Publications

December 1997 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Citibank: Performance Evaluation

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Citibank has introduced a new, comprehensive performance-scorecard system. A regional president struggles with a tough decision: how to evaluate an outstanding branch manager who has scored poorly on an important customer satisfaction measure. This case provides a... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Balanced Scorecard; Business Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Performance Expectations; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Quality; Banking Industry

March 1983
Article

Brilliant but Cruel: Perceptions of Negative Evaluators

By: T. M. Amabile

Using edited excerpts from actual negative and positive book reviews, this research examined the hypothesis that negative evaluators of intellectual products will be perceived as more intelligent than positive evaluators. The results strongly supported the hypothesis.... View Details

Keywords: Social Psychology; Situation or Environment; Performance Evaluation; Perception; Status and Position; Attitudes; Prejudice and Bias; Power and Influence

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17 Apr 2022
Book

How to Avoid the 'Ethical Slide' That Leads Companies Astray

Harvard Business School visiting professor J. S. Nelson in her new book Business Ethics: What Everyone Needs to Know, which will be released on April 21. Nelson, a Villanova University law and business... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

May 2009
Exercise

Mapping Your Network

By: David A. Thomas

This exercise is designed to help students and professionals map their professional networks and identify areas of strength and weakness in their networks. "Network" refers to the set of relationships that is critical to someone's ability to learn new skills and... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Strength and Weakness; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Social and Collaborative Networks

24 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

People Have an Irrational Need to Complete 'Sets' of Things

the idea of completing a set, even if it means working harder or spending more money—with no additional reward other than the satisfaction of completion and the relief of avoiding an incomplete set. Imagine arriving at your boss’s summer... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

October 1996
Article

Assessing the Work Environment for Creativity

By: T. M. Amabile, R. Conti, H. Coon, J. Lazenby and M. Herron

We describe the development and validation of a new instrument, KEYS: Assessing the Climate for Creativity, designed to assess perceived stimulants and obstacles to creativity in organizational work environments. The KEYS scales have acceptable factor structures,... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Groups and Teams; Performance; Research; Theory

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March 2020 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Racial Discrimination on Airbnb (A)

By: Michael Luca, Scott Stern, Devin Cook and Hyunjin Kim

Facing mounting criticism and evidence of widespread racial discrimination on the platform, apartment rental platform Airbnb needed to decide a path forward. For years, Airbnb had given hosts extensive discretion about whether to reject a guest after seeing little more... View Details

Keywords: Platform Design; Digital Platforms; Design; Prejudice and Bias; Trust; Problems and Challenges

Web

People - Behavioral Finance & Financial Stability

Economic at Harvard University, and one of the the founders of Behavioral Finance. He has published seven books, including A Crisis of Beliefs: Investor Psychology and... View Details

03 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Succeed With Your New Boss

Your new boss will have more impact than anyone else over whether you succeed or fail. Your boss establishes benchmarks for your success, interprets your actions for other key players, and controls resources you need. Building a... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

17 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why Quiet Quitters Need More Than Money to Re-Engage

willing to go above and beyond in their roles. All this while inflation spirals. Abdelal, who is the Herbert F. Johnson Professor of International Management at HBS, and DeLong make the case that the remedy... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

February 2011 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Porsche: The Cayenne Launch

By: John Deighton, Jill Avery and Jeffrey Fear

Can an online discussion forum supply insight into the evolution of brand meaning? In 2003 Porsche launched a sport utility vehicle, dividing Porsche purists from newcomers to the brand. Vocal members of online and offline Porsche communities ridiculed the Cayenne SUV... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Social and Collaborative Networks; Auto Industry

July 2021 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Sarah Robb O'Hagan: The Rocky Road of Passion

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz and Francesca Gino

In November 2018, Sarah Robb O’Hagan is reeling from an unceremonious exit as CEO of Flywheel, a chain of indoor cycling studios. In the past, Robb O’Hagan had led transformational change across companies throughout the sports and fitness industry, including as... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Satisfaction; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Interests

17 Dec 2007
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Medical Tourism

life and health that one is dealing with. And the prospect of entrusting health care to a developing country had a pedagogical "shock value," too. “A lot of entrusting medical care to different... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

2010
Book

Buy-In: Saving Your Good Idea from Getting Shot Down

By: John P. Kotter and Lorne A. Whitehead

You've got a good idea. You know it could make a crucial difference for you, your organization, your community. You present it to the group but get confounding questions, inane comments, and verbal bullets in return. Before you know what's happened, your idea is dead,... View Details

Keywords: Communication Intention and Meaning; Cost vs Benefits; Problems and Challenges; Interests; Value

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February 1992 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Amelia Rogers at Tassani Communications (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

Describes a conflict that has arisen between an account manager and a creative director at Tassani Communications, a Chicago-based advertising agency which is making the transition from entrepreneurial to professional management. The client, the marketing director of a... View Details

Keywords: Rank and Position; Conflict Management; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Practice; Behavior; Creativity; Problems and Challenges; Advertising Industry; Chicago

November 1999
Case

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (A)

By: Andre F. Perold

Long-Term Capital Management, L.P. (LTCM) was in the business of engaging in trading strategies to exploit market pricing discrepancies. Because the firm employed strategies designed to make money over long horizons--from six months to two years or more--it adopted a... View Details

Keywords: Fluctuation; Capital; Financial Liquidity; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Management; Risk Management; Marketing; Motivation and Incentives; Financial Services Industry