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May 2018
Article

Advice Giving: A Subtle Pathway to Power

By: M. Schaerer, L.P. Tost, L. Huang, F. Gino and R. P. Larrick

We propose that interpersonal behaviors can activate feelings of power, and we examine this idea in the context of advice giving. Specifically, we show a) that advice giving is an interpersonal behavior that enhances individuals’ sense of power and b) that those who... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Behavior; Power and Influence

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June 2018
Article

Will a Five-Minute Discussion Change Your Mind? A Countrywide Experiment on Voter Choice in France

By: Vincent Pons

This paper provides the first estimate of the effect of door-to-door canvassing on actual electoral outcomes, via a countrywide experiment embedded in François Hollande's campaign in the 2012 French presidential election. While existing experiments randomized... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Political Elections; Interpersonal Communication; France

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Article

The Effects of Media Slant on Firm Behavior

By: Vishal P. Baloria and Jonas Heese

The media can impose reputational costs on firms because of its important role as an information intermediary and its ability to negatively slant coverage. We exploit a quasi-natural experiment that holds constant the information event across firms, but varies the... View Details

Keywords: Media Slant; Reputational Capital; Strategic Corporate Decisions; Media; News; Communication Strategy; Reputation

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June 2014
Technical Note

A Note on Seeking, Receiving, and Giving Advice

By: David A. Garvin and Joshua D. Margolis

This note examines the processes of seeking, receiving, and giving advice by drawing on both academic research and the lessons of skilled practitioners. It begins with a discussion of the potential benefits and costs of advice-seeking and advice-giving. The note then... View Details

Keywords: Advice Taking; Coaching; Decision-making; Leadership; Interpersonal Communication; Personal Development and Career; Management Skills

25 Apr 2014
News

In emerging economies, business opportunities provide lessons in leadership

Even before a weeklong trip to Accra, Ghana, as part of the required MBA course Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development (FIELD), Australian Tim Leach (MBA 2015) knew that exposure to doing business in emerging markets would be an essential element of his... View Details

29 Apr 2016
News

The First Five Years: Kelly McKenna (MBA 2015)

progress. When thinking about our strategy and how to communicate it to teammates, I walk myself through the list of each class in the RC first-semester curriculum as a sort of outline/checklist. It’s an organized way to think about how... View Details

25 Mar 2015
News

The Greening of Houston

Ask most people to name a city with a lot of parks and chances are Houston won’t be the first one they name. “For better or worse, our built environment is known for the lack of zoning,” says Daniel M. Gilbane (MBA 2005), senior vice president of Gilbane Building Co.... View Details

2009
Working Paper

Walking Through Jelly: Language Proficiency, Emotions, and Disrupted Collaboration in Global Work

By: Tsedal Beyene, Pamela J. Hinds and Catherine Durnell Cramton

In an ethnographic study comprised of interviews and concurrent observations of 145 globally distributed members of nine project teams of an organization, we found that uneven proficiency in English, the lingua franca, disrupted collaboration for both native and... View Details

Keywords: Spoken Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Globalized Firms and Management; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Emotions; Social and Collaborative Networks

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17 Dec 2017
News

How Music Forged a Fighter for Free Expression

said, absolutely, you know, let's get into this. You know, how much is the grinding mill? And they said it's $150. And I said, well, number one, we're obviously going to do that, but number two, I want to take your story back to where I'm from, where this idea of View Details

01 Sep 2014
News

Kresge’s Afterlife

Illustration by David Plunkert Alumni looking to reminisce about Kresge Hall might want to book a trip to Jamaica. That was one of the destinations for the 50 truckloads of household and office goods that HBS donated to non-profits as part of its recycling of the... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell

11 Jun 2014
News

Improving conditions for climbers' guides in Nepal

porters do is incredibly hard. The average load is 60 pounds per person. They often sleep outside or on benches in communal rooms," says Petzel. "As the tragic events on Everest have demonstrated, it is paramount for us to continue to... View Details

01 Mar 2008
News

“A National System of Income Supplementation”

neighborhoods. It also called for “a national system of income supplementation,” whose goal was not so much to increase “welfare,” but to economically stabilize impoverished communities in order to encourage private-sector investment and... View Details

Keywords: Educational Support Services; Educational Services

15 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

Infographic: Can I Please Speak to an Actual Person?

Based on the Working Paper, Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety through Access to Human Contact (pdf) by Michelle A. Shell and Ryan W. Buell. Shell is a doctoral student at Harvard Business School, and Buell is the UPS Foundation Associate Professor of... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Vizcardo and Danielle Kost; Service

March 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Background Note

Seeing What's on Red Auerbach's Mind

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and John T. Gourville

Analysis of an interview with Red Auerbach, HBR No. 87201. Alan M. Webber, who conducted the interview, probed for the lessons that Auerbach has learned from a long and productive career coaching and managing the Boston Celtics, a professional basketball team in the... View Details

Keywords: Markets; Research; Sports; Product Development; Communication Intention and Meaning; Sports Industry

February 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Finding a Response: Pixar and a Coy Story

Pixar, Inc. is the subject of an article that suggests its share price is currently overvalued. The article is picked up in summary by several wire services. Pixar's management must determine the appropriate public response. Its choices range from ignoring the article,... View Details

Keywords: Media; Animation Entertainment; Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Communication Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

April 2003
Case

HP-Cisco Alliance (A), The

In 2002, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco Systems strove to develop their long-standing partnership into a strategic alliance with increasing impact. Critical components of successful alliance implementation emerge from the analysis. Specifically, the case illuminates the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Design; Alliances; Organizational Structure

July 2002
Supplement

Discount & Hawkins Openings: Video Highlights

By: Michael A. Wheeler

This case shows the interactions between two quite different pairs of negotiators, both engaged in working through the final leasing clause between a mall developer and its anchor tenant. It highlights the importance of openings to frame and shape the entire course of... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Negotiation; Leasing; Renting or Rental; Competition

September 1999
Background Note

Learning from Projects: Note on Conducting a Postmortem Analysis

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Steven Sinofsky

Describes how firms can learn from projects through postmortem analysis. Focuses on the step-by-step process of preparing and running a postmortem meeting as it is done at Microsoft and other software developers. View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Projects; Software; Information Technology Industry