management consulting - Publications - Faculty & Research

January 2018 (Revised January 2020)
Case

People Analytics at McKinsey

A private equity–backed fast food chain has hired McKinsey’s new People Analytics group to help it improve performance. As the final client workshop approaches, Associate Partner Alex DiLeonardo ponders the best way to present the team’s findings, especially those that... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Customer Relationship Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Measurement and Metrics; Performance; Performance Capacity; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry

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July 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

Acelerex

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In early 2019, Randell Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive of Acelerex, was reflecting on the company’s first year of rapid growth and the challenges of scaling the business that lay ahead. Acelerex was riding the waves of change taking place in electrical power grids... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Energy Sources; Growth Management; Expansion; Global Strategy; Cash Flow; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry; Consulting Industry

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19 Mar 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, March 19, 2019

forthcoming Academy of Management Discoveries Creativity, Artificial Intelligence, and a World of Surprises By: Amabile, Teresa M. Abstract—In recent years, progress has been made toward AI Creativity, which I define as the production of... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Industrial Decarbonization: Confronting the Hard Challenges of Cement

Cities like Cairo; Chongqing, China; Delhi; and Kinshasa, Congo are experiencing population explosions accompanied by unprecedented demand for homes, offices, factories, and infrastructure. In the United States, the Biden Administration’s policy-driven infrastructure... View Details

Keywords: by by Janelle Conaway; Green Technology; Energy; Industrial Products; Manufacturing

22 Oct 2019
Research & Ideas

Use Artificial Intelligence to Set Sales Targets That Motivate

lies in finding the sweet spot between these two undesirable outcomes, and determining how compensation can motivate salespeople best. In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Chung and several executives from the consulting firm... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

16 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

The Most Successful Startups Have Hands-On Founders

everything or giving (workers) only the bad parts of the task,” he says. Companies should invest in peer learning Companies often opt for formal training programs or consulting arrangements with instructors who teach entrepreneurs how to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

13 Nov 2019
Research & Ideas

Don't Turn Your Marketing Function Over to AI Just Yet

learning leverages Big Data, giving managers new tools to help unravel complex marketing puzzles and understand consumer behavior like never before. Tomomichi Amano, assistant professor in the Marketing Unit at Harvard Business School, is... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

31 May 2004
Research & Ideas

How Team Leaders Show Support–or Not

socializing; keeping team members informed about stressful situations; addressing subordinates' negative feelings; and disclosing personal information); (3) recognizing good work privately and publicly; and (4) consulting subordinates... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

performance builds off that solid foundation.” Look at wider team-building Managers may want to build on the main finding: going through rigorous training together forms bonds that benefit the patient—or the customer—by fostering mutual... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

11 Aug 2003
Research & Ideas

Why Budgeting Kills Your Company

keep a tight rein on costs—but the dynamics of the budgeting process often undermine this effort. "In tough times like these, any significant real cost growth feels imprudent and is hard to justify for most businesses," writes Mike Baxter, a partner in the... View Details

Keywords: by Loren Gary

21 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Common Strategy Mistakes

somehow you can achieve better results. This is a hard race to win. So many managers confuse operational effectiveness with strategy. Another common mistake is confusing marketing with strategy. It's natural for strategy to arise from a... View Details

Keywords: by Joan Magretta

06 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Four Strategies for Making Concessions

wage increase. The union was asking for a 4 percent increase, while management wanted to raise salaries by only 1 percent. The executive considered the situation. During past negotiations, weeks were lost as each side jockeyed for... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra

30 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Six Steps for Making Your Threat Credible

threat lack credibility, but you also have no way of changing course if the situation becomes dire. 3. Visibly incur sunk costs Suppose you are negotiating with a consulting firm to renew its contract to provide information technology... View Details

Keywords: by Deepak Malhotra

14 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 14, 2010

management practices and decentralization. Productivity dispersion between firms and countries has motivated the improved measurement of firm organization across industries and countries. There appears to be substantial variation in View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: January 5

are not driven by reverse causality. These patterns are not driven solely by common law nations such as the United Kingdom and United States, but also hold in Continental Europe. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-045.pdf Going Through the Motions:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Nov 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Making Lincoln Center Cool Again

Alternatives To Ponder When Grossman teaches the case he points to several management options that Levy has going forward: digital expansion, international consulting expansion, a redesign of Avery Fisher... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

04 Jun 2012
Research & Ideas

The Business of Life

unusual application of an economic term delighted Christensen, a management professor known around HBS and the globe as both a brilliant business thinker and a deeply religious man. For more than a decade he has been a go-to View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

24 Jan 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: January 24, 2017

consulting firm to offer dairy management services. Should he continue to invest in these initiatives that benefitted the whole industry or focus resources on growing his own business? Purchase this case:... View Details