidi Shang and Zhifang Zhang
We examine how corporate cultures characterized by high degrees of homogeneity in the underlying values and beliefs of organizational members are related to the design of CEO incentive compensation contracts. We argue that culture homogeneity within firms lowers... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Culture; Compensation Design; Accounting; Management Control; Incentive Systems; Organizational Culture; Job Design and Levels; Governance; Executive Compensation; Motivation and Incentives
Campbell, Dennis, Ruidi Shang, and Zhifang Zhang. "Corporate Culture Homogeneity and Top Executive Incentive Design: Evidence from CEO Compensation Contracts." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-054, February 2024.
- 16 Jun 2020
- Working Paper Summaries
Government Incentives for Entrepreneurship
Keywords: by Josh Lerner
- September 2022
- Article
The Limits of Inconspicuous Incentives
By: Leslie K. John, Hayley Blunden, Katherine Milkman, Luca Foschini and Bradford Tuckfield
Managers and policymakers regularly rely on incentives to encourage valued behaviors. While incentives are often successful, there are also notable and surprising examples of their ineffectiveness. Why? We propose a contributing factor may be that they are not... View Details
John, Leslie K., Hayley Blunden, Katherine Milkman, Luca Foschini, and Bradford Tuckfield. "The Limits of Inconspicuous Incentives." Art. 104180. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 172 (September 2022).
- Research Summary
Motivation and Incentive Design
Professor Ashraf's research in motivation and incentives focuses on how to design incentives in sectors where it is important that individuals are motivated by service, such as healthcare or environmental conservation. An important lever is the... View Details
- February 2002 (Revised December 2003)
- Exercise
Incentives Game, The
By: Jason R. Barro, Brian J. Hall and Jonathan Lim
This exercise provides an opportunity to gain insight about designing, negotiating, and responding to incentives. The setting is investment management. A class is divided into a certain number of investment firms. Each company has one CEO and begins with four portfolio... View Details
Barro, Jason R., Brian J. Hall, and Jonathan Lim. "Incentives Game, The." Harvard Business School Exercise 902-197, February 2002. (Revised December 2003.)
- Research Summary
Non-Financial Incentives
My research shows how firms combine many facets of internal governance to motivate managers. A perspective that underlies much of my research is that managers are not motivated by financial rewards alone: “it’s not just about the... View Details
- Research Summary
Monetary and Non-monetary Incentives
By: Susanna Gallani
In this line of research, Prof. Gallani explores the interplay between monetary and non-monetary incentives in organization. In particular, she explores the effectiveness of non-monetary motivation mechanisms, including mission statements and company values, feedback,... View Details
- Article
Are They Useful? The Effects of Performance Incentives on the Prioritization of Work Versus Personal Ties
By: Julia Hur, Alice Lee-Yoon and Ashley V. Whillans
Most working adults report spending very little time with friends and family. The current research explores the aspects of work that encourage employees to spend less time with personal ties. We show that incentive systems play a critical role in shaping how people... View Details
Keywords: Rewards; Performance Incentives; Social Relationships; Instrumentality; Time Allocation; Performance; Motivation and Incentives; Relationships; Time Management
Hur, Julia, Alice Lee-Yoon, and Ashley V. Whillans. "Are They Useful? The Effects of Performance Incentives on the Prioritization of Work Versus Personal Ties." Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 165 (July 2021): 103–114. (Shared Authorship.)
- December 2008
- Background Note
Incentives in the NFL (Abridged)
By: Brian J. Hall, Andrew Wasynczuk, Jonathan Paul Lim, Sara del Nido and Katherine Dowd
This note briefly describes compensation and incentive issues in one of the major US professional sports leagues, the National Football League (NFL). It first provides some background information on the labor market for players and the salary cap, and then describes... View Details
Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Wages; Groups and Teams; Conflict of Interests; Motivation and Incentives; Sports Industry; United States
Hall, Brian J., Andrew Wasynczuk, Jonathan Paul Lim, Sara del Nido, and Katherine Dowd. "Incentives in the NFL (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Background Note 909-029, December 2008.
- 1998
- Working Paper
CEO Incentives and Firm Size
By: Brian Hall and George P. Baker
What determines CEO incentives? A confusion exists among both academics and practitioners about how to measure the strength of CEO incentives, and how to reconcile the enormous differences in pay sensitivities between executives in large and small firms. We show that... View Details
Keywords: Business Ventures; Motivation and Incentives; Executive Compensation; Size; Management Systems
Hall, Brian, and George P. Baker. "CEO Incentives and Firm Size." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 6868, December 1998.
- 18 Mar 2010
- Working Paper Summaries
Matching Firms, Managers, and Incentives
- April 2000
- Background Note
Aligning Incentives for Supply Chain Efficiency
By: V.G. Narayanan and Ananth Raman
Introduces students to the basics of principal-agency theory as it applies to supply chains. Operational problems in supply chains can often be traced to incentive issues. Students and managers lack frameworks to analyze incentive problems in supply chains. This note... View Details
Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Motivation and Incentives; Framework; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Agency Theory
Narayanan, V.G., and Ananth Raman. "Aligning Incentives for Supply Chain Efficiency." Harvard Business School Background Note 600-110, April 2000.
- 13 Aug 2012
- Research & Ideas
When Good Incentives Lead to Bad Decisions
Among the culprits contributing to the recent financial crisis were bank loan officers who approved mortgage loans that were doomed to fail. Many of these frontline workers were motivated by bonuses and other incentives to approve... View Details