Publications

Research Summary

Overview

By: Rohit Deshpande

Customer Centricity Rohit Deshpandé's research program focuses on Customer-Centricity. A stream of projects examines the interaction between corporate and national culture as they influence the development and implementation of global marketing strategies in high... View Details

July 24, 2024
Article

Research: How Passion Can Backfire at Work

By: Erica R. Bailey, Kai Krautter, Wen Wu, Adam D. Galinsky and Jon M. Jachimowicz

Passion has long been championed as a key to workplace success. However, scientific studies have found mixed results: On the one hand, some studies find evidence that passionate employees tend to perform better, while other research has documented null or even negative... View Details

Keywords: Performance Effectiveness; Personal Characteristics; Behavior; Outcome or Result

Register to Read

January 2021
Article

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

By: Kevin M. Kniffin, Jayanth Narayanan, Frederik Anseel, John Antonakis, Susan Ashford, Arnold B. Bakker, Peter Bamberger, Hari Bapuji, Devasheesh P. Bhave, Virginia K. Choi, Stephanie Creary, Evangelia Demerouti, Francis J. Flynn, Michele J. Gelfand, Lindred Greer, Gary Johns, Selin Kesebir, Peter G. Klein, Sun Young Lee, Hakan Ozcelik, Jennifer Louise Petriglieri, Nancy Rothbard, Cort W. Rudolph, Jason D. Shaw, Nina Sirola, Connie R. Wanberg, Ashley V. Whillans, Michael P. Wilmot and Mark van Vugt

The impacts of COVID-19 on workers and workplaces across the globe have been dramatic. This broad review of prior research rooted in work and organizational psychology, and related fields, is intended to make sense of the implications for employees, teams, and work... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Work; Work From Home (WFH); Pandemics; Health Pandemics; Employees; Working Conditions; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Read Now

18 May 2015
Research & Ideas

Advertisers Get Serious About Playing With Their Brands

followers," Deighton says. "It's fascinating when you look at a company like that and what it was able to achieve." The company also enjoyed a nice side benefit: As a result of the social media campaign, prospective View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Advertising

November 2013 (Revised September 2015)
Supplement

GlaxoSmithKline in China (B)

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

In 2013, Chinese investigators detained four GSK employees for allegedly bribing health care staff to sell GSK pharmaceuticals. A month later, GSK's Asia Pacific regional president, Abbas Hussain, said the company would help identify corrupt practices. Two days later,... View Details

March 2006
Background Note

Influencing Customer Behavior in Service Operations

By: Frances X. Frei and Amy C. Edmondson

Explores ways in which service firms can influence the behavior of their customers. Drawing from research on employee motivation and applying it to customer motivation, the note describes two levels of managerial control: instrumental control, which shapes behavior... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Governance Controls; Consumer Behavior; Service Operations; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence; Service Industry

May 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Supplement

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (C)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Ruth Dittrich and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The (C) case provides an update on the B-case decision and describes the introduction of Dan 2.0, an internal social virtual network for the purpose of knowledge sharing in a company that was only used to face-to-face networking. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Knowledge Sharing; Information Infrastructure; Opportunities; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Knowledge Management; Management Practices and Processes

30 May 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Non-Standard Matches and Charitable Giving

Keywords: by Michael Sanders, Sarah Smith & Michael I. Norton

October 2023 (Revised April 2024)
Case

ghSMART & Co: Building and Scaling a Time Smart Firm

By: Ashley Whillans and Sara Coronel Rodriguez

"For ghSMART, freedom is the first principle from which all good things flow”—Geoff Smart, Chairman and Founder, ghSMART. ghSMART was a leadership advisory firm that was grounded in the principle of freedom. Talented Consultants and Partners could work remotely from... View Details

Keywords: Time; Consulting Firms; Time Management; Talent and Talent Management; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Organizational Culture; Going Public; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion; Reputation

05 Sep 2023
Book

Failing Well: How Your ‘Intelligent Failure’ Unlocks Your Full Potential

together, experiencing them all as negative experiences in life or in business, Edmondson contends that some failures are smarter than others because they help us identify a path toward eventual success. In the workplace, an employee may... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

08 Mar 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Customer-Driven Misconduct: How Competition Corrupts Business Practices

Keywords: by Victor Manuel Bennett, Lamar Pierce, Jason A. Snyder & Michael W. Toffel; Auto

August 2011
Supplement

Raj Datta, Former Chief Knowledge Officer of MindTree, In-Class Comments, April 1, 2011

By: David A. Garvin

MindTree is a mid-sized Indian IT services company known for its knowledge management practices, its collaborative communities, and its strong culture and values. The CEO has set a goal of becoming a $1 billion company by 2014; to reach that goal, employees must create... View Details

Keywords: Knowledge Management; Social and Collaborative Networks; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Culture; Learning; Values and Beliefs; Information Technology Industry; Service Industry; India

September 2013
Article

Converging to the Lowest Common Denominator in Physical Health

By: Leslie K. John and Michael I. Norton

Objective: This research examines how access to information on peer health behaviors affects one's own health behavior. Methods: We report the results of a randomized field experiment in a large corporation in which we introduced walkstations (treadmills... View Details

Keywords: Information; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Health; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

Read Now

21 Aug 2023
Book

You’re More Than Your Job: 3 Tips for a Healthier Work-Life Balance

grit is going to overcome structural inequality and the lack of growth in real wages. Each of these pieces has made stability harder to achieve individually and collectively.” One of the more telling indicators of the shift in how View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

May 8, 2020
Article

Lead Your Team Into a Post-Pandemic World

By: Hubert Joly

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has tested leaders, especially as it relates to how they lead their workers. As the crisis goes on, many that the author has spoken with have begun to frame it around three distinct phases: The Shelter-in-Place Phase, the Re-opening... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Re-opening; Health Pandemics; Leadership; Employees; Communication; Human Needs

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

03 Oct 2023
HBS Case

Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff

employees and asking the fundamental questions: What exactly does a company owe its employees? How will they be engaged in designing, communicating, and carrying out workplace change programs? What is the policy on severance pay, and how... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Telecommunications; Technology; Financial Services; Manufacturing

October 14, 2019
Article

The Truth About Open Offices: There Are Reasons Why They Don't Produce the Desired Interactions

By: Ethan Bernstein and Ben Waber

It’s never been easier for workers to collaborate—or so it seems. Open, flexible, activity-based spaces are displacing cubicles, making people more visible. Messaging is displacing phone calls, making people more accessible. Enterprise social media such as Slack and... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Interpersonal Communication; Communication Technology; Design; Human Resources; Performance Productivity; Organizational Design

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

December 1993 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Sarah Gant

Manville Corp.'s senior managers must decide how to respond to a new scientific study suggesting that fiberglass, the source of 75% of the company's profits, may be another asbestos and must act under conditions of great uncertainty. In particular, when should a... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Health Disorders; Risk Management; Marketing Communications; Product; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Safety; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry