Publications

February 2024
Technical Note

A Manager's Introduction to Passion for Work

By: Jon M. Jachimowicz

Today, both organizations and employees are increasingly focused on passion. An analysis of 200 million U.S. job postings found that the use of the word “passion” increased nearly tenfold from 2007 to 2019, while a recent survey of thousands of college-educated workers... View Details

Keywords: Recruitment; Job Search; Goals and Objectives; Interests; Personal Development and Career

Article

Repositioning and Cost-Cutting: The Impact of Competition on Platform Strategies

By: Robert Seamans and Feng Zhu

Organizational structures are increasingly complex. In particular, more firms today operate as multi-sided platforms. In this paper, we study how platform firms use repositioning and cost-cutting in response to competition, elucidate external and internal factors that... View Details

Keywords: Platform Strategy; Repositioning; Cost-cutting; Intra-firm Learning; Multi-Sided Platforms; Cost Management; Product Positioning; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Knowledge Acquisition; Journalism and News Industry

Find at Harvard

July 2014
Article

Diasporas and Outsourcing: Evidence from oDesk and India

By: Ejaz Ghani, William R. Kerr and Christopher Stanton

This study examines the role of the Indian diaspora in the outsourcing of work to India. Our data are taken from oDesk, the world's largest online platform for outsourced contracts, where India is the largest country in terms of contract volume. We use an ethnic name... View Details

Keywords: Diaspora; Outsourcing; oDesk; Networks; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Diasporas; Internet and the Web; Ethnicity; Service Industry; South Asia; India

April 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Offshoring at Global Information Systems, Inc.

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

This case explores the topic of offshoring high-tech jobs several perspectives. The issues presented include determining the stock price consequences of offshoring, examining the economic consequences of the offshore job to both the transferring and receiving... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Stocks; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Personal Development and Career; Competition

01 Sep 2004
News

Inside Executive Search

How do executive search firms work? It’s well known that most senior management, CEO, and board positions are filled by these organizations, but given the confidential nature of their work, they often conduct their business with utmost... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Corporate Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Web

Frequently Asked Questions | Employment

I find out about part-time employment? What is a term appointment? Faculty & Research Positions I'm interested in a Faculty position, where can I find those job postings? I'm interested in doing research, where can I find those job... View Details

Profile

March Bishop

for introspection and self-discovery. Given the breadth of the curriculum and international reach of the name, it is positioning me well for moving out into the global workforce. How has your overall HBS experience shaped your goals... View Details

Keywords: Services; Retail

11 Oct 2024
Blog Post

Committing to Work and Family: Allison Boxer (MBA 2012)

force in our world, whether we like it or not. So, what are we going to do with that driving force? I also wanted my career to be grounded in the true rigor of business, and the marriage of business rigor with positive impact in the... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

Web

Career Support & Exploration Funds | MBA

entrepreneurial ventures. Students who have received need-based HBS Scholarship are eligible to apply. Social Enterprise Loan Repayment Assistance Program (SELRAP) SELRAP provides need-based assistance to reduce the debt burden of alumni serving in managerial View Details

11 Oct 2024
Blog Post

Committing to Work and Family: Allison Boxer (MBA 2012)

business rigor with positive impact in the world. These guiding lights led me to Harvard Business School. I kept hearing that the mission of HBS was to create leaders that make a positive difference in the... View Details

2022
Working Paper

Do Startups Benefit from Their Investors' Reputation? Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

By: Shai Benjamin Bernstein, Kunal Mehta, Richard Townsend and Ting Xu

We analyze a field experiment conducted on AngelList Talent, a large online search platform for startup jobs. In the experiment, AngelList randomly informed job seekers of whether a startup was funded by a top-tier investor and/or was funded recently. We find that the... View Details

Keywords: Startup Labor Market; Investors; Randomized Field Experiment; Certification Effect; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Human Capital; Job Search; Reputation

SSRN

November 2019
Supplement

Gillette: Cutting Prices to Regain Share

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

After losing market share to low-priced competitors such as Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club for several years, Gillette decided to fight back by cutting prices on its razors and blades in April 2017. Bonnie Herzog, an equity analyst at Wells Fargo, must assess how the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Business Strategy; Competition; Price; Public Equity; Retail Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Article

The Social Utility of Feature Creep

By: Debora V. Thompson and Michael I. Norton

Previous research shows that consumers frequently choose products with too many features that they later find difficult to use. Our research shows that this seemingly suboptimal behavior may in fact confer benefits when factoring in the social context of consumption.... View Details

Keywords: Impression Management; Social Influence; Conspicuous Consumption; Signaling; Product Features; Consumer Behavior; Information Technology; Experience and Expertise; Status and Position

2006
Chapter

Stereotype Content and Relative Group Status Across Cultures

By: S.T. Fiske and A.J.C. Cuddy

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Prejudice and Bias; Status and Position; Groups and Teams

November 2006
Case

Kroger Union Negotiations

By: Dennis A. Yao

A stylized version of the negotiations between Kroger Company and its local unions during the mid-1980s. Management faces a sequence of individual negotiations with local unions during a time of weak economic performance when management is seriously considering... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Wages; Management; Negotiation Participants; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Tactics

Web

Instant Photography Is Launched | Baker Library

Instant Photography Is Launched Edwin Land, positive test photograph (left) and negative test photograph (right), April 1946. Polaroid Corporation Records Related to Meroe Morse, b. VII.80, f. 5, f. 19. Starting in 1944, the SX-70... View Details

06 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Conducting Layoffs: ’Necessary Evils’ at Work

In this uncertain economic climate, downsizing and layoffs are a sadly frequent occurrence. Although bad news is always painful to deliver and to hear, the process of conducting "necessary evils"—such as layoffs or firings—can be managed in a way that is... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

June 2022
Case

The SAH Group: The Time is Right

By: Juan Alcacer and Alpana Thapar

In January 2021, Jalila Mezni, cofounder and CEO of the SAH Group, was preparing to present the company’s future growth plans to its board of directors. The Tunisian company was a leading producer and distributor of personal care and packaged hygiene products. In 2019,... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Expansion; Business Divisions; Product Positioning; Brands and Branding; Competition; Presentations; Consumer Products Industry; Tunisia; Kenya

December 2009 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Iris Running Crane: December 2009

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

Iris Running Crane, an MBA candidate, must choose among three different job offers in private equity. One is with a top-tier megafund buyout operation; the second with a geographically focused mid-market fund; and the third with a one-time top-tier fund that is trying... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Private Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Job Offer; Personal Development and Career; Financial Services Industry