Publications

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March 2008
Article

Testing a Purportedly More Learnable Auction Mechanism

We describe an auction mechanism in the class of Groves mechanisms that has received attention in the computer science literature because of its theoretical property of being more "learnable" than the standard second price auction mechanism. We bring this mechanism,... View Details

Keywords: Market Design; Auctions; Learning; Economics

January–February 2025
Article

Why People Resist Embracing AI: The Five Main Obstacles—and How To Overcome Them

By: Julian De Freitas

The success of AI depends not only on its capabilities, which are becoming more advanced each day, but on people’s willingness to harness them. Unfortunately, many people view AI negatively, fearing it will cause job losses, increase the likelihood that their personal... View Details

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Article

Emodiversity and the Emotional Ecosystem

By: Jordi Quoidbach, June Gruber, Moira Mikolajczak, Alexsandr Kogan, Ilios Kotsou and Michael I. Norton

Bridging psychological research exploring emotional complexity and research in the natural sciences on the measurement of biodiversity, we introduce—and demonstrate the benefits of—emodiversity: the variety and relative abundance of the emotions that humans experience.... View Details

Keywords: Health; Diversity; Emotions

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Editorial

Moving Forward

By: George Serafeim

Commerce, the synthesis of entrepreneurship and business, has been one of the most powerful institutions the world has ever seen. Commerce unlocks the highest human potential for creativity, innovation, and discovery. View Details

Keywords: Change; Europe; Turnaround; Leadership; Change Management; Management Practices and Processes; Entrepreneurship; Europe

August 2018
Background Note

Note on Hackathons

By: Ethan Bernstein

Organizations have often sought to meet the pressures of rapid change through novel ways of managing human capital to boost innovation and productivity. Hackathons have emerged as one of the latest approaches to do just that. How can those responsible for managing... View Details

Keywords: Hackathon; Crowdsourcing; Hack; Innovation; Productivity; Minimum Viable Product; Time; Transparency; Bootcamp; Design; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Management; Organizational Structure; Performance Productivity; Technology; Technology Industry

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Sam (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Sam (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-054 Sam receives an informal apology from Human Resources which leaves Sam feeling unsatisfied as it is not an official company response. Sam leaves the company for unrelated reasons shortly thereafter but still... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Human Resources; Social Psychology; Conflict and Resolution; Resignation and Termination; Employees; Policy

April 1985 (Revised November 1987)
Case

Sun Hydraulics Corp. (A)

Involves the design and creation of a company with no formally-defined hierarchy. Describes the steps the founder takes to avoid the organizational politics he perceives as crushing the human contributions they were designed to harness. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Engineering; Business Startups; Technology Industry

17 Jan 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Nestlé’s KitKat Diplomacy: Neutrality vs. Shared Value

Keywords: Re: Geoffrey G. Jones; Consumer Products

2025
Working Paper

Lessons from an App Update at Replika AI: Identity Discontinuity in Human-AI Relationships

By: Julian De Freitas, Noah Castelo, Ahmet Kaan Uğuralp and Zeliha Oğuz-Uğuralp

As consumers increasingly interact with AI applications specialized for social relationships, what is the nature and depth of these relationships among actual users, and can company actions influence these dynamics? We find that active users of the US-based AI... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Welfare; Loss; Well-being; Identity; Perception; Relationships

SSRN

February 2023
Case

SIMmersion: Simulating Crucial Conversations

By: Alison Wood Brooks, Julian Zlatev and F Katelynn Boland

This case introduces readers to SIMmersion, a company founded in 2002 that creates and sells training programs to firms, government agencies, educational institutions, and individuals (B2B and B2C). Their training programs are built around simulations (“sims”) that... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Interpersonal Communication; Training

May 2017
Case

Fresh to Table

By: Gautam Mukunda and Brooks C. Holtom

After the contentious firing of an office manager, the leadership at Fresh to Table, a software-as-a-service provider for luxury hotels and restaurants, make an unpleasant discovery. While reviewing the office manager's internal electronic communications, company... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Resignation and Termination; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs; Leadership

06 Jul 2009
What Do You Think?

Are You Ready to Manage in an Irrational World?

managing successfully in an environment of uncertainty." As for what this means for educators, Joseph Holt believes that "economics and management will be taught even more effectively the more accurately they reflect a human... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

23 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

The Drive to Acquire’s Impact on Globalization

the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Organizational Behavior, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School. His multidisciplinary research, published in twenty five books and numerous articles, has dealt with the human aspects of management,... View Details

Keywords: by Paul R. Lawrence

January–February 2025
Article

Why People Resist Embracing AI

By: Julian De Freitas

The success of AI depends not only on its capabilities, which are becoming more advanced each day, but on people’s willingness to harness them. Unfortunately, many people view AI negatively, fearing it will cause job losses, increase the likelihood that their personal... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Perception

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25 Apr 2023
Cold Call Podcast

Using Design Thinking to Invent a Low-Cost Prosthesis for Land Mine Victims

Keywords: Re: Srikant M. Datar; Health; Medical Devices & Supplies

06 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

Are the Olympics a Catalyst for China Reforms?

earlier pledge to give reporters covering the Olympics unfettered access to the Web. At the same time, it accused the Bush administration of politicizing the Games after the United States criticized China's policies on human rights. We... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

07 Jul 2020
Working Paper Summaries

COVID-19 and the Workplace: Implications, Issues, and Insights for Future Research and Action

Keywords: by Ashley Whillans and 28 coauthors; Health; Retail

May 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Redesigning a 401(k) Plan at Haley-Midland

By: Robert C. Pozen and Scott Eric Perl

Rose Adams, the CFO of Haley-Midland, Inc., dispensed with pleasantries and started right in on her questions for Jim Sweeney, the senior vice president of human resources, and Nancy Walters, Haley-Midland's vice president and treasurer, about the brewing crisis with... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Crisis Management; Design; Planning; Human Resources

April 2012
Case

People Express Airlines

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Recounts the history of People Express Airlines, which grew rapidly after its inception in 1980 then failed spectacularly in 1986. Profiles People's aggressive strategy and its distinctive approach to human resource management, which emphasized job rotation and minimal... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Air Transportation; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizational Structure; Entrepreneurship; Failure; Human Resources; Business Startups; Air Transportation Industry