Publications

05 May 2015
First Look

First Look: May 5

2015 The Social Psychology of Good and Evil Dishonesty Explained: What Leads Moral People To Act Immorally By: Gino, F., and D. Ariely Abstract—The last two decades have witnessed what seems to be an increasing number of cases of dishonesty, from corporate corruption... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

06 Dec 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Does Financial Misconduct Affect the Future Compensation of Alumni Managers?

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, and George Serafeim

09 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 9, 2018

press Compensation & Benefits Review Winning the War for Talent: Modern Motivational Methods for Attracting and Retaining Employees By: Thibault-Landry, Anais, Allan Schweyer, and Ashley V. Whillans... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

16 May 2023
HBS Case

How KKR Got More by Giving Ownership to the Factory Floor: ‘My Kids Are Going to College!’

performing as a whole, may not hold much value when an employee goes to exercise them, Rouen says. They also can be complicated to administer from legal and tax perspectives. Employees are skeptical of... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

Program

Behavioral Economics—Virtual

Summary What if you could predict how customers will respond to a product? Or how employees will decide to implement a new initiative? In Behavioral Economics—Virtual, you'll acquire a dynamic framework for interpreting, analyzing, and... View Details

09 Apr 2024
Book

Why Work Rituals Bring Teams Together and Create More Meaning

them to change our emotional states in many different ways.” With a 2023 Gallup survey showing that US employees are less satisfied with their jobs and less likely to feel that someone at work cares about them than four years ago, Norton... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

value-reducing. Our findings have implications for the long-standing policy debate on the desirability of staggered boards. Download the paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2141410 The Dirty Laundry of Employee Award Programs: Evidence from... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1992 (Revised September 2010)
Background Note

Executive Stock Options

By: Henry B. Reiling

After a brief comment on the practical problems associated with taxing options and the possible occasions on which taxation might occur, the note describes the current policy imbedded in the Internal Revenue Code and gives examples of this policy in operation. The... View Details

Keywords: Stock Options; Policy; Taxation; Executive Compensation; Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Find at Harvard

January 1998 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Lincoln Electric: Venturing Abroad

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Jamie O'Connell

Lincoln Electric, a 100-year-old manufacturer of welding equipment and consumables based in Cleveland, Ohio, motivates its U.S. employees through a culture of cooperation between management and labor and an unusual compensation system based on piecework and a large... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Restructuring; Transformation; Construction; Compensation and Benefits; Management; Market Entry and Exit; Labor and Management Relations; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio

11 Aug 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Rethinking Measurement of Pay Disparity and Its Relation to Firm Performance

Keywords: by Ethan Rouen

05 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

The Work-Around Culture: Unintended Consequences of Organizational Heroes

"Work-around cultures" are pervasive in health care. Employees tend to work around obstacles, often feeling like a hero in the process, without solving the underlying problems. The reasons for these cultures are manifold, but... View Details

Keywords: by Anita Tucker; Health

March 2023 (Revised December 2023)
Background Note

Economic Analysis: The Hidden Costs of Layoffs and Managing Staff Reductions

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Marilyn Morgan Westner and Christopher Diak

Globally, over the past fifty years, more companies have used layoffs to cut costs during periods of decreased demand or economic downturns. But layoffs have far-reaching consequences, generate hidden costs, and harm the company in myriad ways. This note reviews ways... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; Layoffs; Furloughs; Human Resources; Management Practices and Processes; Employee Relationship Management; Resignation and Termination; Compensation and Benefits; United States

January 2021 (Revised March 2022)
Teaching Note

The What Works Centre: Using Behavioral Science to Improve Social Worker Well-being (A) and (B)

By: Ashley V. Whillans

This case describes the experiences of Michael Sanders—the Chief Executive of the What Works Center for Children’s Social Care—as he led the design and implementation of a program of research aimed at improving the social care system in the United Kingdom (UK) at the... View Details

Keywords: Non-cash Compensation; Behavioral Science; Employees; Well-being; Compensation and Benefits; United Kingdom

October 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Supplement

The What Works Centre: Using Behavioral Science to Improve Social Worker Well-being (B)

By: Ashley V. Whillans and Shibeal O'Flaherty

This case describes the experiences of Michael Sanders—the Chief Executive of the What Works Center for Children’s Social Care—as he led the design and implementation of a program of research aimed at improving the social care system in the United Kingdom (UK) at the... View Details

Keywords: Non-cash Compensation; Behavioral Science; Employees; Well-being; Compensation and Benefits; United Kingdom

25 Jun 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Does ‘Could’ Lead to Good? Toward a Theory of Moral Insight

Keywords: by Ting Zhang, Francesca Gino & Joshua D. Margolis

2021
Working Paper

Multiple Team Membership, Turnover, and On-Time Delivery: Evidence from Construction Services

By: Hise O. Gibson, Bradely R. Staats and Ananth Raman

Firms who want to compete in dynamic markets are finding that they must build more agile operations to ensure success. One way for a firm to increase organizational agility is to allocate employees to multiple project teams, simultaneously—a practice known as multiple... View Details

Keywords: Multiple Team Membership; Turnover; Fluid Teams; Project Management; Groups and Teams; Projects; Management; Performance

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15 Mar 2024
HBS Case

Let's Talk: Why It's Time to Stop Avoiding Taboo Topics at Work

about weight,” says Wing. Instead, Wing says, the company must decide whether to reduce benefits—hurting many subscribers who need the medication—or foot the bill. It would be better, Wing says, if employers could speak with their View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

October 1994 (Revised April 1995)
Case

Visionary Design Systems: Are Incentives Enough?

By: George P. Baker III and Karin B Monsler

A compensation case about Visionary Design Systems (VDS), a small, high-tech full service systems integration firm based in Silicon Valley with eleven offices throughout the country. All employees, including engineers, administrators, and receptionists, received a... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; San Francisco

April 1983 (Revised October 1990)
Background Note

Textiles and the Multi-Fiber Arrangement

By: David B. Yoffie

What happens to an industry with millions of employees that loses its comparative advantage? This note examines this question by looking at the global textile and apparel industry. With the Multi-Fiber Arrangement coming up for renewal in December 1981, the United... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Cost vs Benefits; Developing Countries and Economies; Manufacturing Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States; Europe