Top Performers - Publications - Faculty & Research

14 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Keeping Your Balance With Customers

the customer has no need to look elsewhere. Therefore, ensuring high-quality service is fundamental. The consumer bank monitored the service levels ("request fulfillment time") for its HVCs, surveyed its customers every six months, and monitored its View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

02 Mar 2017
What Do You Think?

Is China About to Overtake the US for World Trade Leadership?

cannot be a credible champion for world trade. “Xi Jinping’s words are more of a PR stunt,” he wrote. Wildebeest added, “[A]ttempting to do meaningful work in China is basically a hassle from day one, top to bottom. Large companies often... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

03 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 3

And wise leaders use apprenticeship and mentoring to cultivate practical wisdom in others. Read the article: http://hbr.org/2011/05/the-big-idea-the-wise-leader/ar/1 Extreme Productivity Authors:Robert C. Pozen Publication:Harvard Business Review 89, no. 5 (May 2011)... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 7

decided to exercise their discretionary power to award five top executives a bonus for 2008, even though they had not met the necessary performance measures under the compensation plan. Proxy advisors... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Dec 2013
First Look

First Look: December 24

Working Papers Managing the Family Firm: Evidence from CEOs at Work By: Bandiera, Oriana, Andrea Prat, and Raffaella Sadun Abstract—CEOs affect the performance of the firms they manage, and family CEOs seem to weaken it. Yet little is... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

24 Oct 2024
Research & Ideas

With Millions of Workers Juggling Caregiving, Employers Need to Rethink Support

promotion. It’s going to affect my performance evaluation. They fear they’ll be viewed as less committed, that they’re going to be suspect. The biggest two effects of having caregiving responsibilities that are hard to reconcile with your... View Details

Keywords: by Christine Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette

20 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: December 20

the redirection of existing inventive activity. Read the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-118.pdf Finding the Right Mix: How the Composition of Self-managing Multicultural Teams' Cultural Value Orientation Influences Performance... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

16 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

The Irrational Quest for Charismatic CEOs

and the consequences of CEO succession and selection decisions for subsequent firm performance and strategic choices. Industry wisdom, company relationships, and technological expertise all matter in our new knowledge-based enterprises.—... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

05 Dec 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Marketing

productivity, says Professor Gail J. McGovern. In this Q&A, she discusses what executives can do to repair the split and introduces a new diagnostic tool for measuring marketing performance used in the HBS Executive Education program.... View Details

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

How Technological Disruption Changes Everything

education programs or, as we like to call it, Harvard Business School. In health care, Christensen set the scene by outlining the four layers of health care professionals: The specialist and sub-specialist physicians top the pecking... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

What It Takes: Minorities in the Executive Suite

some difficult twists and turns. Promotions, for instance, are typically much harder to come by in the early stages of their careers than they are for whites. And once they make the leap into middle and upper management, these trailblazers have to put together a... View Details

Keywords: by Judith A. Ross

17 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

Man vs. Machine: Which Makes Better Hires?

tenure. On average, workers hired by managers who made fewer exceptions (those in the bottom quarter of exception rates) stayed on average 120 days; those hired by managers who made the most exceptions (those in the top quartile of... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Employment

01 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

What to Do When Your Organization Has Dueling Missions

A couple of years ago, hip-hop artist Macklemore topped the Billboard 100 chart with Thrift Shop, a paean to buying inexpensive used clothing from Goodwill Industries. Indeed, like the rapper, millions of people know Goodwill primarily as... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

01 Aug 2012
What Do You Think?

Should CEOs Worry About ‘Too Big to Succeed?’

(five-year) performance is roughly as impressive as the prior (five-year) overperformance." Extending their study to Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.K., the researchers conclude that "The... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing; Financial Services

04 Oct 2007
What Do You Think?

Has Managerial Capitalism Peaked?

that "firm performance and top management compensation are inversely related." And this may not have taken into account the large severance payments made to those being asked to leave their... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

20 Aug 2007
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Using Investor Relations Proactively

financial communication. A so-called Broker Book compiles the top 10 analysts' views on BP's performance and targets, as well as the industry overall, on a quarterly basis. MacLeod now wanted to make sure... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

03 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

The Basics of Consumer Marketing in Asia

companies failed in China in the mid-1990s." Chen, who worked with QianJiang Motorcycle among many other companies, pointed out that of the five top-selling motorcycle brands in China in 1997, only two remained in the top five in... View Details

Keywords: by Julie Jette

01 Feb 2016
Research & Ideas

CEOs and Coaches: How Important is Organizational 'Fit?'

laboratory to study coach-team matching effects. Clear-cut measures of team performance and precise employment records are publicly available, and the set of teams vying for coaches’ services is comparatively small. Controlling for coach... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg & Abhijit Naik; Sports

15 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

The Surprisingly Successful Marriages of Multinationals and Social Brands

markets faster through the existing distribution network of the acquirer, or through the ability to invest quickly in significantly expanded facilities. Compared to an IPO, it allows the careful delineation of accountability and performance. An IPO puts pressure on the... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

06 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 6

August 2013 Management Science The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance By: Eccles, Robert G., Ioannis Ioannou, and George Serafeim Abstract—We investigate the effect of corporate sustainability... View Details