misconceptions - Publications - Faculty & Research

09 Nov 2023
HBS Case

What Will It Take to Confront the Invisible Mental Health Crisis in Business?

not in our division.” Now, the key to breaking the tie between these misconceptions and the stigma lies in rigorous persistence and sequential focus. Do not attempt to solve all of these in one fell swoop. Choose one misconception, and... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Health

08 May 2012
First Look

First Look: May 8

PublicationsTo Think or Not To Think about Trauma? An Experimental Investigation into Unconscious Thought and Intrusion Development Authors:Julie Krans and Maarten W. Bos Publication:Journal of Experimental Psychopathology 3, no. 2 (2012) Abstract The present study... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Research Summary

Selling China: Foreign Direct Investment During the Reform Era

The aim of the book is to illustrate the dynamics of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China in the 1990s. The topic is important both because China is the world's second largest recipient of FDI and because there are substantial misconceptions about the drivers of... View Details

03 Oct 2023
Research Event

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

I learned. “There's this misconception that if you feel bad, something's wrong with you. If you feel distress and anxiety and melancholy, you're broken and you need to be fixed. Wrong.” Brooks: It's amazing teaching at a university how... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Staff

14 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Curiosity, Not Coding: 6 Skills Leaders Need in the Digital Age

Their outward confidence might mask fear and anxiety, but they must be ready to admit misconceptions and misinterpretations, and acknowledge early on what they don’t know or what isn’t working. Executives must be prepared to shoulder... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards; Technology

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

result in banks charging consumers multiple overdraft fees rather than just one, draining significant cash from people living at the edge of their means at a time when inflation is further reducing their buying power. "The misconception... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

Article

Mission-Driven Governance

By: Raymond Fisman, Rakesh Khurana and Edward Martenson

The purpose of this paper is to provide a useful, easily applied theory of governance performance. The existing model is fundamentally adversarial, rooted in the paradigm of principal-agent conflict. At its base is an image of governance as a never-ending struggle... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Knowledge Management; Standards; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation

Citation

Find at Harvard

21 Sep 2021
Office Hours

Readers Ask: How Can I Gain Power and Influence?

posed by Instagram users and Battilana’s answers: What’s the biggest myth people tend to believe about power dynamics? In my research, I have found strikingly common misconceptions in how people think about power. The first myth is that... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

27 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Recovering from the Need to Achieve

urge you to get past this misconception and realize that such admissions will enhance your productivity and career. So, consider: Do you regret any significant decisions you've made about your career? If you had to do it over again, would... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

15 Jun 2007
Research & Ideas

Remembering Alfred Chandler

Al in his hunting cap, which now appears at the very front of the book. But a hunter he undeniably was: In the vast body of his work he located and brought down a host of misconceptions about the nature of business, establishing in their... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

27 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Take Responsibility for Rising Stars

Many executives believe that leadership development is a job for the HR department. This may be the single biggest misconception they can have. As corporations have broken down work into manageable activities and then consolidated... View Details

Keywords: by Jeffrey M. Cohn, Rakesh Khurana & Laura Reeves

19 May 2003
Lessons from the Classroom

Business Plan Winner Targets India Dropouts

learned is the nature of the problem. We, perhaps like many others, had the misconception that cultural factors were the primary inhibitor to literacy development in India. However, it turns out that 85 percent of school-age children... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler; Financial Services

18 Oct 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Venture Capital’s Disconnect with Clean Tech

MBA students often fall into one of two categories—those hungry to rush into careers as venture capitalists, and those eager to found a venture-funded start-up. For all of them, Harvard Business School professor Joseph Lassiter has some intriguing advice: Spend a few... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities; Financial Services

26 Jun 2000
Research & Ideas

Presentation Round-Up

Internet and tried as well to clarify some common fears and misconceptions of such research's effects on privacy and intellectual property. The positive aspects, according to panelist George Church, include the fact that the Internet has... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Kenneth Liss; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

16 Mar 2010
First Look

First Look: March 16

development of theory with the teaching of it in a single enterprise we'll call course research. Conclusions such as those that Shugan and others have reached stem from misconceptions about the relationship of research, theory, case... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner

has historically worked. Entrepreneurs often have misconceptions about the role that venture capitalists play in new ventures. Our book provides a framework for entrepreneurs to understand the venture capital process. But rather than... View Details

Keywords: by Carol Elsen; Financial Services

02 Aug 2004
What Do You Think?

For Greater Transparency, Is Section 404 an Effective Response?

of the article. Richard Eckel opined that "A basic misconception is that Section 404 increases transparency afforded to stakeholders... What 404 does is require that corporate leadership demonstrate that the processes used to produce... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

30 Aug 2006
Op-Ed

The Compensation Game

rise of executive pay over time as a product of efficient markets and argued that the increase merely reflects the growing marginal productivity of chief executives. Unfortunately, this standard defense reflects a broad misconception of... View Details

Keywords: by Lucian Bebchuk & Rakesh Khurana

09 Apr 2001
Research & Ideas

The Manager’s Guide to Communicating with Customers Collection

Zaltman. "Another misconception is that it doesn't take much time to understand what's going on." Companies that have succeeded at probing the psyches of their customers, he says, have "taken a lot of time to extract... View Details

Keywords: by Richard Bierck; Retail

23 Oct 2006
Research & Ideas

Will the “Long Tail” Work for Hollywood?

a common misconception that people who buy niche products will have greater loyalty to them," Elberse says. "But I bet that the average viewer who likes to purchase classic black-and-white movies also tends to watch hits like... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Entertainment & Recreation

Publications